Crops In Paak Nua

[Nepal4me]

I have recently purchased over 200 rai around Kampaengphet in Paak Nua. I'm actually considering buying a bunch more. Yes it's all in my wife's name and no, I'm not worried about losing this investment. Even if things went south with my wife, I want her to have lots of assets because she's still the mother of my kids. Anyway, we have a fantastic family together so that's not an issue. (just need to state that so the topic stays on track :-)

Initially I thought about growing rubber trees and growing other crops inbetween the RT's for the first 4 or 5 years. I'm still thinking of doing this but am now thinking that a diversification of crops might be a better long term plan. Eggs in one basket etc.

As I look more into this it seems their are some crops that can generate a lot of revenue per rai. For example.

Mansampalang (tapiocca) can return you 20,000 ba/rai/per harvest. However the harvest is once per 2 years. Can be harvested once a year but the return is less than 50% of the 2 year harvest. That 20,000 return is after expenses other than the 35% my wife's family would take for doing the physical work.

Cucumbers can return as much as 60,000 ba/rai in the non-cucumber season. The time from planting to harvest is only 6 weeks or so, so that is a tremendous return. In the normal cucumber season, the return should not be less than 15,000 ba/rai. I understand cucumber land must be rotated, so after you finish your harvest, you must grow another crop there before you can grow cucumbers again. It is quite labour intensive to harvest cucumbers so those numbers would be before paying the 35 to 40% to the people doing the harvesting.

I wonder if anybody has any comments on my above projections for "man" and cucumbers? Feel free to tell me if I'm all wrong on this. I'm going by hearsay so none of the above has any certainty for me as yet. Anybody have experience with man and cucumbers?

Also, and this is probably the real crux of my post. What would you farmer types out there recommend as the best crops for getting the most return for my money. Also comment if the costs to grow are high and if the crop is highly or lowly physically intensive.

A couple of other comments on the land I bought. Even though it is a few different plots, all the land is flat, very very flat. The soil varies a bit, mostly is quite good soil that would be ideal for RT's or other crops. Some of the land is a bit 'sandy' and mansapalang grows well on this land.

There is a ton of water available on all the land, the land mostly previously had sugercane growing on it.

I can and will irrigate the land as much as possible. Water is abundant all year long and the land is very flat as mentioned. Mostly will just irrigate by pump and via dirt trenches, not so efficient but since there is no shortage of water.... I had another thread on irrigation and I haven't really got it all figured out yet.

Anyway, hope to hear back with suggestions on which crop(s) provide best return on investment. Thanks......................

[slapout]

Wish I could tell you the answer to your question but farming sucess is determined by weather, rainfall, insects, man, and prices. Someone with more farm experience than me will probably add to this list. I find prices for a crop vary depending on who quotes, fellow selling stock for planting, fellow selling fertilizer and or chemicals, farmer trying to sell crop and recover costs, middle man buying to resale to vendors. Guess the only price that is worth anything is what the farmer can get from the latter, and that varies from day to day depending on factors such as demand, supply, and how everyone fells at the time transaction takes place. I farm as a hobby here, so I cant tell you how to make money on investment, but try to find a crop that does well on the soil type, such as watermelon and or cantalope in sandy soil. Red onions bring a much higher price than white or yellow, so this is something to consider. Good luck, like your idea of diversity, it has worked for many serious farmers. I always kept a job where I got a paycheck once a month to support my farming activities.

[billd766]

I live in Klong Lan about 65km southwest of Khampaeng Phet and the local price of man saparang is around 2,000 baht a ton (at least I assume it is a ton). At your estimates you would need to harvest around 10 tons a rai which would be great and if you can do it seriously please PM me so that I can get my wife to learn how. We have about 20 rai in 2 plots, one has water from the klong most of the year round and we live on the other side of the road and in the last few years the water ran out around the end of January and being as this side is on a rock base we cannot drill a borehole. My wife tells me that this year they have dug a borehole elsewhere so that the moo ban will not run out but I have filed that along side of the telephone line that TOT and TT&T have promised every year for the last 4 years.

[pete_r]

20,000 Bahts for mansampalang seems about right per hectare, but not per rai.

As far as I know, typical yields for mansampalang are in the range 14-20 tons per hectare, depending on how much fertilizer you apply (maximum I've seen reported is 30 tons/ha).

