Increasing Community Income through Collaboration between the Government and Private Sector in Social Enterprise: Case Study of Organic Vegetable Cultivation in Tambon Ban Ton, Phrayeun District, Khon Kaen Province

Abstract

                This research had the following objectives:(1) To study collaboration between the government and private sector in social enterprise by conducting a case study of organic vegetable cultivation in Tambon Ban Ton, Phrayeun District, Khon Kaen Province; and (2) To study the effect of public-private collaboration on raising the income of the community from organic vegetable cultivation in Tambon Ban Ton, Phrayeun District, Khon Kaen.
                This research was a qualitative study. Data were collected by in-depth interviews with seven key informants, including one from the government sector, one from the private sector, and five members of the Community Enterprise Group of Tambon Ban Ton, Phrayeun District, Khon Kaen Province. This study had the following findings:
                1) There was public-private collaboration during implementation of the organic vegetable cultivation in four dimensions: (1) Marketing, including planning and preparation, identifying markets, and processing raw product; (2) Production, including training to increase knowledge on vegetable cultivation and harvesting crop; (3) Management, including implementation in accordance with a structure, roles and responsibilities of enterprise group members; and (4) Finance and accounting, including funding for start-up costs, creation of a revolving loan fund, and training in balancing income and expenditures.
                 2) The public-private collaboration in support of the community enterprise helped strengthen the host community in the following ways: (1) Management: The enterprise was able to double the yield from the organic vegetable cultivation; (2) Marketing: Sales of product doubled; (3) Increased knowledge: Participants learned how to minimize capital costs in the purchase of fertilizer; (4) Public relations: Participants learned how to add value to the product through branding; and (5)Capital fund management:Participants were able to expand the area for organic vegetable cultivation.

Article history : Received 27 February 2021
                             Revised 1 April 2021
                             Accepted 5 April 2021
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