Community Enterprise in Processed Agricultural Products after the
COVID-19: Problems and Adaptation for the Development of
Grassroots Economy
JITSUPA KITIPADUNG
Innovative Learning Center, Srinakharinwirot University,
114 Sukhumvit 23, Bangkok 10110,
THAILAND
WATUNYU JAIBORISUDHI
Institute of East Asian Studies, Thammasat University,
99 Moo 18 Paholyothin Road, Klong Luang, Rangsit, Pathumthani 12121,
THAILAND
Abstract: - Community entrepreneurs in a processed agricultural product are the foundation of the economy
which links the agricultural sector of the nation. They play an important role in driving the grassroots economy
of Thailand after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reflected the usage of major ingredients grown locally in
the processing of agricultural products, which provide the advantage of unique local ingredients while also
preventing the waste of oversupply. Meanwhile, entrepreneurs have conventional wisdom in processing raw
materials into products. Additionally, the challenging issues for small community enterprises are administration
and fundraising to expand their production. The lack of labours in rural areas also poses a challenge to the
administration of community enterprises. The findings also reveal that there should be a sustainable extension
of other activities, such as integrating agritourism activities and the development of a sustainable ecosystem.
There should also be the utilization of online channel in the sales and communication of products and
communities’ identities. It was also found that the supporting mechanism for community enterprises is still
limited in some ways due to the requirement to follow central policies in development. Finally, the new
generation should be motivated to join community enterprises in processed agricultural products as they could
help in the long-term development of the community.
Key-Words: - Processed agricultural product, Cultural capital, Community product, COVID-19
Received: July 11, 2022. Revised: January 17, 2023. Accepted: February 9, 2023. Published: February 28, 2023.
1 Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted agricultural
markets, and its effects will most likely vibrate over
the next decade. The fall in demand for agricultural
commodities and subsequent decline in prices will
lead to a reduction in agricultural production, [1].
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development – OECD, [2], predicted the impact on
overall production that was expected to be relatively
small in the short term as it takes time for
agricultural producers to respond to lower consumer
demand. In the medium term, more significant
declines in total agricultural production are forecast.
By 2029, total production is projected to be 0.9%
and 1.2% below baseline levels under the upside
and downside scenarios. The production reaction is
more pronounced in the downside scenario, as
demand will be more affected if the economic
recovery is slower. Furthermore, COVID-19 also
has impacted the agricultural sector in Asia and the
Pacific in country-level perspectives, [3]. The
pandemic induced disruption affects agriculture and
the entire food system –production, transportation,
marketing, distribution and consumption.
Likewise, the agricultural sector is an important
producer and exporter of Thailand. However, the
factors such as the COVID19 pandemic, the swiftly
changing technology, the lack of agricultural
labours, urbanization, and climate changes became
problematic for the production sector, as the world’s
food crisis is affected by the increasing demand for
food and agricultural products, [4]. Previously,
most Thai agricultural production and exports are
limited in the terms of primary processed products,
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for which the added-value is not as high. Therefore,
the economic value of these products is small for the
country. It is evident from the constant ratio of
agricultural products’ value per GDP which is
limited between 8-12% over the period of twenty
years. Furthermore, the agricultural sector is often
challenged by the rather-high fluctuation of prices,
[5]. In the past, Thailand's exports of processed
agricultural products also face challenges from
access to processing technology of farmers,
incentive measures for investment in processed
agricultural products, and the extension of product
processing technology to commercial production.
However, there are rather few community
entrepreneurs within the value chains of processed
agricultural products of Thailand, due to the
limitations in the high production technological
cost. Moreover, the intellectual property laws and
regulations in Thailand do not encourage investment
yet. Meanwhile, the processed agricultural sector of
Thailand has a high potential for new producers who
will enter the economic system. The growth in this
sector will increase employment and income for
many local people, as evident in the policy to
promote bio-economy which is connected in the
same direction with the national strategic plan for 20
years, master plan following the national strategic
plan, national reformation plan, national social and
economic development plan, and many other
important policies of related agencies.
Within these contexts, the agricultural sector is
also another mechanism to promote the economy.
And community entrepreneurs in processed
agricultural products are required to adjust the form
of social and economic development, by promoting
the development of Bio-Circular-Green Economy as
the model towards sustainable development. Hence,
the researcher is interested in studying the potential
and approaches for adaptation of the community
entrepreneurs in the processed agricultural product
after the COVID-19, as they could be the
mechanism to improve grassroots economy,
promote and increase the opportunity to generate
income within local area or community. As a result,
the agricultural sector and economic sector will be
developed together in a sustainable way.
2 Literature Review
As the community enterprise’s stakeholders come
from the whole community, entrepreneurs should
have a role in strategic planning in order to deal
with increasing competition. Community
entrepreneur’s development is part of the local
development plan of the local government and
private development enterprise as well as the
community members. Fabeil, Pazim, & Langgat,
[6], study the impact of Covid-19 pandemic crisis
on micro-enterprises during the fifth phase of
movement control order amid Covid-19 outbreaks in
Malaysia. Entrepreneurs seemed to demonstrate
their ability to survive in their business by
undertaking several business continuity approaches
and recovery strategies, especially in terms of
product delivery and marketing. Business
knowledge like online marketing techniques,
product delivery procedures, new product
development, costing and pricing strategy during
crisis and customer database management could
serve as a basis for crisis management plan for
micro-enterprises. Additionally, Sridhar et al., [7],
deemed that innovations like developing new
products, services, and introducing new financial
schemes which address challenges faced in
agricultural sectors would be the key to achieve
sustainability. Family farming and community
farming make households and individuals more self-
sustainable. The drastic changes in human
behaviourism with respect to eating and purchasing
habits tending to more nutritious and plant-based
food may grow in the future.
