Farmer Voices

Before FoodInnovate Thailand became a platform, it was a farm.

BTLLAgroforestry, founded in 2016, is where our story began — not in a boardroom, but in the soil. It’s a living lab where farmers, plants, microbes, and ideas co-evolve. Every campaign, curriculum, and formulation we’ve built carries the imprint of this place.

This page is dedicated to the voices, trials, and wisdom of the farmers who shaped our systems thinking — not through theory, but through lived experience.

What BTLLAgroforestry taught us

  • Regeneration is slow, relational, and real.
    Soil doesn’t change overnight. Neither do communities. Our work began with compost piles, tree roots, and conversations under the canopy.
  • Ingredients carry stories.
    From turmeric to tamarind, every crop has a context — ecological, cultural, emotional. We learned to map not just nutrients, but narratives.
  • Innovation starts with listening.
    The most powerful formulations came from farmer insights: what grows together, what heals, what sells, what survives.

From farm to field work

BTLLAgroforestry isn’t just our origin — it’s our compass. Its rhythms shape our curriculum. Its relationships inform our sponsor tree. Its resilience reminds us that systems change starts with soil.

We invite you to explore our blogs, field notes, and farmer reflections — not as polished case studies, but as living stories.

Story highlights:

  • The landowners began their transition after years of struggling with unstable yields and low market prices.
  • With support from FoodInnovate, the farmers adopted intercropping, composting, and microbial soil treatments.
  • The land now produces seasonal fruits, herbs, and legumes—feeding both community and soil.
  • Further reading on farmers’ voices in Lat Bua Luang District, Phra Nakhon Si Atutthaya: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-cities/articles/10.3389/frsc.2023.1146087/full

Explore more farmer stories from Ayutthaya and nearby provinces around the Chao Phraya River Basin from our e-magazine and learn how agroecology is changing lives.