How To Invest In Rice Farming

[riceman09]

I'm seriously contemplating about investing in rice farming. I will appreciate if any of you can tell me what to keep in mind first.

What are prices of high quality land and what are these prices based upon? I would like to start with a small investment and develope it with time( I'm not in hurry). I will be very grateful for any feedback in the matter.

Thank you.

[jamescollister]

I'm seriously contemplating about investing in rice farming. I will appreciate if any of you can tell me what to keep in mind first.

What are prices of high quality land and what are these prices based upon? I would like to start with a small investment and develope it with time( I'm not in hurry). I will be very grateful for any feedback in the matter.

Thank you.

Hello Riceman

If I were you I would seriously consider keeping my money in my pocket. Rice farming is hard work with little return, unless you are talking big money.

Anyway welcome to the forum Jim

[473geo]

Hello Riceman

The price of land will be governed by many factors

Where you intend to buy is a major factor - perhaps if you answer this question you will get more responses, followed by the other factors to take into consideration, access, water, quality of land, previous use etc. From previous posts here I would suggest the price per rai can vary from 20k to 40k baht.

There are far more qualified people than I to advise you, they will no doubt look in tomorrow.

Best wishes

Geo

Edited January 24, 2009 by 473geo

[Nickthegreek]

Hi Riceman,

As already metioned their are a lot of factors that will impact on your investment and some of these will be completely out of your control.

The most important factors to consider will be the land will be:

Location

Availability of water

Quality of the land

Cost of the land( time required to return on investment).

How close you are to the rice mill

Availablity of a tractor

Availbility of manual workforce

These are just the areas to consider before purchase.!

Another poster has said keep the money in your pocket,I do not agree with this, it can work but you will need access to all the notes above if its going to work and your payback could be a number of years.

I currently farm 50 rai,I enjoy the change of pace in my life,but I do not live of the land ,its producing an additional income stream and of course all the rice I can eat in a year.

If you send me a pm I can give your more information.

In my opinion the key is the family and support that you have if you venture into this and of course how quickly you want to become cash positive..

Nick

[drtreelove]

Some perspective on location: My wife is in the real estate business in Chiang Mai area where rice land is being sold for 250,000 to 500,000 baht per rai and up. Closer to the city it is more like 1.2 million, But that is because the land is being bought for housing and industrial development, not for farming. (Inside the old city, no more rice because vacant land is 12m per rai.)

I'm not a rice farmer, but a few years ago I attended an organic rice farming fair in Yasothon (eastern issan), where there is an organic Hom Mali rice growing collective that is getting higher prices from the organic export market. www.greennet.org

[jopham]

That link takes you to a korean webstie and it all in korean so maybe it not valid.

Cheers jopham

[pnustedt]

I moved to Thailand 3 yrs ago and invested in rice farming - the business now keeps me and my wife's families in a good lifestyle.

We bought the best equipment and offered farming services to local farmers.

We do buy land, and grow our own produce, but only buy at good prices (Bt20K/rai max unless there are special circumstances) and land that we can improve with the equipment which we own.

The best advice which I think that I could give is don't listen to people who say it can't be done - both Thais and expats. One other thing - don't lend money, I learnt this the hard way.

[slapout]

Determining if investing in rice or any other crop type farming is worthwhile, look at past 10 years average crop price, average yield/rai, cost to produce said crop, this should be for local area. This gives you profit/rai. How much profit you want/need will determine the number of rai you need. Now that the easy work is done, calculate what price/rai you can pay with borrowed money at 5%. This will cut into the profit, so adjust number of rai as needed. This method has worked in the farming sector for several generations, of course the % may vary as will amount needed from bank. You will find that the numbers you come up with will not be conducive to hand labor so add in machine cost needed to do the work on the size farm you need/want then go through the process again and come back to this section with your revised questions. This is for a family farm operation and does not take in outside contract work with you machinery etc as several members seem to do.

[riceman09]

First of all, I would like to thank everyone for the fantastic feedback and information about this topic.

Right now I'm not in hurry to invest a large sum of money as it's something that I would like to do gradually. I see this as a form of investment in the long run as right now I work in Maldives. My intention is to buy small plots on a regular basis, possibly attached to one another and when the time is right I will act on it. As far as the rice quality is concern, I would like to farm a type of rice for export and the type os soil that I'm looking for should reflect this( what's the average price per rai).In this matter, do I need a special licence to export?