The price of the roots is between 1000 and 2000 Bahts/ton depending on the supply and demand (demand is on the increase due to the development of bio-ethanol), so if you got a yield of 15 tons/ha sold at 1500 Bahts/ton, you could expect 22,500 Bahts per ha, before deducing any expenses.

22500 Bahts/ha correspond to 3600 Bahts/rai (1 ha = 6.25 rai).

[Nepal4me]

Wish I could tell you the answer to your question but farming sucess is determined by weather, rainfall, insects, man, and prices. Someone with more farm experience than me will probably add to this list. I find prices for a crop vary depending on who quotes, fellow selling stock for planting, fellow selling fertilizer and or chemicals, farmer trying to sell crop and recover costs, middle man buying to resale to vendors. Guess the only price that is worth anything is what the farmer can get from the latter, and that varies from day to day depending on factors such as demand, supply, and how everyone fells at the time transaction takes place. I farm as a hobby here, so I cant tell you how to make money on investment, but try to find a crop that does well on the soil type, such as watermelon and or cantalope in sandy soil. Red onions bring a much higher price than white or yellow, so this is something to consider. Good luck, like your idea of diversity, it has worked for many serious farmers. I always kept a job where I got a paycheck once a month to support my farming activities.

Yeah, there are a lot of uncertainties and variables. I would love to hear what are people actually getting for various crops and at what time of the year.

There are so many crops that can be farmed here. Besides onions, watermelon and cantalope in sandy soil, there is prik (peppers), pumpkin, corn, all kinds of choices. But which to choose to grow???

Wonder if there is some kind of government source or internet site that would provide direction?

[pete_r]

Wonder if there is some kind of government source or internet site that would provide direction?

From Kasetsart University, but in Thai (use the URLs, in English):

http://www.eto.ku.ac.th/neweto/e-book/

It is a collection of PDFs files describing the basic "how-to" for many crops, fruits, vegetables, flowers, etc.

[Nepal4me]

I live in Klong Lan about 65km southwest of Khampaeng Phet and the local price of man saparang is around 2,000 baht a ton (at least I assume it is a ton). At your estimates you would need to harvest around 10 tons a rai which would be great and if you can do it seriously please PM me so that I can get my wife to learn how. We have about 20 rai in 2 plots, one has water from the klong most of the year round and we live on the other side of the road and in the last few years the water ran out around the end of January and being as this side is on a rock base we cannot drill a borehole. My wife tells me that this year they have dug a borehole elsewhere so that the moo ban will not run out but I have filed that along side of the telephone line that TOT and TT&T have promised every year for the last 4 years.

I really can't confirm these numbers with 100% certainty. I bought 20 rai of land that had mansampalang growing for more than a year on 10 of those rai. I was given the option to pay the previous owner 70,000 for the Man and I would have just let it grow for another half year and then harvest. Before I could give him my answer about buying or not, the word from my wife's family is he went ahead and harvested it and sold it. His profit was 200,000 ba for the 10 rai. He used his own tractor to harvest so didn't have to pay for labour.

20,000 Bahts for mansampalang seems about right per hectare, but not per rai.

As far as I know, typical yields for mansampalang are in the range 14-20 tons per hectare, depending on how much fertilizer you apply (maximum I've seen reported is 30 tons/ha).

The price of the roots is between 1000 and 2000 Bahts/ton depending on the supply and demand (demand is on the increase due to the development of bio-ethanol), so if you got a yield of 15 tons/ha sold at 1500 Bahts/ton, you could expect 22,500 Bahts per ha, before deducing any expenses.

22500 Bahts/ha correspond to 3600 Bahts/rai (1 ha = 6.25 rai).

Hi Pete, again I can't really confirm this with certainty. The price was around 2000ba/ton and that does imply 10 tons/rai. This is a new area for me so I just going by what I heard. I really do need to get a solid answer eventually.

BTW, I heard the price for man has gone up towards 3000/ton. Would like confirmation on this too. However, he sold at around 2000ba/ton.

[pete_r]

If 10 tons/rai is true, I would be very interested to know more details: Which variety (KU50, Rayong 60,... other?), how much fertilizer did he apply, and what was the previous use of his land, mansampalang or other crop (which one)?

