Biofuel Investment for
Poverty Alleviation &
Sustainable Development
In Thailand

Out of 10 poor persons in
Thailand:
Almost all are farmers
5 live in the Northeast
3 live in the North
1 lives in the South

Income Gap
The Northeast has 35% of
Thailand’s population and 65% of
its agricultural land, yet...
Only 9% of Thailand’s GDP
Only 20% of agricultural GDP

To combat poverty in
Thailand, we must boost
farmers’ income

Contract farming for biofuel
projects:
Guaranteed prices of feed
stock
Guaranteed quantities
Guaranteed income for farmers

Contract farming to boost
income, and..........
Empowerment: self-sufficiency
Training and other forms of
education
Creation of social safety net

Bioethanol projects
Possible locations:
North
Northeast
South
Central

Bioethanol Project Overview:
Sweet sorghum contract farming
Bioethanol plant
Cogen power plant

sweet sorghum contract farming
Crop area: 24,000
hectares
3,000 families under
contract farming; 15,000
persons total
Project guarantees price
and quantity

bioethanol refinery
Bioethanol refinery:
550,000 litres/day
Bioethanol sold to PTT,
Bangchak, etc. under
long-term contract
Feedstock: 1.7 million
tons sweet sorghum
juice per year

cogen power plant
37 MW gross; 23 MW
net export to grid
Electricity sold to EGAT
under long-term
contract
Feedstock: 485,000
tons sweet sorghum
bagasse per year

Technical Overview

24,000 hectares grown by 3,000
families via cooperatives; 2.3
million tons per year
High yield sweet sorghum varieties;
Stalk weights, fiber content

Impacts of Project

Farmers’ Income Impact
Income after expenses:
Per family: US$ 6,200/year
3 times World Bank’s poverty level

Energy Security Impact
Savings in petrol imports:
US$ 85 million/year

Green energy
project finance, development
&
carbon finance
...Sawadee Krab :)
thawat@at-tri.com