The cabinet on Tuesday approved an action plan to drive bio-, circular and green (BCG) economic development between 2022 and 2027 with a total budget of almost 41 billion baht.
Government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said the action plan is based on the ambition to implement sustainable economic growth and generate more income, using technology and innovation to upgrade the quality of life for Thais and rehabilitate natural resources and biodiversity.
He said the action plan comprises four strategies, with the first meant to build sustainability among natural resources, biodiversity and culture, given a budget of 2.29 billion baht. Significant projects include the Thailand biodiversity genome project and natural resource rehabilitation.
The second strategy is to use technology and innovation to strengthen the grassroots and creative economies with a total budget of 1.82 billion baht.
Significant projects include those that aim to optimise universities to develop community businesses, as well as using apps and platforms to develop markets to upgrade the quality of street food and human resources.
The third strategy is to strengthen the competitiveness of BCG by focusing on five sectors: farm and food; wellness and medical; energy and bioproducts; tourism; and the creative and circular economy, with a budget of 33.3 billion baht.
The government aims to raise the revenue of the five sectors by at least 1 trillion baht and upgrade the contribution of the service sector to GDP to at least 20%.
The fourth prong is to strengthen human resources to respond to global changes, operating with a budget of 3.2 billion baht. Significant projects include smart farming and youth startup funds.
The BCG plan is expected to be directed by a management committee chaired by the prime minister. The action plan was approved by the committee on Feb 7.
The government placed BCG on the national agenda to speed up development because the sectors can increase the value of farm products and BCG is part of a global development trend.
The BCG strategic plan covers four sectors: farm and food; healthcare and medical services; energy and biochemicals; and tourism and the creative economy.
The government vows to develop the bio-economy, as more than 30 million people work in the farm sector, yet most remain in poverty.
The development plan calls for the government to increase the value of farm products and generate more income for the farm sector.