I work at a research unit on mansampalang in Kasetsart University by the way. A few months ago one of our students mentioned some of his relatives got yields around 10 tons/rai as well, but we didn't investigate much at the time.

[Nepal4me]

If 10 tons/rai is true, I would be very interested to know more details: Which variety (KU50, Rayong 60,... other?), how much fertilizer did he apply, and what was the previous use of his land, mansampalang or other crop (which one)?

I work at a research unit on mansampalang in Kasetsart University by the way. A few months ago one of our students mentioned some of his relatives got yields around 10 tons/rai as well, but we didn't investigate much at the time.

Just checked with my wife. Previously (5 yrs ago) they grew sugar cane but have grown man for the past 5 years on this land. It is Rayong but not sure if that's Rayong 60 or other.

I wonder if you have a recommendation on correct levels of fertilizer for the growing of man? If so, would appreciate it. We will have likely 100 rai or more of man growing this year. Some of it interspersed with rubber trees, some rai with just man. I'm not going whole hog into rubber trees. Will likely plant 50 rai of RT in April and may continue to plant new sections every year. The man is good becasue it's non-labour intensive and the return is looking pretty good.

I also heard the price for man is up to 3000ba/ton now. Do you have a comment on that? or any other questions are welcome.

[pete_r]

Thanks for the information.

Regarding fertilizer, the general guideline I have is 625kg/ha, with the proportions N-P-K = 15-7-18.

Since you have a large area, you could try to apply different quantities of fertilizer on different plots (for example 550, 600, 650, 700, 800kg/ha) and see if larger quantities increase the yield. And of course if the higher yield covers the cost of fertilizer.

In Thailand, cassava is planted either November to January – “late rain crop” or February to April – “early rain crop”. Weeds are controlled for the first 2 to 3 months, and fertilizer (N-P-K = 15-7-18) is applied at the rate of 625 kg/hectare. Harvest is either during the early or late rain period when roots are about 10 to 12 months old. However, in practice, harvesting is either delayed or advanced, a decision based on the prevailing root price.

Sriroth et al.: Cassava Starch Technology: The Thai Experience, Starch/Stärke 52 (2000) 439–449.

The price of mansampalang is going up for two reasons: One is the increase in food commodities worldwide, as food manufacturers are looking for cheaper alternatives to corn and other starches. Another is the increased use of mansampalang in Thailand for the production of bio-ethanol, which is blended with gasoline to make gasohol (E10 and soon E20). Currently I think 5 factories use sugar cane or mansampalang or both to produce ethanol, and 10 to 15 more factories are under construction and will be operational in the next 2-3 years. So it is very likely that the demand for mansampalang will remain high, but I expect the government will try to keep the price relatively low (in the range 3000-4000 Bahts per ton maybe), otherwise the whole ethanol production will cease to be competitive (unless the price of petrol continues rising).

If you PM me your e-mail address, I can send you the whole article quoted above, and an article on the use of mansampalang for the ethanol industry.

[LoveDaBlues]

I have some in-laws who are harvesting a crop of tapiocca in Khampaeng Phet as we speak. They planted 1 year ago. It looks like they'll average a little over 4 ton per rai. I'm told the selling price is 1800 baht/ton. They fertilized 1 time.

Hope this little bit helps.

[ozzydom]

quote==

When people hear about "mansampalang" or "tapioca" they usually think of poor Isaan farmers who are unable to grow anything better on their parched sandy soil. In fact, those poor farmers may not be so poor in the future thanks to the "Green Cassava Revolution" that is currently sweeping most Southeast Asian countries.

Presently there is only one ethanol factory in the country using cassava as its raw material and producing about 80,000 litres per day. However, two additional factories are ready to start operation and another 12 factories should be completed by the end of 2008, producing a total of 3.4 million litres of ethanol per day.

This will require an additional six million tonnes of fresh roots, on top of the 25 million tonnes currently being produced. Since the cassava growing area of about seven million rai cannot increase substantially due to competition from other crops, the increased supply can only be met through increases in yield, from the current 3.5 tonnes per rai to about 4.5 tonnes per rai in the next couple of years. How can this be achieved?

Thailand currently has the second highest cassava yield after India and nearly double the average yield in the world. The rapid increase in the country's cassava yield was achieved through the hard work and excellent collaboration among the Agriculture Department, the Agriculture Extension Department and Kasetsart University as well as with the private processing and trading sector and the Thai Tapioca Development Institute.