Furthermore, Apostolopoulos et al., [8], stated
that COVID-19 provided a boost to short supply
chains in the agri-food sector and agri-food
enterprises with new technologies and digital
aspects in their core were privileged in competition.
Simultaneously, there was a forced change from
fresh to dried agri-food products affecting agri-food
entrepreneurial activities. Many of the sector's
contemporary problems are not new, and in many
countries, the agri-food sector and agri-food supply
networks are fragile and unsustainable.
Regarding an adaptation of agri-food sector,
Rowan & Galanakis, [9], highlighted an anti-fragile
influence from pandemics that create both
challenges and new opportunities including
emergent or disruptive innovations in service and
business processes. A review of the recent 43
projects funded by the Irish government showed the
trends in the innovation ecosystem and the potential
for both cross-cutting and future ground-breaking
disruption in the agri-food, health, ICT,
manufacturing and circular economy sectors with a
global orientation. Understanding where the
potential food technology disruptions are likely to
occur will be aided by having a holistic perspective
and appreciation of the complex socio-technological
innovation ecosystem. Besides, Kumar, Padhee, &
Kumar, [10], pointed that the vulnerabilities in
agricultural supply chains and depleted workforces
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caused by the COVID-19 crisis have hurt farms of
all sizes in India, especially high-value farm
enterprises. The crisis has shed light on weaknesses
in India’s Agri-food system. Consequently, key
among the needed changes is agricultural market
reforms and digital solutions to connect farmers to
markets, creation of safety nets and provision of
reasonable working conditions, and decentralized
food systems, especially for vulnerable
communities.
Likewise, Phillipson et al., [11], suggested about
pandemic and its implications for rural economies
that COVID-19 will stimulate many examples of
innovative community and business responses and
adaptation across rural areas. Necessity is an
important driving force for rural business
innovation. For instance, some creative and digital
businesses are taking advantage of opportunities
afforded by people working from home. Some
businesses are also likely to face additional demand
or identify complementary or alternative products
and markets, and in turn these will require
innovation in their processes, goods and services.
3 Research Methodology
This is a qualitative study which began with the
literature review about the community enterprise in
processed agricultural product sector, and the
strengthen of grassroots economy. Then the
researcher conducted the in-depth interviews with
stakeholders and representatives from community
enterprises in the processed agricultural product
sector. There were total 18 participants from all six
regions of Thailand. Sample group was selected
purposively, by recruiting the directors and
members of community enterprises which have been
processing agricultural products and registered with
the Department of Agricultural Promotion for at
least five years. The enterprises must originate from
the local members. Participants also include
agricultural scholars, community developer, and
scholars in the related field. The research instrument
is the structured focus-group questions form which
is approved by the Ethic Committees for the
Research Project in Human Subject of
Srinakharinwirot University, with clearance number
SWUEC-425/2564E. The questions content is
related to the approaches for potential development
of community enterprises in processed agricultural
products, problems, and adaptation towards
grassroots community development. The researcher
gathered information from the field study from
November 2021 to May 2022. The information is
further synthesised into the conclusion of
approaches for development which can become
policy suggestion in the future.
4 Research Results
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, production and
consumption had been slowed down. As a result,
employment in the production sector decreased
especially in the small-and-medium-size enterprises.
Freelancers and labours received harsher impact in
comparison to large enterprise. On the other hand,
the importance of the community economy
increases as it is the source of employment in each
area for the labours who return home. It is thus
expected that in the future there will be increasing
collaborations in various ways among communities,
such as joint production, distribution, and marketing
which will benefit all the parties. Community
enterprises therefore play the roles as the foundation
of community economy, from the household to the
local scales. According to the study, the researcher
found the following results regarding the problems
and adaptation of community enterprises in
processed agricultural product sector after the
COVID-19.
4.1 Locally-available Raw Materials
Thailand possess high level of agricultural resources
capital, which is the strength of the local community
enterprises who could process locally-available
agricultural produced into products. According to
the in-depth interview, small community
entrepreneurs in Thailand deemed that the fresh
locally-grown raw materials are their strengths.
Moreover, the encouragement towards organic
farming by agricultural policy of the government.
And there are various forms of agricultural
standardization system available. For example,
entrepreneurs from the North-eastern region
(personal communication, November 21, 2021) who
focus on the production resources from local
farmers who attempt to enact the participatory
guarantee systems in the form of “Loei Safety
Food”. This group later expands into the provincial
network of raw material, which includes members
from all 14 districts of Loei province in Thailand.
