Smile Farm: Sustainable Agriculture For Disabilities
IRPC Public Company Limited
INTRODUCTION
IRPC is determined to perform the business operation sustainably based on the good governance focusing on honesty, transparency, along with responsibility for communities, society and the environment to help driving sustainable development goals, thus IRPC implemented the “Smile Farm: Sustainable Agriculture for Disabilities” project. The Company had adopted the organisation’s innovation together with professionals in various fields linked to the improvement of quality of life of the communities, societies and the environment. The project is furthered from “Creating Jobs And Creating Careers For People With Disabilities” operated by IRPC at the Centre of Promotion and development on the disabled in 2017. The Company foresees that if the disabled can make a career in agriculture according to their own aptitude and physical condition, the disabled will then increase income, self-reliant, and have a better quality of life.
FRAMEWORK AND STRATEGY
At the Centre of Promotion and Development on the Disabled, Udondiocese, a shortage of water problem has disrupted farming, thus causing issues for disabled farmers. Therefore, the Company implemented the Lam Sai Yong Model Project which was the project with the initial objectives in constructing, storing, and managing water in arid areas to proceed at the centre of Promotion and Development on the Disabled. In the beginning of 2019, IRPC started the project’s first initiative phase, which solved water shortage for agriculture during the dry season:• Two ponds were dredged and expanded in order to be able to store 27,000 cubic meters of rainwater and floodwater for use in the dry season.
• Installation of 4.6 KW solar power generation system and installation of water pump together with constructing the building to pump water from the ponds to keep in the water tank to be able to release water for agriculture and animal husbandry at various points in the Centre conveniently.
• Installation of HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) water pipes underground at a distance of 470 meters to reserve water in reservoirs that were distributed at various points in the Centre.
ACHIEVEMENT AND IMPACT
The project builds capacity for agricultural communities to be prepared to deal with the effects of climate change and water crisis. The quality of life of agricultural communities in arid areas was changed and improved to be a water and food security community in order to be a stable foundation for the agricultural production structure of Thailand. It also helps creating career opportunities for people with disabilities who are underprivileged in the society to be able to work and earn money.FUTURE DIRECTION
IRPC operated the business under the principles of good governance along with being responsible to communities, society and the environment. This included supporting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Thus, IRPC had determined stable and sustainable business direction in parallel with creating a balanced value with stakeholders covering the promotion of implementation of social and environmental responsibility projects. From IRPC’s business operational processes, there are some guidelines for supervising the operations towards becoming an organisation that has received the trust and reliability from the society by preparing the plans and stipulating the policies to create value to the society in CSR in Process, Environment Governance, Social Inclusion / CSR Integration and Philanthropy.
IRPC Public Company Limited (IRPC), a Southeast Asian integrated
petrochemical pioneer, located in its own Rayong Industrial Zone.
IRPC operates three core businesses; petroleum, petrochemical,
and supporting businesses including deep-sea port, oil tank farm and
power plant. In 2019, IRPC has been selected as a member of Dow
Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) for the sixth consecutive year in
the Emerging Market Index in the Oil & Gas Refining and Marketing.