So what does the future hold for cassava in Asia? In many countries the increasing demand for cassava roots can only be satisfied through marked increases in yield. This will require renewed efforts in breeding, agronomy, biotechnology and improvements in processing technologies, coupled with a dynamic and effective extension programme using a farmer participatory approach. Even though cassava is the third most important food crop in Southeast Asia after rice and maize, it has always been considered as an "orphan crop", with little funding allocated for research of the crop.

The Nation (Thailand)

[LoveDaBlues]

I have some in-laws who are harvesting a crop of tapiocca in Khampaeng Phet as we speak. They planted 1 year ago. It looks like they'll average a little over 4 ton per rai. I'm told the selling price is 1800 baht/ton. They fertilized 1 time.

Hope this little bit helps.

update. If the in-laws would have had a truck to take the tapioca to a different location they could have gotten 2,200 per ton instead of the 1,800 offered locally.

[gregb]

I don't personally know anyone who gets more than 4 tons per rai, and that is considered a very good yield.

I would be extremely sceptical of anyone claiming they can get 10 tons. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. I can't imagine even the most advanced, GM strain in the world could give this kind of performance.

3-4 tons per rai is a reasonable number.

[ozzydom]

Thailand, at 3.5- 4 tonne per rai is the second best yield in the world , behind only India,and this is achieved by a heavy planting of 40,000 stems per hectare.

The reason for the extremely heavy planting ratio is that only one weeding is then usually needed as by 3 months the canopy is thick enough to disencourage weed growth.

[chownah]

Wow!!! 40,000 stems per hectare!!....that means 4 plant per square metre..seems really high...that's almost as thick as a corn planting.....is there a high mortality rate for the cuttings?....they do plant these with cuttings from everything I have read....does someone have reference for this as it just seems too high...but maybe its right...I don't know.

Chowanh

[ozzydom]

quote=

At Thailand, it was discovered that the productivity of cassava is so high such that an hectare of land yields as much as 30 tonnes, compared to the average of 15 tonnes obtainable from equivalent space in Nigeria. Investigations revealed that three factors are responsible for the wide gap in productivity.

The first is traceable to the number of stand per hectare, otherwise known as planting density. Over there, it is average of 40,000 stands per hectare, while in Nigeria we operate on about 10,000 stands. Secondly, the farms in Thailand are based on mono-cropping as against our multiple cropping culture here.

Lastly, the Thai farms are completely weed-free. Interestingly, it was discovered that there is no magic about the weed-free cassava farms in Thailand other than the high planting density. With the 40,000 stands per hectare, canopies are formed within two or three months, which prevents the emergence of weeds after only one weeding.

[chownah]

Ozzydom,

That's great, thanks.....where is it from?

Chownah

[Khonwan]

Many posters here are incredulous over the claim of 10 tonne per rai. This is because you have misread the OP. He states "...can return you 20,000 ba/rai/per harvest. However the harvest is once per 2 years." As a cassava farmer I can tell you that 10 tonne per rai over two years is achievable.

As to 40,000 stands per hectare (6.25 rai)...I have never seen this. That would work out at a spacing of 50cm x 50cm. Thai government recommends 80-100cm x 80-100cm. My fields are currently at 50cm x 90cm for a one-year crop. Approx. 90cm x 90cm would be preferable for two year crops to allow tuber growth.

[Nepal4me]

I don't personally know anyone who gets more than 4 tons per rai, and that is considered a very good yield.

I would be extremely sceptical of anyone claiming they can get 10 tons. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. I can't imagine even the most advanced, GM strain in the world could give this kind of performance.

3-4 tons per rai is a reasonable number.

Greg,

It is fair to be sceptable. I have just read a document that that states 14 tons per rai has been found to be achievable. I'll copy some information out of the PDF that I have. This is from Kasetsart University in Bangkok.

I've included a fair amount of info here so go to the bottom paragraph to see the comments on yield per rai.

Cassava ethanol technology and growth in Thailand

Klanarong Sriroth1,2 and Kuakoon Piyachomkwan3

Abstract

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a very promising feedstock for ethanol production.