I have to say that since I've joined this site I'm learning a lot and thank to you all for this.

[Foreverford]

First of all, I would like to thank everyone for the fantastic feedback and information about this topic.

Right now I'm not in hurry to invest a large sum of money as it's something that I would like to do gradually. I see this as a form of investment in the long run as right now I work in Maldives. My intention is to buy small plots on a regular basis, possibly attached to one another and when the time is right I will act on it. As far as the rice quality is concern, I would like to farm a type of rice for export and the type os soil that I'm looking for should reflect this( what's the average price per rai).In this matter, do I need a special licence to export?

I have to say that since I've joined this site I'm learning a lot and thank to you all for this.

Are you real or are you now going to be selling shares in Nigerian Banks? You are actually saying you want to try and make a tidy little profit on the misfortunes of the small farmers of Thailand? A lot of people in good faith have given you their precious time so you can play a little game of buy the dirt cheap Thai rice farms and speculate(?), dream(?) or who knows what you haVE PLANNED (a little investment?). we had grown men in our village crying on their hands and knees as they lost their entire crop due to adverse flooding this year. This isn't a kids game and it isn't a game by any means or way. If you got money spend it on something else other than a farm in Thailand. Do you know the laws of this country???? There have been plenty of fellows that have asked advice here in regards to farmiong rice and have been given much more help than you have received as they are trying to break even or even try to eek out a profit to get their extended Thai families out of the spiraling debt that modern farming and banking has created for the Thai family farmer. You didn't mention anything about your Thai family and I'm sure when your 60 you'll think about coming here and finding a 18 year old farmgirl to play on your faRM WITH YOU BUT the heck with my ugly mood. Try to find the guy that lost his entire crop last year maybe you can get his place with the help of some shady characteres and then pray for floods and droughts and maybe when your ready to do whatevefr in the heck you think you can do then maybe you can buy all his relatives and neighbors places and while you are at it start getting into the middle man trade that's a;lways good for a few bucks and gigggles. I'm an ugly man as i saw too too much this last week when I went to Africa as the bombs still fall all over the world 200 babies a day die in KENYA (yeah a place you might consider rather well developed) just because the doctors don't have the medicine to give them their TB vaccinations. Today 2009 and we aren't talking about Sudan and all you hear on the news this is the prosporous heart and center of Africa. 200 babies a day and you want to play games with our faRMland here as you live in the Maldives. You asked for advice well here it is. Find a Ford Tractor break it in half and put a clutch in it and then write us all back and tells us how much farm land you want to buy and how long does it take to walk out of your farm and get a hydraulic hose in the pouring rain so you can get it going again and out before it spends the entire season there. Be careful using your pocket knife for a screw driver, snap ring remover or all purpose tool because there's plenty of folks that have slipped in the rain with their hands full of grease and crop to get in and I missed taking my right eye out by an inch or two, my grandfather wans't as lucky he slipped and took out his right eye. Still I think if he were alive today he'd see it my way and give you the same advice, well actually he was much smarter than me, he'd tell you to forget it. This is the real world buddy and if you enjoy seeing grown men on their knees crying while you want to play then to each his own. Be a bit careful when you break the first bolt on your tractor so you don't skin a knuckle. Yeah right I know you are going to work all the ground with your self trained water buffalo while you are in the Maldives sitting on the beach. I'm getting uglier by the second and I can't stop. You want to grow ricwe come by and visit my wife's grandmaother she can't get her head above her kneecap when she walks. How does it feel .......................... forget and forget buying everybody's family's small farm plots; once they're gone the money will follow with it and then they have no money or land. Benito Juarez is rolling over in his grave as the Ejidos (small farms of the Agrarian Reform) of the Revolution are now almost more thqan half owned by the drug cartels, Carlos Slim's telephone monopoly and major corporations as the laws were changed in Mexico about a little over a decade ago and the family farms that the blood of that revolution won back from the Spanish and allocated to the peasants are again gone and the spiral continues. It isn't hopeless here as there are plenty of people who are now trying to educate (Thai visa has really been instrumental as i see it) and change and break the ugly cycle that has made the jasmine rice growing areas of Thailand one of the poorest in the world. Leave what you don't know, save your money for some other game and by the time your ready to play hopefully things will have changed enough here that all the small plot farmers will now be making small profits and /or subsisting on thier small but cherished piece of earth. You're getting the right advice from the wrong guy at a a very wrong time. take what you are given and learn from it and maybe now you'll see farming from a little different perspective just like my grandfather did. Bob Marley said "A hungry man is an angry man" well my belly is full but I'm still an angry man and your wishes to invest in our small family farms makes me angrier.

