ข่าววิชาการ-วิจัย-สัมมนา

Walailak University has reinforced its role as a leader in place-based research for sustainability by signing a research agreement with Bangchak Corporation Public Company Limited for “Farm to Fly: Growing Pongamia Forests (Energy Crop) as Feedstock for Biofuel Production.”

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suwit Wuthisuthimethavee, Vice President for Strategic Planning and Good Governance, and Ms. Sathita Rattano, Acting Director of the Center for Smart Farming and Landscaping Architecture, represented the university at the signing. Dr. Surachai Sathitkunarat, President of the Office of the National Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO), witnessed the agreement. Executives from Kasetsart University, Rajamangala University of Technology Isan and King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang also attended the ceremony, held on November 10 at Bangchak’s Phra Khanong Refinery in Bangkok.

The project will study the potential of Pongamia (known in Thai as yi nam), a leguminous tree that produces natural oil. Its seeds can be processed into biofuel, supporting the development of clean energy innovations. The research is planned as a 10-year collaboration, with an initial three-year phase. Trials will cover more than 100 rai (about 16 hectares) across several provinces, including farm plots, forest-style plantations and the rehabilitation of saline and degraded land.

Walailak University will lead the Southern Thailand model. Drawing on expertise from the Plant Genetic Conservation Project under the Royal Initiative of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, and on joint research with the Ban Khao Wang Cardamom Group in Ron Phibun District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, the university has designed an innovative system that intercrops Pongamia with cash crops and medicinal herbs, particularly Thai cardamom.

The model is intended as a prototype for efficient land use. It would also give farmers supplementary income while they wait for Pongamia trees to mature, helping strengthen local economies and protect the environment over the long term.