International Symposium on East Asia Biomass Town Concept Promotion 14th Dec 2010 Biomass Town Concept in Na Duang village, Loei Province 1．Subject area Na Duang Village (Tambol Na Duang), Na Duang District, Loei Province 2．Implementation body of Biomass Town Concept Na Duang Village, Rice Cultivation Group (hereafter referred as “the Community”) 3．Basic information and social situation of the subject area 1) Background information of the subject area [Location] ・ Na Duang village is one of 4 villages of Na Duang District, Loei province, located in the northeast Thailand. ・ Loei Province is one of the 17 provinces in Northeast Thailand, which shares its border with Lao P.D.R. in the North, Udon Thani province and Nong Khai province in the East, Khon Kaen province and Phetchabun province in the South, and Phitsanulok province in the West. It is located about 520km from Bangkok and is at an altitude of 400m from sea level. [Population] ・ Na Duang village holds 3,519 population and 784 households, and 70% or 549 households are engaged in agriculture. [Area] ・ The total area of Na Duang village is 9,747 rai (1,560ha), of which 90 percent or 8,634 rai (1,380ha) is dedicated for agriculture. [Climate] ・ On average, Na Duang village gets heavy precipitation in the late March to the early October, while October till February is severely dry. Temperature reaches to its highest of about 40 degrees Celsius around April while it falls to below 0 degrees Celsius around December. 1 [Agriculture] ・ Similar to other areas in the northeast Thailand, Na Duang village’s major agricultural products are Maize, Rice, Soybean and Cassava. Other products such as Mango, Tamarind, Orange, and Rubber are also produced. Table 1. Basic information; Na Duang District Population Districts Villages Area(Rai=0.16ha) No. of Households (by gender) (Amphoe) (Tambol) Total Farmland Total Farmholds Female Male Total Ban Tha Sa-at 12 90,376 84,695 1,860 1,718 4,274 4,474 8,878 Ban Na Dok 17 65,821 45,139 1,973 1,792 4,445 4,199 8,644 Kham Na Duang 7 9,747 8,634 784 549 1,743 1,776 3,519 Ban Tha Sawan 5 14,293 13,539 642 609 1,573 1,493 3,066 Total 41 180,337 152,007 5,265 4,668 12,035 11,942 24,107 （source: DOAE） In addition, similar to the neighboring province of Nong Khai, oil palm plantation has been actively practiced by the local farmers in the area since around 2003. It is notable that there is already approximately 7,000 Rai (1,100ha) of oil palm planted area in Loei province, where Na Duang village is located. In Na Duang village, majority of farmers who had started oil palm plantation joined the Community at its establishment. Oil palm plantation is expected as a new industry in the area. Table 2. Oil Palm Plantation in Na Duang District B.E. Cultivation area (Rai) Harvest（Estimation）(MT) (A.D.) Community Other Community Other 2548 (2006) 182.6 458 0 0 2549 (2007) 50.3 116 0 0 2550 (2008) 50.0 633 0 0 2551 (2009) 273 687 2552 (2010) 98.0 1,275 358 861 Total 380.9 2,482 631 1,548 Thai fiscal year: October-September 2 Table 3. Agriculture statistics of Na Duang District (Unit: Rai=0.16ha) Crops Fruits Rubber Districts Rice Soy Black Chili 1-7 8-20 (amphoe) Maize Cassava tamarind Mango Lamyai litchi Orange beans beans pepper yrs yrs Ban Tha Sa-at 4,310 10,800 900 3,200 - 40 725 238 520 10 34 1,460 6,477 Ban Na Dok 5,126 43,159 585 572 186 20 1,102 598 1,133 56 20 1,179 5,804 Kham Na Duang 2,590 6,950 800 2,000 150 35 313 81 118 - 20 1,340 3,941 Ban Tha 1,904 1,500 6,700 1,600 80 90 827 356 596 21 252 1,350 3,887 Sawan Total 13,930 62,409 8,985 7,372 416 185 2,967 1,273 2,367 87 326 5,329 20,109 （source: DOAE） [Animal husbandry] ・ There is a total of 63 livestock farmholds in Na Duang village, and majority are cattle farmers. Poultry is usually bred in small number and free-ranged in farmers garden, therefore, does not appear in the statistics Table 4. Animal husbandry in Na Duang village No Livestock No. of farmholds No. of heads 1 Buffalo 8 108 2 Beef cattle 43 303 3 Dairy Cow 0 0 4 Pig 12 114 （source: DOAE） ・ Many farmers in Na Duang village culture Tilapia1 usually in small fishing ponds. Feeders traditionally utilize rice bran as fish meal. The efficiency of feeding is not good as feeders spread and float in the water when thrown into the fishing pond because of rice bran’s traits (dry and small particles) Table 5. Tilapia culture in Na Duang village Number of Scale Average yield Selling price Average profit farmholds (Rai) (per Rai) (per Kg) (per Rai) 898 675 120kg THB 40 - THB 1,620 1Tilapia is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the tilapiine cichlid tribe. Tilapia inhabit in a variety of fresh water all over the world, and is common in Thailand for human consumption 3 2) Socio-economic situation of the subject area <Thailand> ・ Increasing need for biomass utilization： In Thailand, import of crude oil has three folded in the last 20 years due to the growing energy demand. Therefore, stable procurement of energy source has become the country’s one of the most pressing issues. In addition