According to the interview with farmers from
many regions, it was found that most entrepreneurs’
main career is farming. And the produced were sold
mainly while fresh. The remaining produced after
sale and consumption would be processed into
products. For example, community entrepreneurs of
rice farmers from the Southern region (personal
communication, April 4, 2022) explained that from
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the 100% of produced, 50% would be sold as grain,
while 40% would be reserved for household
consumption. Only the rest 10% would be processed
into milled rice, rice cookie, and rice-milk ice cream
for sale. It could be reflected as the attempt not to
waste any produced from their labour. Another
example is the group of pineapple farmers from the
North-eastern region (personal communication,
November 21, 2021) who explained that the
community enterprise aims to find various products
which can be processed from a pineapple, such as
juice, jam, multipurpose stir-fried sauce, and
rambutan with pineapple filling, etc.
In using local materials, products from each
region could express their uniqueness. As the
entrepreneurs were aware of their small size and the
limit in competing with large agricultural business
or entrepreneurs from other region, they shifted their
focus towards the market and consumption trends,
especially the non-toxic farming approaches and the
target customers who are health-concerned.
Focusing on the unique raw material could be their
new strength.
Most members of the community members are
farmers with know-how in farming and planting, as
their ancestors had been farmers too. But they are
adapting and adjusting their non-toxic farming
process, harvesting and storage of raw materials, as
well as the utilization of wisdom to process their
raw materials. For example, entrepreneurs from the
Central and Eastern regions (personal
communication, May 11, 2022) explained their
know-how in the production of sun-dried herbs, the
preservation of colour and fragrance of the herbs,
the process of streaming before sun-drying which
could intensify the herbal fragrance, etc. These
know-hows have been passed through the local
wisdom of their ancestor. Furthermore, the
community entrepreneurs deemed that the
knowledge of raw materials is specific. An example
is that garlic requires a specific period of time to dry
by hanging, in order to ensure enough active
ingredients from the garlic for consumption. It is
therefore both the matter of wisdom and technology.
Nevertheless, the problem in an agriculture-
related product is the fluctuation of amount, as the
raw materials depend on the season and the
productivity level of each batch. Sometimes it might
not be possible to manufacture the products
throughout the year, as some agricultural produced
could not be stored for a long period of time.
Especially in the case of herbal essence, the scent
would disappear naturally without preservative. The
shelf-life of the products may be rather short. And
there could be obstructions in the growing process
which might affect agriculture at the national level,
such as natural disaster, amount of rain, and pest
problems. According to the interview with
community entrepreneurs from the Eastern region
(personal communication, May 10, 2022), there
should be the utilization of knowledge and
technology in farming and processing raw materials.
This viewpoint is also reflected by the community
entrepreneurs from the Northern region (personal
communication, February 15, 2022) who pointed
out that the agricultural sector is facing a major
problem from drought and non-seasonal rain due to
climate change which impacts the Thai farmers.
Hence the entrepreneurs should adapt their
perspective and prepare the solution with the help of
technology in farming, harvesting, storing, and
planning for the consistent production schedule.
In addition, there is also the low-price problem
for agricultural products. As the community
entrepreneur from the Northern region (personal
communication, February 15, 2022) stated that
community enterprise must seek the differentiation
strategy for processing, as when the prices are low
or when there is an over-supply situation, processing
will be required for produces such as mango,
longan, and garlic. This vision could be good in the
long term as “farmers can do less with more
results”. Conventionally, most processing
approaches involve dehydration or dehydration with
peels. But the entrepreneurs should experiment or
utilize new knowledge in processing which can add
value to the raw materials. This way the farmers will
become entrepreneurs who could offer local
products and brand values. As a result, local
employment will increase as well as the new
business concepts.
4.2 Community Enterprise Administration
Overall, the internal factors of operation is highly
important in the community enterprise
administration as community enterprise is not a sole
business operation but rather a joint operation by the
community members. Therefore, the administration
process which ensures collaboration is required.
According to the interview with the community
entrepreneurs from the Eastern region, (personal
communication, May 10, 2022) the important
elements in administration consist of capital,
discipline in the leader’s management, and
transparency. Many community entrepreneurs faced
the financial problems due to the conflict in benefit
distribution. Hence, the transparency in finance,
accounting, and financial transactions should be
required in the meeting or informal consulting, as it
could help ensure the success of administration. The
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entrepreneurs from the Northern region (personal
communication, February 15, 2022) reflected that
their community enterprise used technology to
inform their members through Line application,
with the sub-groups which preserved longan,
mango, tea, banana, and Mushroom Nham (a type of
Thai fermented sausage). There are about 20
members in the group, who would respond quickly
to the call for training or other activities such as
production or meeting. This utilization of
technology enhances the administrative agility, and
ensures that all actions come with evidence.
Sharing the same viewpoint, the community
entrepreneurs from the Southern region (personal
communication, April 4, 2022) deemed that
administration requires 1) fairness and transparency,
especially in terms of budget and profit must be
deposited in the central account which is constantly
updated for the members to check. 2) All members
of the enterprise should have the right to express
their opinion towards the direction of administration
or other issues of the enterprise, so everyone shares
the sense of belonging, and 3) the leader of the
enterprise must be eager to seek new opportunities
or knowledge for the groups while also fostering the
external connection which may benefit the
development of the enterprise.
However, this study found that capital and
administration are the challenging issues for the
community enterprises which are based on the small
community. Multiple enterprises could not expand
their operation capacity enough to invest and
therefore have to be concerned about fundraising,
especially when the villagers could not guarantee if
the investment will pay off. Although the
government policy aims to encourage high quality
products, but fundraising by the villagers is still
required due to the limited budget from the
government. It was also found that most
entrepreneurs could not accept the risk of joint-loan
from the government’s financial institution. For
example, the entrepreneurs from the Eastern region
(personal communication, May 10, 2022) deemed
that their group avoid the loan which could later
become burden of debt, but rather seek the approach
to raise capital for production and then distribute
profit to their members, so that the members could
participate in the operation and be responsible as the
owners and salespersons.