The crop provides many benefits including (1) the ease of plantation in various soil types and

climate conditions; (2) a very low input and investment for planting as indicated by a very low

production cost and total energy input for fresh root production (the total cost of cassava planting

is about USD 0.02/kg and the total energy input of Thai cassava plantation is about 370 MJ/ha);

(3) “all year round” availability of feedstock as in forms of cheap fresh roots in the harvest season

and in dry chips which are readily processed from fresh roots and be stored for uses when the

harvest season is over; (4) a high starch containing raw materials with less impurities that is a

great advantage for ethanol processing; (5) effective research and development on many aspects

of cassava crops including yield-improved variety, high-productivity cultivation practice and costeffective

ethanol production as well; (6) a competitive production cost of ethanol from cassava as

compared to other feedstock; (7) prospective uses of wastes from ethanol process of cassava as

high-value added products. With a great nature of cassava plants being a cheapest source of starch

and a strong expertise and long experience of Thai cassava industry as well as the effective

national policy & strategy of relating issues on biofuel, these can greatly promote high potential

uses of cassava in industrial bioethanol not only in Thailand, but also other countries having

cassava as a major cash crop.

Keyword: Thailand, cassava, feedstock, ethanol production.

1 Dept. of Biotechnology, Faculty of Agro-Industry, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.

2 Kasetsart Agricultural and Agro-Industrial Product Improvement Institute (KAPI), Kasetsart University, Bangkok,

Thailand. Email: [email protected]

3 Cassava and Starch Technology Research Unit, National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology,

Bangkok, Thailand

2.2 The Keys of success

There are many reasons supporting why cassava has been strongly recommended for

bioethanol production. These reasons are applicable to all countries where the plants can be grown

and ethanol industry is under consideration. The following reasons are:

(1) “All year round” for plantation and harvest

This reason of cultivation practice is very crucial when land uses are competitive

between cassava and other crops.

- Plantating

Cassava needs a very low input for planting. Soil preparation is less when it is

planted in sandy soil. The plant requires high moisture contents in soil during the first period of

plantation. The minimum rainfalls at 1,000 mm/year dose not harm the root yield. In practice,

most crops are typically planted before the “raining” period (Feb/Mar/Apr) and some are after the

“raining” period (Nov/Dec/Jan). Cultivation under a very dry condition can be improved by the

additional water irrigation. The fertilizer (16-8-16) is applied around 300 kg/ha during the first

month and/or the third month after planting. The total energy and material input is estimated as

shown in Table 3.

- Harvesting

The root can be harvested at 8 months after plantation. In practice, the harvest

of fresh roots is performed either during the early or late rainy period, when roots are about 10-12

months old (Table 4). Harvesting can be delayed or advanced, depending on the root price. Fresh

roots harvested in the rainy period usually contain more water but lower starch contents. The

harvest index of the plant is approximately 50%. That means the root weight is around 50% of the

total biomass weight (including stem, leaves etc.). The production of roots at 20 tons/ha implies

the production of 40 tons of total biomass/ha. Some stems with good stake quality are reserved for

new crop propagation and the rest including other biomass is used for fuel and in-field fertilizer.

Table 4 Root yields (t/ha) of various Thai cassava varieties.

Harvest Varieties time (months)

6 month 8 month 10 month 12 month

R1 24.0 20.5 24.6 29.8

R5 35.8 25.9 35.2 41.8

R60 22.3 21.2 26.8 34.7

R90 27.0 21.1 26.6 34.9

KU50 29.2 19.8 27.8 34.9

CMR 33-57-81* 38.2 29.7 41.9 51.1

Source: Santisopasri, et al., 2001.

*has been released as the commercial variety under the name “Rayong 72”.

(2) High root productivity

Though cassava is drought-tolerant, it exhibits excellent response to the moisture

content of soil. With an adequate moisture content in the first period of planting and an optimum

fertilizer input, the productivity up to 90 tons/ha was reported (Moore, 2005). With long

experiences in cassava planting and effective studies on improving cultivation practice, the Thai

Ministry of Agricultural has confidently announced the national program to increase the average

yield of fresh roots from 20 to 30 tons/ha by promoting uses of new released high-yield varieties

and by managing an irrigation system in some certain fields. By this strategic policy, it means that

root productivity will be increased without increasing the acreage land.

