Somchai, who led the research team, presented their findings at a seminar titled “Sustainability Community Indicators” (SCI) yesterday.

This is the fist time that economists have studied whether the late King’s advice leads to improving the standard of living of those who put it into practice. The concept has been discussed for decades, but Somchai created the so-called “Sustainability Community Indicators” to find and measure supporting evidence.

He developed 15 indicators for calibrating the implementation of the philosophy – moderation, perseverance, prudence, honesty, reasonableness, knowledge, self-reliance, resilience, sharing, public mind, social coherence, leadership, explosion from within, environment projection and community innovation. Somchai calls the combined index “SCI-S4S – sufficiency for sustainability”.

Somchai said he tried to reduce bias as he designed questions to ask 70,000 families across the country. “If people know they are being asked about King Rama IX’s sufficiency economy, they might only say good things because they loved and respected him,” he explained.

So, he decided not to use the words “sufficiency” or “moderation” in the questions presented to respondents.

The study learned that people in the Northeast have adopted sustainability practices to a considerable extent in their lives, getting the highest score at 65, followed by those in the North with scores of 64.5 and people living outside municipal areas at 62.4.

The study also looked at changes in people’s behaviour and the outcome in terms of economic and social gains.

Somchai also developed outcome indicators comprising happiness, poverty-free, health, education, employment, sufficient expenditure, sufficient income, living conditions, assets, environment capital, equality and social capital. He called it the “SCI-OC-outcome”.

The relationship between implementation and results, however, was not so straightforward. For example, those in the Northeast got only 61.8 in the SCI-OC scores, while those in the North reach 62.8, and Bangkokians got the highest score at 68.6. Somchai says that many factors are involved in the outcome indicators, including the development of better infrastructure in Bangkok, which has led to a better living standard.

“Overall, the implementation of sufficiency economy has resulted in improvements in many dimensions of development,” he concluded.

The study found that those who had changed their behaviour in line with the philosophy experienced an increase in income and assets, better living conditions, employment, better education, better health, a reduction in poverty and increased happiness.

He said that the National Economic and Social Development Board can use his study to advise the government about development projects for specific locations.

“The SCI can also be used to show the rest of the world that the sufficiency model does work, and it’s not just a matter of faith,” Somchai said.

However, he does not expect the SCI to become a mainstream gauge of sustainable development, though he hopes it will be embraced as an alternative measure, similar to the Gross National Happiness index adopted by Bhutan.

The sufficiency economy is in line with the “means of implementation and financing for development” approach under the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, he noted.

An Australian couple sold their house in Sydney and put their savings into a buffalo dairy, the first of its kind in Laos, where dairy farms did not previously exist and buffalo resources have been underutilised.

“I travelled to Sri Lanka, I liked the buffaloes and the taste of their milk and cheese there,” explained Susie Martin, CEO of Laos Buffalo Dairy, as she recounted her previous travelling experience before leaving the corporate world to make the dairy investment and settle in Luang Prabang.

Martin moved to the scenic tourist destination in 2014 and began a trial of milking buffaloes before officially launching the dairy business.

In 2016, Martin and her business partners – both Laos nationals and people from other countries – started the operation by renting a female buffalo from farmers living in nearby villages. Her farm and dairy production facility is located at Ban Muang Khay, Luang Prabang.

At first farmers were sceptical about renting buffaloes to her farm.

“They felt a bit nervous,” she said.

Martin and her business partners put a pregnant buffalo into quarantine in order to check for disease and prepare the female buffalo for delivering her baby calf.

About six weeks later, everything was checked, including vaccination to prevent foot and mouth disease, and the buffalo was removed from the quarantine zone.

When the right time came, the buffalo delivered a calf.

Mother and baby lived together for few days before being separated. The farm owner began milking once daily for six to seven months.

The initial test worked out, and now Martin pays a rent to local farmers as she milks their buffaloes during the post-delivery period.

She sells milk, cheese and other dairy products to hotels and restaurants located mainly in Vientiane and Luang Prabang.

The traditional diet in Luang Prabang does not include milk, but Martin has been trying to persuade people to consume it to reduce malnutrition about children aged under two years. According to Laos government statistic, the malnutrition rate is as high as 40 per cent among children, she said.

The farm recently exported its dairy products to Japan with first shipment of about 250 kilograms.