[riceman09]

Dear Foreword,

First of all, I would like to specify that I'm real, I work for a living and I don't sit on a beach as you might think and by trvelling the world( WORKING!) in the last 25 years I've learn to respect people from any walk of life, no matter what. I don't really know what makes you so upset but let me tell that I have Thai girlfriend and I have a pretty good idea of the culture. I didn't even read completely your message because it seems that you have a point to prove but I don't think that your message represents the best way of espressing it.

I came on this site for genuine advice and while appreciating the feedback of everyone involved, I wonder how you expect to be respected by showing such an attitude. Having said, I would like to thank you for sharing your opinion.

[riceman09]

Dear foreverford,

Out of priciple, I took my time reading you message:

it seems to me that you'd interpreted my message while driven by frustration.

Frustration is a mental condition that kiks in when people fail to to succeed and I think that when you are in such a state of mind, you should work on your frustration instead of writing on a web site. That alone, will make you a better person.

[Slip]

Dear Foreverford

I think you're crazy (or a complete troll).

Your silly rant has no target at this poor guy who just wants to invest some money. How do you know he wouldn't be the world's best 'gentleman' farmer with a social conscience?

Are you a fool or a tool?

To the OP- sorry I can't help you practically but at least this is another post in which you don't have to read that spiteful toss.

Good luck and share the joy.

Edited January 30, 2009 by Slip

[Foreverford]

Dear Foreverford

I think you're crazy (or a complete troll).

Your silly rant has no target at this poor guy who just wants to invest some money. How do you know he wouldn't be the world's best 'gentleman' farmer with a social conscience?

Are you a fool or a tool?

To the OP- sorry I can't help you practically but at least this is another post in which you don't have to read that spiteful toss.

Good luck and share the joy.

Well Slip you are rigfht I'm crazy I just got back from kenya hoping to try to get some grassroots farming projects going and after running for my life nearly 15 years ago the few who knew I was returning said I was crazy to do it. The govt (politicians along with big corporate business) destroyed the people's ability to exist by farming and the ones that tried to help and stand up for them were imprisoned (it ain't no party believe me you act like a troll wheen you sleep on urine inundated floors in a pile of 30 or more just to survive and stay warm). So I guess that makes me your troll if that answers that question for you. 10 million people are now starving in Kenya (not Sudan but the great developed country of kenya) 200 babies die everyday every day! because the doctors don't have TB vaccines to give to them (die from TB not starvation). What's tougher to do die of TB or not be able to open your mouth and speak up so others won't continue the visious cycle? It's worse now than when the govt wanted me dead for trying to stand up for the small farmer 20 years ago and i can't deal with it and that is why I'm going off like this. i tried to explain it a bit more clinically in another reply but the computer ate 30 minutes of my typing so I'm burnt out and still crying inside and I'm sure it's easy to just "turn the page" on this and move on to something else. But I was willing to be a vocal "tool" before and was again willing to try it again, many called me a "fool" to even try. But I had to run away again to maybe and hopefully fight another day; it's just that I'm getting too old and all my friends that i was hoping would be able to get me connected and get something going are gone missing or dead or have bullet holes in them. It is worse in a world that I thought might be at least a little bit better but don't worry about it, I just take a bit of offense in people speculating (investing??) on small farm property, or any farm property for that matter.

