Thailand

Thailand has a population of more than 66 million people. The agriculture and food sector in Thailand accounts for 10-15% of gross national income.

It employs around 46% of the country’s working population, and agricultural and food trade generates up to 10-15% of national exports. Agricultural production focuses on the following food crops: rice, cassava, maize, and banana.

13-26% of the food energy consumed in Thailand comes from crops that are not native to the region. Most of these plants’ diversity is found elsewhere around the planet. There are 68,495 crop varieties in collections of crop diversity found in Thailand compared to more than 700,000 found in international collections of crop diversity supported by the Crop Trust.

Thailand signed the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) in 2002, joining 132 other contracting parties in commitment to a global system.