Additionally, there is an overall problem in the
operation to increase the value of processed
agricultural products, especially the obstruction
towards the high-level of processing or the
development towards commercial competition. As
the local community enterprises in Thailand are
generally small, while the important factors in
processed agricultural products are the quality and
standard of products, many enterprises could not be
certified for ingredients and production process.
Standardization is important as it could open up
both local and international marketing opportunities.
For example, in order to be selected as the OTOP
products, the processed food products must be
approved from the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA). And according to the interview with
villagers who manufacture processed agricultural
products, it was found that most products which are
selected as OTOP are all kinds of products other
than food. On the other hand, the single
entrepreneur generally has capital and capacity to
manufacture processed agricultural products while
swiftly applying for the product standard
certification. But in the case of small community
enterprises, they must invest the stock in order to
prepare the standardized factory. Furthermore, lots
of documents are required for approval. Therefore,
many potential community entrepreneurs still
struggle with the FDA standard.
Moreover, the interview reveals that community
entrepreneurs from many regions are aware of their
small size. Even if they are able to provide unique
products and services, but there are times when the
production capacity reaches the limits. As a result of
lacking the plan to cope with large amount of
orders, community entrepreneurs often lose such
business opportunities.
Regarding the context of future expansion,
many community enterprises increase their
production capacity by requesting members to farm
in each member’s land, and the enterprises simply
process the raw materials. Although the
administration of human resources will be
increasingly problematic for the community
enterprises, as there is the lack of labours in the
local area. This issue is in the line with Elbehri et
al., [12], pointed out that there are particularly
vulnerable to pandemic shocks with a small-scale
economy and limited access to factors of production
(land, labour etc.) and focused on services and
tourism. The informal sector predominates in the
Asia-Pacific and was also badly hit. Informal labour
demand in Asia-Pacific is mainly concentrated on
downstream end of agri-food. However, the
interview with entrepreneurs reveal that most of
them would hire the enterprises’ members for the
daily processing. And generally, the production
scale is based on the household capacity and the
small equipment. Nevertheless, labour management
and ensuring hygiene in the production process must
come together. As the entrepreneurs from the
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Western region (personal communication, May 31,
2022) pointed out that the labours must prepare the
raw ingredient with care. They must wear caps and
gloves during the processing and packing
procedures and thus some levels of training are
required. However, the local members and labours
still lack the tenacity for the meticulous process
designed by the group. And many community
entrepreneurs often struggle with the standard
control of production labour in the small-scale
production from the preparation, processing, to
packing procedure.
The aforementioned issues could reflect the
importance of promoting business knowledge in
administration, standardized manufacturing process,
marketing, finance and accounting system of
community entrepreneurs. The enterprises should
understand the modern concept of administration
which might not have to be complicated but should
at least be updated. There should be the application
of technology such as online system, market access
for selling products, capital access, and business
plan writing of the group in order to expand towards
the national-level commerce. Furthermore,
community enterprise should employ the
administration approaches which do not exclusively
depend on the operation by a single leader.
Although leader could be an important resource for
the development of business and community, but the
improvement of product development level and
administration should be in the form of committees
with participation in good governance of the
enterprise itself.
It is obvious that good administration of
community enterprise will not only generate
circulating income at the most founding community,
but will also develop human resources who will be
able to operate community enterprise with good
governance. People could develop their capacities in
administration. And as a result, the community will
be strong and self-dependent from the community
economy and qualified human resources.
4.3 Development and Extension of Activities
The development of community enterprises in
processed agricultural sector should encourage
utilization of local resources and wisdom together
with modern knowledge in order to differentiate the
product and raise the quality standard. Furthermore,
it could be expanded towards the creation of tourism
promotion activity which could boost the grassroots
economy. There should be a focus on the
community tourism area development, with
connected tourism routes in each region. And the
activity itself could later develop into community
enterprise in agricultural or cultural tourism, with
the community products from local ways of
agricultural life, local wisdom, and connecting arts
and cultural activities which could boost the
community economy.
In the cultural tourism which travellers could
learn from local gurus and join the processing
activities, the interesting point of the community
would be the unique activities which are woven
together into a tour program. For example,
entrepreneurs from the Eastern region (personal
communication, May 10, 2022) extended their
cultural tourism activities which include learning
about palm sugar processing, sustainable economy,
dessert making, cooking local food, and other
activities such as trail running in the community,
and woven them into a tour program. They also
provided local food and products for sale to the
tourists. Another example came from entrepreneurs
from the Southern region (personal communication,
April 4, 2022) who deemed that the origin of the
community enterprise does not only focus on rice
processing, as there is a variety of raw materials
available within the community. Therefore, they
attempted to increase the form of production
activities so that the group members may not depend
solely on selling agricultural products but could also
earn income sustainably from other activities
throughout the year. They also focus on the
community enterprise’s vision to preserve rice
farming knowledge for further generation, by
farming rice, processing rice products, and
organizing agricultural tourism in the name “Rak
Jang Nakorn” (Love Narkorn so much) in order to
increase external awareness of their knowledge.