[Khonwan]

“…the total cost of cassava planting is about USD 0.02/kg”.

This is spot on, for one-year crops. Two-year crops reduce this to USD 0.011/kg spread over two years.

Khonwan

[Nickthegreek]

"…the total cost of cassava planting is about USD 0.02/kg".

This is spot on, for one-year crops. Two-year crops reduce this to USD 0.011/kg spread over two years.

Khonwan

I am reading all of this with interest,can anyone tell me where the production plants are in Thailand for the sale of the crop,I am guessing that some tonnes in weight is a few trips to a factory,if the sugar cane is anything to go by?

[Nickthegreek]

ok here we go,

My wifes parents currently grow sugar cane which yields a return of 600 baht per tonne.

They currently have 80 rai of land which is flat and close to the river,here comes the problem I think?

The land is in Si thep,which is a little north of chai badan..north of Lopburi,it floods every year around late October..

From what I have read here this crop can be planted in Feb and should be harvestable by November?

If one were to switch to this crop,what effect would the floods have on it,if you were to leave it for a two year harvest(assuming anyone can answer this) plus I have already asked this,but where can the product be sold?

Where can the root plant be purchased,

many Thanks in advance..

Nick

[Maizefarmer]

What crop offers the most baht per rai - the argument is a theoretical one but in practise almost impossible to define.

Lets take maize/corn and cassava as arguments - I grow hundreds of rai of both, so I speak against the background of some practical knowldege and experiance with these 2 crops, but the comments below are applicable to just about any crop;

Firstly, what it costs me to grow these crops is very different to what it costs someone on the coast to grow Cassava, or what it costs someone around SaraBuri to grow Maize (the big maize growing area of Thailand).

Both the margins and the earnings per rai differ in these areas to Loei because of climate, soil condition and water resources.

Around Saraburi for example the soil conditions restrict maize to a max of 2 crops per year. Okay, 3 crops could be grown but you'd actualy earn less per rai growing 3 crops because the soil conditions would dictate additional fertiliser requirements and the climate would dictate a need to irrigate the 3rd crop.

On top of this, the maize strain suitable for cultivation around Saraburi costs approx 2/3 what I have to pay for seed that is suitable to produce the same crop mass per rai per harvest.

As well, Saraburi maize crops mature for forage in around 63 - 73 days and around 98 - 112 for seed, whereas it takes me 76 - 82 and 112 - 118 days respectively.

Then there is the cost of harvesting - for farms less than 100rai the most economical way to harvest maize (both for forage and seed) is by hand, over a hundred rai its best to use a forage harvester.

... and I could go on talking about other factors, the point is, irrespective of crop type, a whole bunch of issues like;

- what part of Thailand

- how much water is avalible

- how many crops can you grow each year

- or what is the time period one wants to use (is the return being caluclated over 6 months, or are we calculating per season, or per year)

All these have to be included before we can start working out "what crop offers the most Bhat per rai"

Also - the total area needs to be taken into consideration. Okay, Nepal4me states clearly that he means 1 rai, but I think he used that as a generilisation (correct me if I am wrong Nepal4me), but actualy any reasonable size could be used in this argument.

Or can it?

Because the economics of growing 1 rai of cassava, or 1 rai of sugarcane, or a 1 rai of maize, are very different to the economics of growing 10 rai of these crops, or growing 100 rai, and become even more pronounced with 500 rai or 1000rai - and I don't think any of the above crops would offer much return on 1 rai, certainly not if one took labour and growing time into consideration.

So we have another factor to consider: different crops have different levels of feasability when grown in different amounts, their margins and their returns vary considerably depending on the total area planted.

Then there is another consideration - again, take maize, cassava and cane as examples.

All 3 have multiple uses, and there is now growing potential in Thailand to cultivate any of the above for bio-fuel use, which has the potential to earn more for the farmer than if grown for food processing.

In respect of the cassava and maize I grow, while it has one market value as food, and another as bio-fuel, the value to me is in what it saves me over having to purchase fresh catfle forage and dry season silage - so even as a feed, its "value" changes depending on whether its used as a fresh feed or ensiled for silage - as such it is worth around 60% more than the farmgate price as maize/corn seed or dried cassava

I have often asked myself what crop offers the best return per rai in Thailand, but try as I may I have never being to work out a formula or methodolgy of calculating that accurately. There are too many variables in the equation and the best one can do I think is make a side by side comparison for the same given areas (rai), in the same location (region & climate) with the same water resources(rain & irrigation) and the same growing times - and see which makes more, and even that, as all can see immediatly, has lots of holes in it as a methodology.