to this, in 2007, Thailand faced with a significant economic downturn due to the sudden rise of oil price worldwide. Simultaneously, price of commodities, especially, of which large proportion of production cost was occupied with oil, increased rapidly and struck people's life in Thailand. Since then, the country is undergoing drastic review of its economic structure highly dependent on fossil fuels. The effort to seek for use of biofuel and substitute for products dependent on fossil fuel is continued up until now. ・ Increasing demand for organic fertilizer： In the agricultural sector too, many farmers are seeking to use organic fertilizer rather than chemical ones due to the emerging awareness on health and organic agriculture, as well as the negative impact on farmers from increased price of chemical fertilizer since the 2007. According to the National Statistics, average income in the northeastern region in Thailand, where the majority is engaged in agriculture and/or related business is the lowest in comparison with other zones in Thailand. Therefore in terms rectifying the economical disparity between urban and rural area, agrarian development policy based on biomass utilization is encouraged. The policy is bearing fruits slowly but steadily. <Na Duang Village> ・ Agriculture as main industry： Agriculture accommodates the majority of earning opportunity in Na Duang village and the main crops are maize, rubber, rice, soybean and cassava. Farmers select advantageous crops according to the market situation. Currently, more than 50% of fertilizer used in the area is organic. However, it is said that use of chemical fertilizer, pesticides, and herbicides is increasing. In general the size of farmlands of individual farmers in Thailand is relatively small. These farmlands are further subdivided into small plots when inherited to the next generation. ・ Facilities for supporting agriculture： In order to support agricultural activities, which is the main industry of the village, 4 there are 3 compost facilities in the village including the facilities subsidized by the local municipality, that utilizes biomass such as rice straw, rice husk, rice bran and corncob. However, due to the difficulty of procure raw material, those facilities are not fully operated. In another case, autonomous small farmers group is conducting survey regarding compost, and producing compost by themselves. Compost is produced by utilizing raw material available within the group, using space in/around residential area and using almost only manpower and simple equipments. ・ Depopulation and aging society： Because of limited employment opportunities and stagnant income growth rate due to the country’s social structure which is dependent on agriculture and/or agriculture related industry, there is a tendency that many young people migrate from villages to cities. As a result of this, the society in the rural area is depopulating and aging. Loei Province Na Duang District Na Dok Kham Village Na Duang District Tha Sa-at Village (Amphoe) 村 mura 村 Na Duang Village Tha Sawan Village Figure 1. Location of Na Duang Village 5 4．Potential/unused amount and current usage of biomass in the area 1) Potential/unused amount of biomass Potential/unused amount and current usage of biomass resources are shown in the table below (Also refer to appendix 1: Biomass utilization flow of main agricultural products in Na Duang village) Table 6. Potential/unused amount and current usage of biomass Biomass Potential Conversion/ Used Amount treatment Used Utilization, sale amount 2 amount Category Kind (tons） method (%) Food waste Domestic waste Untreated/ 100% Raw organic 100％ fermentation matter/compost (home garden) Agricultural Corncob 13,900 Direct Marginal Fuel Marginal residue combustion/ carbonization Fermentation Marginal Compost Marginal Left untreated Most Disposed 0% Corn stalk, leaves 1,738 Left untreated 100% Disposed (mixed in 0% farmland) Cassava stalk, 2,400 Disposed 100% Disposed 0% leaves (mixed in farmland) Cassava Sun dried 100% Sold as animal feed 100% broken pieces Rice straw 4,533 Sundried Marginal Animal feed 100% Natural Marginal Compost raw Marginal fermentation material Combustion/ Most Disposed - Left untreated Rice husk 54 Fermentation Heat recovery Combustion Return to farmland Left untreated Disposed 0% Rice bran 473 - 100% Animal feed (sold) 100% Broken rice 19 - 100% Animal feed (sold) 100% Empty fruit bunch Fermentation 100% Raw material of 100% of oil palm compost Oil palm expeller Fermentation Raw material of 100% (fiber) compost/animal feed Oil palm kernel 0 Not generated - - - shell Animal Cattle Left untreated Most Disposed/raw - waste organic matter Fermentation Marginal Raw material of Marginal compost Pig Left untreated Most Disposed/raw - organic matter Fermentation Marginal Raw material of Marginal compost Chicken Left untreated Most Disposed/raw - organic matter Fermentation Marginal Raw material of Marginal compost * No specific amount is determined for ”Marginal”, requires further survey.