The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives confirms it is fully ready to host . The event promises to be a big one, with representatives from more than 60 countries including ministers from at least 13 nations confirming their participation. All these representatives will come together to address water-related problems and build food security. The Royal Irrigation Department will welcome the forum’s participants to the royally-initiated Huai Hong Khrai Royal Development Study Center. An exhibition will also be staged to show HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s irrigation talents to the world. All these moves are expected to establish Thailand as the ASEAN’s irrigation hub.
           
Today (10 October 2016), Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister General Chatchai Sarikulya presides over the press conference on the upcoming 2nd World Irrigation Forum (WIF2) and 67th  International Executive Council Meeting (67th  IEC Meeting) at his minustry.
               
The minister says Thailand has won the honor to host these international important meetings because the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) has recognized that Thailand has the biggest irrigation potential and abilities in the region. The WIF2 and 67th IEC Meeting will be held between 6 and 12 November 2016 at the Chiang Mai International Exhibition and Convention Centre, Chiang Mai province, under the theme of Water Management in Changing World : Role of Irrigation for Sustainable Food Production.         

“About 1,200 ministers, high-level officials, ambassadors, educational-institute executives, water-management and irrigation academics from 60 nations have confirmed their participation. Of them are ministers from 13 nations namely China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, Sudan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Zimbabwe. At this point, more than 10 other nations are in the process of responding to our invitation,” General Chatchai adds.
               
The two meetings have three main objectives: 1) Exploring management guideline to achieve the balance of water, food and energy and balanced ecological system; 2) Jointly formulating proper measures to deal with climate change that has aggravated floods and drought; and 3) Planning the utillization of irrigation and water-draingage system to reduce poverty and famine. The development of adequate water sources, considered basic necessities, for small-scale farmers will be solutions.
               
“The government has accorded much importance to hosting these meetings, because the move will not only showcase Thailand’s advanced irrigation to the world but also to indirectly stimulate the country’s economy and tourism. Most important of all, these two meetings will be the forums to present HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s water-management talents to other countries. We will stage an exhibition featuring royally-initiated irrigation projects that cover upstream, midstream and downstream areas. The exhibition will be open to members of the public too between 7 and 8 November 2016,” the Thai minister of agriculture and cooperatives says.
               
Moreover, the Royal Irrigation Department will use the royally-initiated Huai Hong Khrai Royal Development Study Center in Chiang Mai’s Doi Saket district as the venue to welcome participants in the meeting, including the ministers from various nations. At the center, the visitors will be able to clearly witness the king’s water-management ability that has successfully given abundance to 8,500 rai of the otherwise-parched land. The Huai Hong Khrai Royal Development Study Center is a perfect study center whereby people can come in and study various useful activities for forest manegement, water-source development and occupational promotion in the fields of agriculture, fisheries, livestock and agricultural industry. Indeed, the center has lived up to the king’s intention to set up a "living museum of nature". In all, the center has presented the “outcome of development” and give knowledge for people to apply to great effects.
               
General Chatchai concludes that the WIF2 will also provide a forum for farmers, the beneficiaries of irrigation systems, to exchange their knowledge and experices with others . From Thailand will be four smart farmers. They will meet with more than 10 other smart farmers from various other countries including Sudan, India and Iran, enjoying the opportunities to build up their knowledge, boost their abilities, bolster their strengths and skills, recive new experiences, and acquire the greater potential to support new-generation farmers. All these things will pave way for the sustainable agricultural development in Thailand, enabling the country to become the world’s agrcultural food hub in line with the government policy.