Despite the fact that the government’s project
such as OTOP Inno-life Tourism-Based Community
could bring forth the trend of tourism area
development to boots grassroots economy at the
community level, but the in-depth interview with
community enterprises revealed that the promotion
of activities did not conform to the objectives of
community. For example, some activities were
transformed in order to host the tourists. In some
cases, there was the promotion of tourism route
without considering the local community’s ways of
life. As entrepreneurs from the Eastern region
(personal communication, May 10, 2022) deemed
that agricultural tourism is specific to some groups
only. Some farmers do not pay attention to organic
farming or tourism which requires content that
represents the unique side of the agricultural area.
So, it is obvious that the promotion of activities
requires the concern of natural capacity,
community’s ways of life, and culture. And such
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promotion should be based on the environment and
resources of the community tourism area.
Meanwhile, there is the possibility to promote
conservational activities and sustainable
development, by following the approaches in
conserving natural resources based on community’s
capital. This approach could encourage sustainable
ecosystem for the agriculture through activities such
as growing mangrove forest, building habitat for
fish, creating learning centre for mangrove forest
ecosystem, including the promotion of other
community’s activity for sustainable development.
The development should be holistic and concerned
about consequence towards other context within the
area. For example, entrepreneurs from the Eastern
region (personal communication, May 10, 2022)
deducted 5% of their profit to return to their society
through activities such as educational funds, field
trip in other area, conservation of community’s
legacy, or improve the green public space, etc.
4.4 Promoting Unique Identity of
Community Agricultural Products Online
The online channel is one of the marketing
innovations which the community utilized as their
marketing strategy in order to follow the changing
trends of the society and increase efficiency by
reducing operation process. There could also be the
online sales and promotion of community products
through social media, while giving public relation
about the identity and story of the local community
and groups of agricultural entrepreneurs. And,
Yueh, and Zheng, [13], stated that are various forms
of communication via message, image, and video
which becomes increasingly popular nowadays.
In an in-depth interview, community
entrepreneur from the North-eastern region
(personal communication, November 21, 2021)
explained that they apply the online channel in
promoting the strength of handmade agricultural
product, by showing the growing and manufacturing
process of agricultural products, especially when
they are grown organically. Because it is hard for
small community enterprise to compete with
industrial production, while the consumption trend
after the COVID-19 pandemic is increasingly
focusing on natural resources and local wisdom. A
group of consumers are returning to the natural
products so there is the potential for organic
agricultural product’s market to grow, especially
among the market of customers who would return
regularly to buy from online channel. The customer
based could be further expanded. So, the
entrepreneurs aim to produce premium-quality
products to target the customers through the
storytelling in the entrepreneurs’ Facebook page,
which could be about the annually-available raw
material, selection of special ingredients, and
utilization of local or traditional wisdom in the
production, etc.
The in-depth interview with entrepreneurs from
many regions reveals the adaptation towards the
situation after COVID-19 pandemic, that some
entrepreneurs are beginning to develop online
marketing channel. For example, entrepreneurs from
the Northern region created a Facebook page of
their community enterprises and promote the quality
and standard of their products such as black garlic,
as well as promote the sales of other community’s
product. Information from the Local Act, [14],
revealed that the online channels such as Facebook
and Line are the top two channels during the
COVID-19 pandemic which the farmers could learn
and access their customers more easily than other
channels.
Nevertheless, the continuous administration of
online channel and other public relation activities is
still a challenge for small community enterprises
who might not be so agile in their creation of
attractiveness and stories of products. They are also
struggling with transportation problem from remote
area in some provinces. Additionally, some of the
entrepreneurs still prefer the easiness of selling
through the physical shop. In this case, the local
government’s scholars deemed that it is necessary to
provide both the onsite and online distribution
channel, and the future online marketing channel
should not be neglected as it is the opportunity for
the entrepreneurs to reach their customers directly.
As a result, they could price their products without
depending on the middleman. However,
entrepreneurs must be concerned about the quality
and the target customers in order to achieve a
suitable price. Similarly, entrepreneurs from the
Southern region deemed that there are quite a few
on-site distribution channels in processed
agricultural products which target the health-
concerned customers. Although the online channel
is expanding nowadays, but the entrepreneurs
believe that the physical shop is still necessary to
ensure confidence for buyer and consumers.
It is obvious that the creation of various
marketing channel could distribute the risk as well
as adapt to the current situation. The continuous
development of products will be an important
approach for the secure administration of
community enterprise in the post-pandemic society.
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4.5 Mechanism of Community Enterprise
Development in Rural Area
External supports, networking, and acceptance of
good interactions are the external factors which
could promote success for community enterprise, as
the local community enterprises could receive
supports and promotion by government agencies
such as the Office of Community Development,
District Agriculture, Provincial Industry,
Department of Community Development, and local
universities, etc.
Many community entrepreneurs focus on self-
reliance and close themselves from the external
agencies’ support, as the groups were concerned that
the agencies might dominate the direction of the
community enterprises. However, community
entrepreneurs from the Eastern region (personal
communication, May 10, 2022) deemed that
entrepreneurs should not overlook the support from
government and other agencies, as mutual supports
are required in some context. There should be
mutual dependence based on the acceptable
collaboration, as the community entrepreneurs
would know that the existing products must be
further developed in terms of knowledge,
production, product standard improvement, and
distribution. Therefore, the entrepreneurs in
processed agricultural products should develop their
understandings in communicating with local
government or private agencies.
