วันจันทร์ที่ 15 ธันวาคม พ.ศ. 2551

Thai students win global award for high-tech business plan

“Business plan to develop cattle breeds using biotechnology” by students from Sakon Nakhon Rajabhat University (the champions of the national-level business plan writing contest for university students) won the grand prize at 2008 Global TIC in Taiwan.

Technology Licensing Office of the Technology Management Center (TMC) sent the Phumjai Farm Team from Sakon Nakhon Rajabhat University, to represent Thailand at Global TIC 2008 (Talentrepreneur Innovation & Collaboration Association) , held in Taipei, Taiwan. Phumjai Farm Team won the top award in the Best Social Entrepreneurship category, taking home certificates, a medal and US$ 3,000 in prize money.

Phumjai Farm Team wrote and presented a business plan to produce high-quality beef encompassing ways of improving the efficiency of livestock farms with a closed farm system, promoting cattle raising among small-scale farmers through contract farming, and ways of improving the quality of frozen beef products to sell in the world market at competitive prices. Their plan showed a way to add value to Thai beef products and raise the standard of living of farmers in Northeastern Thailand. Also, the team introduced artificial insemination technology to improve the local breed of cattle in order to yield the better marbled quality of meat and embryo transfer technology to increase productivity by allowing the best females in the breeding program to produce more than one calf per year.

The goal of the business plan is to produce high quality frozen beef for sale in the domestic market and for export. The plan could be practically implemented at an investment cost of about Bht65 million. If all went well according to plan, it would generate profits of 20% the first year and reach the break-even point in two years, assuming the price of high-quality beef remains about Bht1,500 per kilogramme. The strong points of Phumjai Farm Team’s plan are that it could create a new business while providing a good career and increased income for farmers. By comparison, the business plans submitted by other teams relied so much on advanced technology that they would be difficult to put into practice.

The members of Phumjai Farm Team are Sarawut Panyasarn, Satit Chatiphod, Nont Duangpakdee, Kaneungnit Tongkliang, and Waleerat Suktawee. Their academic adviser was Thanakorn Rachapila.

Phumjai Farm Team won the first runner-up prize (the grand prize was not awarded) in New Technopreneur Search 2007 organized by TMC.

# # #

ไม่มีความคิดเห็น: