The Royal Chitralada Projects is set in Chitralada Villa, the royal residence of Their Majesties the King and Queen in Bangkok. The term makes one think of splendour and magnificence, which are shared by royal palaces all over the world.
But is there any other royal palace in the world like Chitralada Villa where there are rice fields, Nil fish ponds, Suan Chitralada Dairy Farm, Tissue culture plant, mushroom cultivation unit and various kinds of pilot factories? All these projects concern tests and experiments in agriculture and agricultural products. Agriculture work is the main occupation of the Thai people. The Royal Chitralada Projects, as a result, were initiated to undertake research studies to find to the root causes of the problems as well as create a practical knowledge base. Probably, there is no other royal palace like this in the whole world.
In 1961 His Majesty King Bhumibol ordered the Rice Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives to improve varieties of rice for both transplanted and upland rice fields to be planted at Chitralada Villa.
In carrying out the project, Mom Rachawong Thepparit Devakul used a six-wheeled tractor with a 8.5 hp diesel engine (Iron tractor) to plough the land. His Majesty personally gave instructions to readjust the tractor, making it suit the work better. His Majesty also drove the tractor by himself and went to the demonstration plot regularly to observe and to record the progress of growth of the rice that he personally sowed at each stage in detail until its harvest. Then His Majesty understood the obstacles that the peasants had experienced and tried to find ways to overcome them.
His Majesty once gave the following message to the leading farmers in the whole country.
"...We have had some occasions to study and try farm work and are well aware that farming is hard work with quite a few obstacles to overcome. The first requisite is improved grain strains and there are various processes to follow before obtaining substantial results. There is one more thing. The rice field after the farming season is over, should be utilized to plant some other crops. That will not only bring in a sizable extra income, but also loosen the soil, increase its natural fertilizer content, thus improving the quality of soil and making it more fertile for the next farming season...."
Since then, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives has requested His Majesty for the rice seeds from the demonstration plot at Chitralada Villa to be distributed accordingly at the end of the First Ploughing Ceremony yearly and the seeds have been granted and packed in small packets and given free to the on looking farmers from every corner of the country to be sowed as blessed seeds in their own fields.
The service of rice milling is another big problem for the farmers. His Majesty was concerned that the farmers would have to sell their paddy (unhusked rice) to the rice mills at a low price and buy polished rice for their own consumption at a high price. Consequently, a model rice hulling mill was set up at Chitralada Villa and in May 1971 rice was hulled there for experiment. Then farmers were encouraged to set up a cooperative and build a rice mill in their locality so that they would not have to hire others to polish their rice or sell their unhusked rice cheaply.
The husk, a by-product of polishing rice, was ground and made into bars in a test in 1986 and it was found that they could be used in place of coal. The next year several kinds of green fuel were produced from ground chaff, bagasse, orange rind and water hyacinths, all unused materials from The Royal Projects.
The storage of paddy (unhusked rice) is another problem for farmers who are troubled by floods and animals. For this, His Majesty the King advised them to make a choice from different types of granaries to reduce the loss to a minimum. At The Royal Chitralada Project, there are two in use, a silo from New Zealand and a cooperative -type wooden barn.
The royal project for fish ponds started in 1952 when His Majesty raised Tilapia mossambica in a pond at Amphon Palace. Later, fish of this species were bestowed on every village head and district chief of the whole country for widespread breeding.
On 25 March 1965, His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, then Crown Prince Akihito, presented 50 fish of a Japanese species to our King who placed them in a pond at The Royal Chitralada Projects and bestowed the name Nil fish (Tilapia Nilotica) on them. At present, this variety of fish has spread to every water body in this country and has become an important cash fish.
Now with rice field, rice milling and Nil fish ponds, who would believe that at this Chitralada Villa, there would be a wood of yang na trees (Dipterocarpus alatus) growing too. The King's idea to grow these trees at this residence occurred to him in 1961when His Majesty moved to st