However, the in-depth interview with
community entrepreneurs from all six regions reveal
that in most of the case, they are well-supported by
the local government agencies. Entrepreneurs
explained that there are many agencies who work
together to promote community enterprises’
products. Nevertheless, entrepreneurs from the
Central region (personal communication, May 11,
2022) reflected that the government agencies who
support community enterprises could not integrate
the operation among the related agencies. All
department would receive the central policies from
their ministry and implemented the annual issues
encouraged by the central administration. And most
of the activities are similar. Despite the fact that the
government’s action in providing training,
discussion, and updated information of projects and
policies with the villagers, but sometimes the
entrepreneurs saw that the actions are redundant as
all agencies must fulfilled the goals of their own
central administrator, who might work separately.
Even if the Community Enterprise Promotion
Act, 2005 was expected to be the law which
integrate agencies with missions related to
community enterprises, so that they could work
together in supporting the community enterprises
systematically with unity, but agencies with budgets
related to community development still lack the
understanding in the principle of community
enterprises. They therefore turned towards using the
“instant formula” to educate villagers about career.
As a result, the promotion activities followed the
same pattern, such as the form in promotion of
planting and processing agricultural product and
community tourism, etc. Actually, they should begin
by understanding the various contexts of community
enterprises, regarding their readiness to operate each
type of activity. Small communities in many regions
lack the unique local wisdom for products and
services. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the
characteristics of community, their needs, and raw
material resources which could be processed into
value-added products with differentiation, in the
evaluation of community enterprise’s readiness.
Furthermore, the developmental goals should
originate from the community enterprises in
processed agricultural product. Meanwhile, the
enterprises must have some previous operation or
idea of themselves, according to the needs and
objectives of local villagers. Community should
initiate the operation without waiting for agencies to
set them up. And there could be the collaboration
with local university networks in the development
with technology and new knowledge, as the
villagers in small communities may be able to
process and manufacture in the basic level
according to their conventional wisdom. But the
external mechanism will help promoting strength
from knowledge and researches which could further
improve the community products.
Therefore, the integrated administration system
development approach should include mutual
planning of operation among the local government
agencies, in order to solve the problem of
redundancy among agencies. There should be the
clear system of integrated administration in the
development of community enterprises according to
the type and cluster of the entrepreneurs. In
addition, the mutual agreement in planning and
projects could help create the network of
community enterprises and government agencies
which will advance the career development for local
citizens.
4.6 Promoting the New Generation to
Continue the Community Enterprises
The roles of the new generation or the heirs of the
community enterprises are crucial in the
development of know-how from their parents. They
could combine the conventional knowledge and the
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modern knowledge they have learned, and new
innovation could emerge, such as knowledges in
agriculture, processing, modern administration.
They could update the enterprises and utilize
technology in the operation, such as online system,
access to capital resources, and business plan
writing.
Having the new generation to continue the
community enterprises will not only develop the
rural area by encouraging potential and skillful
candidates to stay with the community, reducing
unemployment problem in community, but will also
preserve conventional career and wisdoms which
could be standardized to motivate the next
generation. For example, entrepreneurs in the
Eastern region (personal communication, May 10,
2022) who also lead the community attempted to
preserve the career in palm sugar making within the
area by initiating the sugar palm sprouts bank
project in the community school. As a result,
children would learn how to plant sugar palm and
they could sell sugar palm sprouts as well.
Nevertheless, data collection from community
enterprises in processed agricultural products
revealed the struggle to find new generation to
continue the business in many areas. Community
entrepreneurs from the Western region deemed that
most operation of community enterprises are
responsible by the seniors who know how to
operate. Meanwhile there are few members of the
new generation who participate in learning and
continuing the business as the income is not
attractive enough for the new generation. They
might not continue the business as it could not be
their main income.
Hence, the future operation of community
business should also motivate the new generation to
return to community and continue the business from
the existing capitals. In this way, the new generation
will have career and income, while the existing
community members from the parent generation
who built the foundation for them could be the
supporting wheels to drive the grassroots economy
of the community. Afterwards, the rural area will
become the area for exchanging knowledge between
villages, communities, and the network of the new
generation who return to develop both the economic
and social dimensions of their own hometown. The
existing resources and capital in community would
be cared for while the new generation make their
own careers and solve the community’s problems.
5 Discussion
This article demonstrates that using the locally-
available raw materials could give advantages to the
community enterprises who processed products
from what they grew and produced. As a result,
their processed agricultural products are unique
according to each area. Entrepreneurs would process
the harvested raw material to avoid wasting them
and also add value to those raw materials. They are
increasingly connected to the health-concerned
consumers by adapting towards non-toxic farming
and using unique ingredients. The finding conforms
to the view of Born and Bachmann, [15], that apart
from the increased profit, adding value to the
agricultural products could open up the new market,
bring acceptance to farmers, expand the market
season, and benefit the community. Nevertheless, in
the fast-growing industry of entrepreneurs in food
sector, an interesting alternative is to seek the
growth within just the niche market, where
entrepreneurs could add value by offering specialty.