Buffalo dairy products are of a very high quality due to their rich nutrition, she said. The local buffalo breed offers a small yield of about 2 to 3 litres of milk daily. In conjunction with the Lao Agricultural Institute, Martin is now cross-breeding the local buffalo with the Indian Murrah buffalo breed that yields 7 to 8 litres of milk daily. The cross-breeding will improve the milk yield in future generations.

The farm will returns the buffalo to farmers following the cross-breeding, and the pregnant cow is again handed back to her just before delivering a calf.

The farm currently rents about 150 female buffaloes from area farmers and plans to add another 50 early next year.

To earn more money, Martin has opened the farm to tourists who drop in on their way to the popular Kuang Si waterfall. The visitors buy her mozzarella, ricotta, cottage cheese, yoghurt cheesecake, ricotta cheesecake, ice cream, yoghurt and buttermilk.

Steven McWhirter, general manager of the dairy farm and Martin’s husband, says he has a relationship with a Thai buffalo dairy farm with more experience in the business. The farm also has collaborative projects with educational institutions in Laos.

According to their website, laosbuffalodairy.com, Martin and her business partners have now launch a crowd-funding campaign via IndieGoGo platform in order to raise US$30,000 (Bt982,000) to buy 20 pregnant buffaloes for unprivileged farmers, with the purpose of offering 20 pairs of calves to farmers in need.

He says the three top priorities are creating value for agricultural goods, promoting digital transformation and promoting the growth of secondary cities.

“Thailand has a dire need to acquire the ability to create more value for our agricultural goods,” Somkid told the “Thailand Economic Outlook 2019” dinner event organised on Monday by Krungthep Turakij, a sister newspaper of the The Nation.

He said the low prices of agricultural goods were a chronic problem for the Thai economy. With 20 to 30 per cent of the total population working in the agricultural sector, the continuing low prices of agricultural goods is preventing people’s incomes from going up. This has in turn led to weak domestic demand in the country, limiting Thailand’s overall economic growth and transforming it into an export-reliant nation, he said.

“Instead of selling fine agricultural goods at low prices to foreigners to turn them into valuable products and sell them internationally at higher prices, Thailand should develop its own capabilities to create added value for our own goods and elevate the income of those within the agricultural industry,” Somkid suggested.

The most promising method to add value to Thai agricultural products would be through processed fruits, he said.

The second critical structural reform would be transitioning from a traditional economy to a digitally driven one.

“Thailand needs to promote the growth of digital industries. To achieve growth rate like China and Vietnam, we will need to turn ourselves into a startup nation and promote the use of digital platforms,” Somkid said.

The digital age has lowered the barriers for entry into the market and given the small businessperson the chance to make it big within the market, he explained.

“The key advantage of having a digital economy is the low capital requirements of startups. Individuals with ideas and ambitions can now start their own businesses through a digital platform. This will lead to the rapid growth of startups within Thailand, creating innovative growth and putting Thailand at the forefront of the global market,” Somkid said.

The third requisite economic transformation is to promote the growth of secondary cities through improved transport infrastructure and e-commerce.

“The Thai government has been investing heavily in high-speed railways to link cities like Bangkok, Hua Hin and Chiang Mai with secondary cities like Nan and Surat Thani,” he said. “This will improve tourism in these areas, leading to urbanisation, a key driver for economic growth.”

The government plans to invest as much as Bt2 trillion in the country’s transportation infrastructure in the year 2019, he added.

Another method to promote secondary cities is through e-commerce, which would allow local goods in secondary cities to be sold nationwide and internationally. This would increase the business potential of these areas and propel the Thai economy, according to Somkid.

Somkid predicted GDP growth of at least 3.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of this year, and said he was certain the GDP growth for 2018 would be at least 4 per cent, perhaps higher. He cited the lull in the US-China trade war after the G20 summit as the key reason for his optimism, expecting Thai exports to continue to grow and push up the GDP figures.

Meanwhile, the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking (JSCCIB) has predicted GDP growth of 4 to 4.3 per cent in 2019, chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade of Thailand Kalin Sarasin said at press conference after the meeting yesterday.

He added that factors propelling the 4-per-cent growth would involve increased domestic spending and public investment as well as recovering tourism numbers.

