BUFFALO RESCUE SAVES FARMERS

       Ten years ago, there were about 6 million water buffaloes in the Kingdom. Today there are less than a million," said Wanlop Chearavanont who heads the charity arm of Thailand's biggest farm conglomerate Charoen Pokphand.
       "This is why since 2002, we have been involved with His Majesty the King's projects to save the buffaloes from extinction."
       The sharp decline is a result of rapid industrialisation of the farms where tractors replaced the beast as the traditional way of ploughing the land for many centuries.
       "Millions of buffalo were killed for meat, as farmers assumed they were no longer needed and were too costly to keep," he adds.
       "But now, with the price of fuel shooting up and the cost of tractors [costing more than Bt700,000] jumping beyond the means of most farmers, the buffalo are again their only hope.
       "It was HM the King who foresaw the danger of losing them, which puts farmers at the mercy of inflation and prolonged recessions.
       "Many farmers now appreciate His Majesty's efforts and have gone back to using their natural partner."
       "Each year, the group donates 200 buffalo to farmers under the Royal Water Buffalo Bank project, which buys buffalo destined for the slaughterhouse.
       The initiative is conducted twice a year in Thailand: on Mother's Day and Father's Day.
       Wanlop, 71, has spent the past three decades supporting more than 100 corporate-social-responsibility programmes, which includes presenting 150 scholarships to poor student a years.
       He said the royal projects were of special importance because His Majesty's understanding of the problems of farmers went deeper than the superficial minds of some bureaucrats and politicians.
       "I'm very frustrated by how slow the government works, even when issues such as energy and water shortages are clearly acute."
       Water conservation, which should be easy to apply, is for several decades delayed because of slow action by state officials, he said.
       "His Majesty had urged for the construction of irrigation canals like those built by King Chulalongkorn in Rangsit to prevent flooding, as well as the conservation fresh water supplies," Wanlop said.
       The infrastructure, now a century old, has protected Bangkok and allowed it to prosper. But now, an increased populace and land subsidence demands building a second irrigation canal system.
       "These canals cut across rivers, channelling water deep inland and prevent the wasteful discharge of vital fresh water supplies straight into the sea," he said.
       "Whenever I ask bureaucrats why nothing is done, they say the World Bank does not fund canals, only dams.
       "I'm constantly saddened bny corruption and inaptitude. The needs of the people should not be so shoddily ignored."
       Wanlop is a close cousin of CP Group chairman Dhanin, who is ranked among Asia's wealthiest people by Forbes magazine.
       "Our family members all share His Majesty's concerns and worthy causes," Wanlop said.
       Wanlop and Dhanin are greatly influenced by the Christian schools they attended.
       "I went to Assumption College, which was run by St Gabriel, and Sarasit Phittayalai, a boarding school run by the Salasian order.
       "Both schools profoundly influenced me to make social contributions," he said.
       Founded in 1921, CP employs more than 250,000 people worldwide.