What I do know is that right types Cantaloupes grown in ideal conditions (which means greenhouses in Thailand) have the potential to generate some silly returns (silly meaning - realy good profits) - way way above most other crops on a unit area basis I know of.

A good thread Nepal4me

Edited February 16, 2008 by Maizefarmer

[Nepal4me]

What crop offers the most baht per rai - the argument is a theoretical one but in practise almost impossible to define.

Lets take maize/corn and cassava as arguments - I grow hundreds of rai of both, so I speak against the background of some practical knowldege and experiance with these 2 crops, but the comments below are applicable to just about any crop;

Firstly, what it costs me to grow these crops is very different to what it costs someone on the coast to grow Cassava, or what it costs someone around SaraBuri to grow Maize (the big maize growing area of Thailand).

Both the margins and the earnings per rai differ in these areas to Loei because of climate, soil condition and water resources.

... and I could go on talking about other factors, the point is, irrespective of crop type, a whole bunch of issues like;

- what part of Thailand

- how much water is avalible

- how many crops can you grow each year

- or what is the time period one wants to use (is the return being caluclated over 6 months, or are we calculating per season, or per year)

All these have to be included before we can start working out "what crop offers the most Bhat per rai"

So we have another factor to consider: different crops have different levels of feasability when grown in different amounts, their margins and their returns vary considerably depending on the total area planted.

I have often asked myself what crop offers the best return per rai in Thailand, but try as I may I have never being to work out a formula or methodolgy of calculating that accurately. There are too many variables in the equation and the best one can do I think is make a side by side comparison for the same given areas (rai), in the same location (region & climate) with the same water resources(rain & irrigation) and the same growing times - and see which makes more, and even that, as all can see immediatly, has lots of holes in it as a methodology.

What I do know is that right types Cantaloupes grown in ideal conditions (which means greenhouses in Thailand) have the potential to generate some silly returns (silly meaning - realy good profits) - way way above most other crops on a unit area basis I know of.

A good thread Nepal4me

Maizefarmer,

Thanks for the reply. You make very good points about what to take into consideration. Region, water availablity, soil type, flatness of land, climatic condition affect what grows well where.

We are very much in the experimental stage and are going to try a number of different crops on the various pieces of land. We will havest in Aug/Sept about 100 rai of Cassava including 4 rai of a new strain of Cassava that is reported to produce up to 30tons/rai. It requires regular watering, frequent fertilizing and a technique of scoring the stem 3 times, which then creates 3 roots per tree. This also can be harvested twice per year. If it indeed does produce a much higher tonnage per rai, we will then plant on maybe 100 rai or so.

We are also trying cucumbers on 2 rai just to see if we can get the high returns that I have read about. Cucumbers are labour intensive so we'll see about that.

We are in the early stages and this is our first year and foray into farming on a larger scale. My wife's family previously had only a very few rai so they're not experts in larger scale farming but my wife's mother is very smart so I think she'll get it figured out. We are going to try a few different things on a few different rai to see how it plays out. Chili peppers (prik), pumpkins and a couple of other crops.... maybe cantaloupe???? If it grows well with our regional conditions.

Will probably do a limited level of rubber trees to start this April. Maybe only 25 to 50 rai. The return is so many years out and my family wants/needs a faster return so although RT's seem like a solid long term plan, we need to figure out how to get more regular and immediate returns.

[Khonwan]

ok here we go,

My wifes parents currently grow sugar cane which yields a return of 600 baht per tonne.

They currently have 80 rai of land which is flat and close to the river,here comes the problem I think?

The land is in Si thep,which is a little north of chai badan..north of Lopburi,it floods every year around late October..

From what I have read here this crop can be planted in Feb and should be harvestable by November?

If one were to switch to this crop,what effect would the floods have on it,if you were to leave it for a two year harvest(assuming anyone can answer this) plus I have already asked this,but where can the product be sold?

Where can the root plant be purchased,

many Thanks in advance..

