Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Day 2 Part I: Rice is Life

The world’s largest rice processing facility, in Nakornluang, serves as CP’s headquarters. Today, we got the opportunity to visit and tour the facility. In the morning, Mr. Thammavit and Mr. Surachai spoke with us about the rice improvement process, relationships with the farmers, and sustainability. CP believes strongly in tradition and purchases the rice directly from Thai farmers. Their strategy to ensure quality engages farmers throughout the entire growing season; they visit rice paddies, offer free seminars, and sell fertilizer to help produce quality rice. 


From left to right: Mr. Paradon Munro,  Maria Jose Sanchez Arietta, Adriana Arango,  Mr. Surachai, Samantha Yellen, Maira Zamir,  and Margaret Lynch


Afterwards we toured the facility with our first stop at the administration room.  Huge computers lined the room; it seemed as if we had been transported to NASA or the CIA. Next CP set up a rice tasting in order to compare taste, texture, color and aroma of different rice varieties and crop years. It was amazing how much age changed the qualities in the rice- the older crop had much more texture. I definitely preferred the sticker and lighter new crop. My favorite part of the trip was the lab techniques that CP technicians showed us. A number of lab tests collected data about the rice to analyze the quality. For example, we saw how a colorimeter measured the colors of rice and iodine revealed the difference between white and jasmine rice grains. We ended the excursion with a visit to the older factory in Wang Daeng to get in touch with the company’s history.

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