Through Thailand’s Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) training supported by the SCALA programme, Kritsana Thongpheng has learned how to turn knowledge into practical action. She now plants green manure crops such as sunn hemp to naturally enrich the soil and produce bio-pesticides from local plants to reduce chemical use. Unlike many farmers who resort to burning their crop lands – a widespread practice in Thailand to quickly clear fields and control pests, but one that contributes to air pollution and soil degradation – Kritsana avoids fire altogether. 

“Soil is like our skin,” she says. “If we burn it, it takes a long time to heal.”

Today, she is more than a farmer—she is also a mentor to other women in her local farming community, leading by example in a field that has been long dominated by men. Kritsana shares her methods with neighbors, proving that resilience is not just about surviving climate change, but transforming it into an opportunity for women to thrive too. Despite recurring floods and pest outbreaks, her yields have remained stable and her example is helping shift local farming practices toward more sustainable, climate-resilient methods.

For Thanya Tumhom, who also grows maize, good recordkeeping and homemade organic fertilizer once seemed unnecessary or too complex. But as the impacts of climate change became more visible with hotter temperatures, delayed rainy seasons and shifting pest patterns —she decided to change her approach. With SCALA support and GAP training, she began experimenting with new methods.

“Before, ten rai gave me only nine tonnes of maize,” she says. “Now it’s twelve or thirteen. GAP really helped—it’s not difficult. You just do it step-by-step.”