Nick

Hi Nick

Cassava can actually be planted at any time, but you'll need to irrigate early on if in the dry season. It can be harvested usually from 8 months on. Cassava in standing flood waters SHALL rot. In your situation, with respect to land that floods, plant immediately after the floods then harvest immediately before the next due floods.

You should be able to buy either pre-cut stems or arrange to cut them yourself from many/most cassava farmers in your area with mature trees. A farmer with say 10 rai of mature cassava shall only require around 2-2.5 rai of trees for his own next crop (assuming he is not increasing his cultivation area). He'll therefore be pleased to sell the balance. We've just sold some Rayong-5 trees at 1,000 baht per rai cut.

If your farm is in an area where cassava is already being grown, there shall be several purchasers quite locally. These purchasers are readily identifiable by sight of their huge concrete slabs (often covering 5 rai or so) that are used for sun-drying the chipped cassava tubers. They buy your fresh tubers, chip them, sun-dry them, then sell on to the factories. The price per tonne of fresh tubers is normally posted at their gate - this can change daily (I got 2,220 baht per tonne yesterday). I have one such purchaser/processor 2km from my home, at least 4 within 10km.

Rgds

Khonwan

[Maizefarmer]

What crop offers the most baht per rai - the argument is a theoretical one but in practise almost impossible to define.

Lets take maize/corn and cassava as arguments - I grow hundreds of rai of both, so I speak against the background of some practical knowldege and experiance with these 2 crops, but the comments below are applicable to just about any crop;

Firstly, what it costs me to grow these crops is very different to what it costs someone on the coast to grow Cassava, or what it costs someone around SaraBuri to grow Maize (the big maize growing area of Thailand).

Both the margins and the earnings per rai differ in these areas to Loei because of climate, soil condition and water resources.

... and I could go on talking about other factors, the point is, irrespective of crop type, a whole bunch of issues like;

- what part of Thailand

- how much water is avalible

- how many crops can you grow each year

- or what is the time period one wants to use (is the return being caluclated over 6 months, or are we calculating per season, or per year)

All these have to be included before we can start working out "what crop offers the most Bhat per rai"

So we have another factor to consider: different crops have different levels of feasability when grown in different amounts, their margins and their returns vary considerably depending on the total area planted.

I have often asked myself what crop offers the best return per rai in Thailand, but try as I may I have never being to work out a formula or methodolgy of calculating that accurately. There are too many variables in the equation and the best one can do I think is make a side by side comparison for the same given areas (rai), in the same location (region & climate) with the same water resources(rain & irrigation) and the same growing times - and see which makes more, and even that, as all can see immediatly, has lots of holes in it as a methodology.

What I do know is that right types Cantaloupes grown in ideal conditions (which means greenhouses in Thailand) have the potential to generate some silly returns (silly meaning - realy good profits) - way way above most other crops on a unit area basis I know of.

A good thread Nepal4me

Maizefarmer,

Thanks for the reply. You make very good points about what to take into consideration. Region, water availablity, soil type, flatness of land, climatic condition affect what grows well where.

We are very much in the experimental stage and are going to try a number of different crops on the various pieces of land. We will havest in Aug/Sept about 100 rai of Cassava including 4 rai of a new strain of Cassava that is reported to produce up to 30tons/rai. It requires regular watering, frequent fertilizing and a technique of scoring the stem 3 times, which then creates 3 roots per tree. This also can be harvested twice per year. If it indeed does produce a much higher tonnage per rai, we will then plant on maybe 100 rai or so.

We are also trying cucumbers on 2 rai just to see if we can get the high returns that I have read about. Cucumbers are labour intensive so we'll see about that.

We are in the early stages and this is our first year and foray into farming on a larger scale. My wife's family previously had only a very few rai so they're not experts in larger scale farming but my wife's mother is very smart so I think she'll get it figured out. We are going to try a few different things on a few different rai to see how it plays out. Chili peppers (prik), pumpkins and a couple of other crops.... maybe cantaloupe???? If it grows well with our regional conditions.

Will probably do a limited level of rubber trees to start this April. Maybe only 25 to 50 rai. The return is so many years out and my family wants/needs a faster return so although RT's seem like a solid long term plan, we need to figure out how to get more regular and immediate returns.

I'l tell you this - get the economics sorted out and you'll be just fine