Private sector development in the Thai seed industry

A.I.D.'s 1975 and 1981 seed development loans have been a major factor. Implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture with excellent technical assistance from Mississippi State University, the projects have established six seed centers. While primarily aimed at producing improved rice seed for distribution to disaster victims, the centers' ability to process improved seed of other species and their small size and location in rural areas close to producers and markets enable them to demonstrate and transfer appropriate technology to private seed producers. A major component of the second loan has been creation of - and MSU participation in - a Seed Club composed of representatives of the Thai seed industry's public, private, and education sectors. The timing of the projects was essential; the first coincided with the development in 1975 of Suwan I, a high-yielding, downy mildew-resistant corn which demonstrated the commercial viability of varietal seed production and provided the catalyst for private sector investment. The development of Suwan I was a crown in the Royal Thai Government's (RTG) extensive varietal research program, dating back to the 1940's, which, together with the RTG's promotion of agricultural development within the context of a free enterprise, market-based economy and its efforts to disseminate information to farmers and investors, develop an agricultural extension service, and increase private sector activity through the Board of Investment, has been a critical factor in the growth of the seed industry. The industry's growth has also been abetted by the Thai university system's contribution of several research breakthroughs and a good supply of trained scientists and technicians; A.I.D. participant training and crop development programs; other donor programs (Rockefeller Foundation, the European Economic Community, Japan); as well as a stable socioeconomic system, and good public infrastructure. Suggestions are made for ways in which the RTG and A.I.D. can continue successful private sector development.