They could present the quality characteristics, such
as organic certification or the position of health
products. Moreover, this study found that
community entrepreneurs utilize wisdom in the
processing of raw material which requires specific
knowledge, by combining the traditional wisdom to
the simple technology. Similarly, Bragdon and
Smith, [16], stated that individual farmers are able
to integrate variety and technology in their
administration, combine knowledge system, and
decide base on the cultural flexibility and local
context. However, this study also reveals the
problem which the major ingredients for processed
agricultural products must depend on the season. So,
the irregular amount of raw materials impacted the
production. It is obvious that the agricultural sector
is sensitive to the weather conditions and the
impacts of climate change, which do not only come
with long-term changes in general context, but also
change the annual season, the frequency, and the
severity of weather, [17]. Other factors which
impact the productivity in the agricultural sector
include public policies, society, economy, and
technology, [18].
For the administration of community enterprises,
many elements are required to ensure the survival of
small community enterprises. Administration
process of community enterprises require the
willingness and skills of entrepreneurs in coping
with risks. Other requirements include enough
capital, administration skills, and personal skills
such as the ability to connect with external market
successfully, [19]. The in-depth interview revealed
that capital, administration by the leader of
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community enterprise, and transparency are the
important factors. Currently the capital and
administration are the challenges for the enterprises
which base on small community. They struggled in
fundraising to expand production or development of
processing in order to compete commercially. The
finding is similar to the view of Naipinit, Na
Sakolnakorn & Kroeksakul, [20], that Thai
community enterprises struggle with finance and
accounting. Additionally, it is hard for them to loan
from financial institution to invest in business
expansion, as most entrepreneurs lack financial
qualifications and assets or savings which could be
the personal guarantee. As the members of
community enterprises would avoid providing
guarantee for other people’s loan, the community
enterprises therefore lack enough investment. As a
result, they could not buy new technology and
create new things for business expansion.
Furthermore, the context of future growth also
involves the struggle to find labour in the rural area,
as currently they are based on the household labours
or daily employment of community enterprises
members. It is also hard to control production labour
in the small-scale processing in order to ensure
standardized production. This finding is similar to
Mongkhonchairoek and Raksamueng’s study, [21],
that the low level of productivity in community
enterprises reflects the challenge in human resources
and administration, as people prefer to work with
factories rather than community enterprises. And
young adults rarely participate in community
enterprises. Therefore, most labours are senior.
Many community enterprises struggle with high cost
of production and administration, as the hand-made
operation requires long period of time to complete.
However, the administration of community
enterprise should base on the participation of all
members, as it could develop the members in terms
of administration knowledge and their other
capacities. When the community members
participate, it will also increase efficiency and the
quality of enterprise, as well as good attitude in
assisting with work and willingness of the members
to join community activities, [22].
Regarding the development and extension of
activities, community enterprises should utilize local
resources and wisdom to promote community-based
tourism or agritourism, by creating unique activities
in tour program. A such extension could progress
towards other activities throughout the year, which
will sustainably promote local economic
development and product demands, [23]. However,
there are many times when the attempt to promote
activities did not match the community’s objectives,
as the study by Lak and Khairabadi, [24], revealed
that the problem of agritourism activities in the rural
area of a developing country consists of the
incompatibility of tour schedule with highly
conservative community economy and cultural
contexts. On the other hand, the change in lifestyle
welcomes the trend in unique tourism based on
small groups and the trend of living close to nature.
Therefore, the promotion of sustainable preservation
and development activities could be increasingly
popular while also helping to conserve the
agricultural ecosystem. Similarly, Ammirato et al.,
[25], deemed that alternative tourism managed
creatively by the community could bring forth
learning, sustainability of the local environment,
culture, and well-beings. Such initiation not only
benefits the region economically, but also ensures
the continued existence of natural, historical, and
cultural legacy.
In the promotion of unique identity, community
agricultural products could utilize online channel to
communicate the stories of product and community
identity while also creating marketing strategy
through online media. According to this study, it
was found that the community enterprises in
processed agricultural product could adapt to the
situation after COVID-19 pandemic. Several
community entrepreneurs begin to develop online
marketing channel. Nevertheless, the continuous
administration of online channel and other public
relation channels remain challenging for small
community entrepreneurs. And Maikeansarn and
Chantharat, [26], pointed out that farmers must
prepare to access the online market through the
learning of processes and activities. Moreover, they
are required to prepare for online business, by
increasing skills and knowledge in branding,
marketing, and customers behaviours. Farmers must
utilize the business knowledge to access online
channel other than just being the farmer.
Regarding the mechanism to promote local
community enterprises, entrepreneurs should not
ignore the support from government and other
external agencies, as sometimes it could be
necessary to depend on such support in order to be
successful. According to this study, it was found
that many local government agencies worked
together in promoting community enterprises in the
agriculture sector. However, there might be some
limitations for the local government agencies who
must follow the central policies of their ministries.
As a result, some activities might be redundant or
lack the consideration of community enterprises’
various dimensions of readiness. Similarly,
Raungpaka and Savetpanuvong, [27], deemed that a
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low level of collaboration and integration among
government agencies and industry could cause the
island of database, inequality, and non-conformity.
Furthermore, data could be redundant due to
different methods of prediction. Likewise, the study
of Naipinit, Na Sakolnakorn & Kroeksakul, [28],
deemed that operational and supporting units still
lack collaboration to integrate their work.