The committee maintains an 8 per cent export growth target for 2018, citing the new 90-day halt to the US-China trade war as the key reason. However, exports are expected to contract between 5 and 7 per cent year on year in 2019, with risk factors being the resumption of the US-China trade war and uncertainties surrounding UK’s Brexit.

“Next year, Thailand will need to rely more on domestic demand to drive growth,” said Kalin. “We believe domestic spending and total investment for next year to be promising, and continue to predict a 4 to 4.3 per cent GDP growth in 2019.”

This is in light of the announcement of various government policies aimed specifically at boosting domestic spending.

The JSCCIB also believes government spending and investment in various projects, such as infrastructure and the development of the EEC region, will boost the Thai economy in 2019, according to Kalin.

Another factor boosting the 2019 economy will be the upcoming election.

“We believe the election period will boost domestic consumption, especially in the first quarter of 2019,” he said.

“Furthermore, tourism is seeing signs of recovery after a slide in the third quarter,” Kalin said.

Last month, the JSCCIB reported that in August, 867,000 Chinese tourists visited the Kingdom, down 11.77 per cent month on month. In September, only 648,000 visited, another 14.89 per cent fall month on month.

The JSCCIB also has plans to boost investment through capitalising on Thailand’s position as next year’s chair of the Asean summits.

“We aim to cooperate with the Asean Business Advisory Council (Asean-BAC) to organise investment events in 2019,” he said.

Up to 15 events have been planned by Asean-BAC for 2019, with the flagship events “Asean Business Awards” and “Asean Business and Investment Summit” to be held towards the end of next year, Kalin added.

Chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade of Thailand Kalin Sarasin said the tax refund would contribute positively to the economy.

Michelin (Thailand) Co Ltd country director Segsarn Trai-Ukos said this was the best policy to support the use of local rubber to manufacture tyres.

“This will expand the demand for truck and bus tyres and in the process increase the utilisation of local natural rubber,” he said.

Michelin (Thailand) Co Ltd uses 100 per cent local natural rubber, he added.

Asia Books Co Ltd’ managing director Gesarin Anek said the measure was good for the book market and could help the industry achieve significant growth.

Following the government announcement of the measure, Asia Books launched its latest campaign, offering price discounts of up to 20 per cent to customers during the period of the incentive, she said.

Salinla Seehaphan, corporate affairs director, Tesco Lotus, said the retailer welcomes the government’s year-end tax rebate scheme as historically these campaigns have helped to uplift the shopping mood and stimulate spending. “We will be participating this year as we have products eligible for rebate such as books and OTOP products.”

Yesterday, the Cabinet gave the nod to the New Year gift for Thai people. The tax deduction measure covers three specific types of products as a means to promote agriculture, communities and human capital

Pinsai Suraswadi, spokesman for the Revenue Department, said the department has proposed the tax measure to promote agriculture, communities and human capital through consumption of necessary products that have been promoted by the government.

As per the ministerial regulation, ordinary people will be able to spend up to Bt15,000 per person on specific types of products as deductibles from their personal income tax. The spending must be done between December 15 and January 16, 2019.

Taxpayers will be able to receive tax deduction based on spending of not more than Bt15,000 combined for two tax years. Out of the three types of products, the first range from auto tyres to motorcycle tyres and bicycle tyres and all must have documents from the Rubber Authority of Thailand.

The second type involves OTOP products registered with the Community Development Department and the third is books and e-books bought from companies or registered partnerships, but excluding magazines and newspapers.

All purchased products must be backed by invoice.

Meanwhile, yesterday the Cabinet also approved a budget of Bt26 billion to support rubber, palm and tobacco as their prices have been sliding.

Nattaporn Jatusripitak, an adviser at the Prime Minister’s Office, said after the Cabinet meeting yesterday that the Cabinet had approved Bt17.5 billion to support rubber farmers for the year 2018-2019 by paying Bt1,800 per rai per farmer but not over 15 rai per farmer starting from December 2018 until September 2019.

This will cover rubber 999,065 rubber farmers, and 304,266 rubber tappers with combined lands of 944,847 rai.

Another Bt3.45 billion will be spent to support palm farmers at Bt1,500 per rai per farmer, but not more than 15 rai per farmer.

The balance of Bt159.59 million will be allocated for tobacco plants, covering 13,557 farmers, he said.