Digital

     Currently, the health trend is strong. Consumers are paying more attention to their own health, resulting in an increase in organic farming. This can be seen from the number of organic farming promotion of more than 320,000 rai last year (data from the 2019 annual report of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives). Organic farming is a production system that does not use chemicals at any stage. It emphasizes soil improvement with manure, compost, and organic fertilizers, as well as proper water and planting area management. Due to differences in soil in each region, it is suitable for growing different types of plants. Growing plants that are not suitable for the soil and not recording planting data slows down the growth of the produce, making it impossible to harvest on schedule and of poor quality. Khon Kaen University, led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Thidarat Boonmas, Vice President for Innovation and Enterprise, has a mission to use knowledge and research to improve the quality of life of the people and to encourage students to become startups. Evidence from the work of students in the Computer Science program, Faculty of Science, has invented the “Plook Rai Dee” platform. The IoT BOX device measures the pH, moisture in the soil, and light, and analyzes the data to rank the vegetables that are most suitable for growing according to their conditions. The results are displayed through an application that records data from the beginning of planting to harvesting. Including providing knowledge on the use of technology to farmers, which will help produce good quality products at a good price. Mr. Atchawin Niyomphan, one of the students in the Plook Rai Dee team, revealed that “We have received opportunities from the university’s support through the Innovative Startup project to fill up our marketing knowledge and support for prototype development. Therefore, we are constantly developing technology to make it easy for farmers to understand and use. We are expanding the market to create awareness in the Northeast before expanding nationwide.” Agriculture has long been an important industry and a strength of Thailand. Driving the economy under the policy framework