PMUC supports machinery and equipment for processing agricultural products, pushing for the expansion of production capacity towards industrial scale, including 1. Freeze-dry sublimation machines 2. PIN MILL grinding machines 3. Water filling machines 4. System for extraction and production of juice and concentrated herbal drinks 5. Carbon dioxide gas compressors, and 6. RETORT POUCH sterilization system.
Prof. Thidarat Boonmas, Ph.D., project leader, said that, for the agricultural and food prototype factory at KhonKaen University, the objective is to develop a system for providing agricultural and food research services to the industrial sector by facilitating research and development for agricultural product processing enterprises at the scale-up level, as well as to expand the production scale of research results at the laboratory level to the semi-industrial level. It helps to promote community enterprises in the Northeastern region. The prototype factory is managed in an organizational form with a clear non-profit management structure according to the university’s policy. The main goal is in providing services to entrepreneurs in the early stages or expanding business by providing services in many areas, such as providing advice on setting up factories, machinery support, recipe development, submitting documents to obtain various standards certifications, as well as product design support, which is an integrative collaboration from various faculties and disciplines in the university. The intended objective is to support the production of agricultural products and food in the Northeastern region. With such vast biological diversity, it is a large market and an important source of food production for the country. The subcommittee on High-value Food Program, PMUC, gave their opinions on establishing strategies to help promote the Thailand 4.0 industry by looking at projects with high technological readiness (TRL4) to accelerate value creation for agri-food products to be competitive, such as high-value food projects and functional food ingredients, etc.
Collaboration network of 9 universities strengthens Isan farmers towards Thailand 4.0
The High-value Food Subcommittee, PMUC, provided advice on building a cooperative network with all 9 universities and science parks in the Northeast region to jointly search for qualified farmers and potential entrepreneurs with Khon Kaen University as the main center. The main goal is to emphasize the importance of developing research projects to develop value-creating products ,and enhancing overall competitiveness using the concept of Thailand 4.0, which includes safety, environment and energy conservation, as well as reducing the amount of waste (Zero Waste) to truly benefit the general population in the area.