Government should rethink how to coordinate with
community enterprise, and there should be just a
single agency that operate and promote community
entrepreneurs. Moreover, the goal of development
should come from the group of community
entrepreneurs in processed agricultural product
sector. Community enterprises should have idea
originated from the community’s operation and need
not wait for any agency to set up or promote them
into enterprise.
Regarding the promotion of new generation to
continue the business, during the COVID-19
pandemic, the new generation is increasingly
returning to their communities. Bringing in the
energy of new generation would develop the
community by attracting potential and skillful
candidates to stay. According to this study, the
community enterprises in processed agricultural
products still struggle with the lack of new
generation to continue the business. Most young
adults lack the motivation to participate in
agricultural community enterprises. And they regard
farming as a career which requires hardworking
while the return is low. Similarly, Rado, Lu, Lin, &
Aoo, [29], also pointed out that young adults exist
the agricultural sector towards higher incomes in
other regions in Thailand. Few young farmers would
follow the trace of their parents. Therefore, the new
generation should be taught the attitude to believe in
the biological diversity of rural area, which is not
only important in terms of life sustenance but also
worth financially. Agricultural sector should be
deemed as a graceful business which does not just
feed people but could also generate wealth and well-
beings for the new generation. And the
technological advancement could bring forth a lot of
opportunities for the young adults to update the
agricultural sector to suit the era and the swift and
convenient administration, [30]. Therefore,
government’s policy should focus on motivating the
new generation to join the community enterprises to
continue the business which could drive and support
the foundational economy of the community. They
could become the network of new generation who
return to develop their community, and there should
be the necessary financial support for them to
continue the business.
Regarding the research recommendations, the
research team suggests that development of local
products or services should depend on the resources
and unique wisdom in harvesting specific natural
ingredients, as well as the area’s identity, as the
main raw material for business operation as
community enterprises. The transferred knowledge
should be utilized as the local capital which could
lead the community to rely on themselves
sustainably. In addition, the government’s
mechanism should encourage community
entrepreneurs or local small business to utilize
knowledge, technology, and modern administrative
principles in their operation. Community enterprises
should adapt towards the modern business which
response increasingly to the trend of the consumer
market. Enterprises should focus on modern
administration and increasing capacity of the
entrepreneurs and new generation. Meanwhile, the
support and promotion from the government could
help generate new income base and employment
opportunities to attract labours for the local
community enterprises.
The suggestion in increasing activities,
community and its enterprise should extend the
processing of agricultural products towards cultural-
tourism or agritourism which is suitable to the
geographical, historical, cultural, and potential
context of local people. As a result, business and
employment will expand in the community while
community products will be publicized externally.
Besides, community entrepreneurs should utilize
digital technology in all business operations in order
to increase efficiency in their administration while
also increasing marketing channels for the wider
consumers to access the enterprise’s products and
stories. Meanwhile, the government should provide
knowledge support in online distribution channels
which does not have to be complex but should be
up-to-date. There should be the fair and clear online
marketing policy for agricultural products on online
platform, as they have higher risks in terms of shelf
life, damages, and active ingredients.
Recommendations on collaborating network
among government and private sectors, there should
be the mechanism to integrate local coordination
which will support the expansion of community
business. Such network could follow the context of
local administrative committee, in terms of capital
access, application for standard approval, and other
supports, as a one-stop service centre of the
community which could suitably help entrepreneurs
to plan and manage their business. And also, the
Government sector should present the awareness of
youth participation in modern agriculture which
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could help to nurture positive attitude and
perspective towards agricultural career and
entrepreneurs, motivate the development of new-
generation entrepreneurs in rural area, and create the
network of new-generation entrepreneurs. Local
university students could also be prepared and
encouraged towards being the next generation of
creative entrepreneurs.
6 Conclusion
The study discussed various issues and adaptation of
community enterprises in the processed agricultural
sector. The results demonstrate the need to
sustainably scale up activities in processed
agricultural products after COVID-19.
Applying locally sourced key ingredients in the
processing of agricultural products, providing
unique local ingredient benefits while preventing
oversupply the waste, and also adding local
conventional wisdom have significantly improved
the production process in agribusiness. In addition,
the administration should give consideration by joint
venture challenge and procuring funds to expand
production. However, labour shortages in rural areas
also pose significant challenges for community
enterprise operations. Besides, encouraging
agritourism activities and sustainable ecosystems
should be applied to produce different undertakings
in the context of extension in agricultural activities.
In order to convey the identity of products and the
community of producers, it is indispensable to
implement online distribution channels shifting
through the customer experiences. Finally, it is
about drawing in the younger generation to expand
the business of agricultural processing community
enterprises for supporting long-term community
development.
Acknowledgement:
This research was supported by a grant from
Thailand Science Research and Innovation (TSRI)
with the research grant agreement no. 061/2565.
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Sources of Funding for Research Presented in a
Scientific Article or Scientific Article Itself
This research was supported by a grant from
Thailand Science Research and Innovation (TSRI)
with the research grant agreement no. 061/2565.
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Contribution of Individual Authors to the
Creation of a Scientific Article (Ghostwriting
Policy)
The author contributed in the present research, at all
stages from the formulation of the problem to the
final findings and solution.
Conflict of Interest
The author has no conflict of interest to declare that
is relevant to the content of this article.
Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
(Attribution 4.0 International, CC BY 4.0)
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