Her friends call her Nina, which is also her Instagram name. However, there is so much more to this wonder-woman of Thailand than an Instagram presence. Meet Suparatana Bencharongkul - the Millennial daughter and heir apparent to Boonchai Bencharongkul, the telecom billionaire, Chairman and Founder of DTAC, the mobile service provider.
But Suparatana is not just another ordinary billionaire's daughter. She does have an influential social media presence and inhabits the super-rich, glamorous world.
However, she is in the news for all the right reasons, and not just for her impressive social media presence. She happens to be the main force that is driving the revolutionary advancements in Thailand's agriculture. Her vision is perhaps different from that of many other Millenials. She seeks to help farmers become more profitable and produce a higher quality of yield by using innovative technologies.
Where does Suparatana get her ideas from?
Suparatana's father, Boonchai Bencharongkul, is not only a successful businessman but is also an art collector. DTAC is the third-largest phone operator in Thailand. While he inherited the family business from his father, Suchin, at a young age of 27, he persevered through multiple lawsuits and debt to build the telecommunications business.
It was he who sowed the ideas of appreciation and gratitude towards farmers in his young daughter's impressionable mind. The environment in which a child grows and the values the family teaches have a great influence on its outlook on life.
Nina's father told her that the farmers have the most important job of feeding everyone in the world. It is the responsibility of everyone to recognize, respect, and appreciate what farmers do.
This tenet entrenched deeply in her mind, Suparatana traversed her formative phase with a simple and single goal - to revere the earth and to improve the life of farmers.
Her passion for agriculture is born from these very seeds of appreciation and gratitude sown in her mind by her father.
Merging tradition and technology to transform agriculture
Thailand is one of the world's leading rice producers, and rice exports contribute significantly toward the nation's GDP. While this indicates the central role that agriculture plays in Thailand's economy, it also highlights the critical importance of boosting the efficiency and productivity of farming in line with technological advancements.
Suparatana believes, rightly, that to take the Thai economy to higher levels, it is important to take the agricultural sector and farming processes to the next level. And doing this involves the use of cutting-edge, smart technology and data analytics that can boost efficiency and maximize yield.
It also does not end with infusing current technologies into agricultural practices but requires ongoing innovation for new applications, platforms, and technologies. And this is the sole mission and vision of Suparatana Bencharongkul.
Suparatana is the COO of Rakbankerd Group, a subsidiary of Benchachinda Group owned by her family. The first-hand exposure and experiences she had in her formative years have helped her gain a clear understanding of what challenges farmers face.
Her company's efforts are focused on solving these challenges through the use of smart technology, including unmanned aviation systems, artificial intelligence, and robotics, to boost yields per acre and to enhance the quality of produce.
She is also focused on:
Making the best use of all agricultural resources, including water, fertilizers, chemicals, and fuel
Reducing carbon footprint and environmental impact
Mitigating other threats to crop
Nina is actively working with partners and farmers to drive agri-tech revolution and to solve farming-related challenges in Thailand. She firmly believes technology has immense applications and can transform the agricultural sector in Thailand. She seeks to promote precision farming techniques that will optimize productivity and profits.
Leading the way
Under her able leadership, her company is already making leeways into a sector that has not fully adopted smart technology. She successfully orientated many Thai agriculturists and farmers towards a forward-thinking, digital approach, which helps remove the guesswork out of farming. Intelligent use of data provides insightful analytics that helps in informed decision-making.
Suparatana's initiatives and projects are being adopted at an incredible pace across Thailand. More and more agriculturists and farmers are embracing new ways of farming.
Suparatana has under her belt an impressive array of initiatives. One such platform is the Info Application, created specifically to provide regular updates on current trends to farmers in Thailand that serves to help in adopting best practices. She has also founded Fulfilled Initiatives, Alivio, Subuyamarket, Rakbankerd Products, among others.
Juggling many roles
Another impressive aspect of Suparatana is the expert juggling of her agri-tech work at Rakbankerd, her charity focus, and her social billionaire lifestyle. She showcases her ultra-rich lifestyle on social media but also utilizes the same platform to raise awareness on the technological opportunities that can be leveraged by others. All aspects of Nina's life are focused on achieving the single goal of connecting people and enriching the lives of communities.