Yeah Rice09 I am a frustrated man (10 million people and 200 babies a day) and I've worked on that frustratiopn for 15 years and found a situation that I hoped would offer an opportunity to end some of that and help some very very good people, I risked my life again (some think) to try to end that frustration and i failed completely and had to run away again. So if you want to speculate you'll need to find someone else to help on that in this forum; if you want to farm I've written and researched a bunch to try to help anyone who might want to try small scale farming of rice in Issan in a sustainable manner it's in the forum and i will add more to it as the results of the projects and methods we are using progress and fail or succeed. I'm sure that getting back into the dirt will help change my spirit but now I'm physically sick from my journey (they are telling me i should be checked for the new resistant strain of TB that has just started to pop up, if you get it soon enough you don't die from it so I guess that should be my next project but there is still welding that needs to be done and the roads and levees that blew out from the floods last years are only temporary and have to be completely redone. Slip is right that there is a lot of joy from farming and i hope that you will find what you need and enjoy the real beauty in being able to create life. that is what farming is, every year the earth should be more fertile and more alive than the year before, that's sustainable agriculture and that is what every farmer will hopefully be able to acheive or at least try to attain. There's no frustration in seeing your entire orchards burn up due to freezing frosts, or the hydraulic hoses blowing out and soaking you just before sunset , I've been there that's part of the life of a farmer you just deal with it, but 200 babies a day just guts me and I don't know if I've got 15 more years in me.

[OxfordWill]

nobody cares, foreverford, go away. Back to kenya, preferably

[riceman09]

Dear foreverford,

why don't you look at the bright side????

you say that you have maybe 15 years left( I hope more than that!!).

Come on!!!! make something good out of it!!

Best regards

[riceman09]

Dear Foreverford,

If you think you are so good and respecfull to people and tring to protect them, why did you go looking for more somewhere else and try to import it. where is your principle in this??

[drtreelove]

That link takes you to a korean webstie and it all in korean so maybe it not valid.

Cheers jopham

Sorry, it's:

http://www.greennet.or.th/

[Foreverford]

nobody cares, foreverford, go away. Back to kenya, preferably

I know of two hundred women a day, that's yesterday and again today, and tomorrow again who have buried their babies in mother earth, who care. I don't care if you don't care. Turn the page because you can not and never will tell me where to go.

[Foreverford]

Dear Foreverford,

If you think you are so good and respecfull to people and tring to protect them, why did you go looking for more somewhere else and try to import it. where is your principle in this??

Dear Riceman09 I appreciate your last post wishing me a long life. I don't understand your question here but it is all a matter of timing and I got into the middle of the clock. Mandela was in prison and Wangari Mathai was thrown in at a later time and people felt it was enough and things needed to change. Their crimes were that they spoke up for the common man. You can read the books or turn the page. They are free, they have their Nobels as they surely deserve and are still trying hard to create enduring changes. Many people's lives are better than they were back in the late 80's and the early 90's when they became free.

But It's 2010 and the principles that allow the common man to reap any, or some kind of benefit from what has occurred to mother earth don't even come close to even being fractionally porportionate to the entire human race. So corrupt corporate greed and the similar politicians who support them have people starving and dying for lack of common medicines. I thought I could return and start the exchange of at least information and hopefully physical farm practices that would benefit the small scale farmer. I'm still a bit in shock because i felt that running away and fast would probably keep more people alive than staying there. You say "why did you go looking for more somewhere else and try to import it." All I can say is I'm a hope fiend and I won't give up hope but this trip to Mama Africa I was a complete and 100% failure. We won some battles before and I hope we win some more in the future so I'll stay in the business of importing hope but I guess like the farming business some times there are good harvests and some times there are even none.

I'll send you another reply that might help you get into farming here in Thailand. It's a bit generic but hopefully helpful to first time farmers. Choke Dee

[Foreverford]

Dear Foreverford,

If you think you are so good and respecfull to people and tring to protect them, why did you go looking for more somewhere else and try to import it. where is your principle in this??

I said I'd try to find you something to help you with starting arice farm but I'm no wiz at this forum stuff and can't seem to locate what i thought was out there in this forum. Sooooooooo I guess I'd say for a first timer to start your process by looking into green manuring and proceed from there, the concurrent and continuing process should involve as much compost as you can get into your farm. If you don't make a penny but your land is more fertile than it was the year before then you are a successful farmer (not an easy task). I hope you'll be lucky enough to be able to eventually have a small enough farm that you won't need a tractor and you'll be able to eat all you need and still be able to have enough to trade or sell to others. Choke Dee

[riceman09]

Thank you all ever so much for the support( foreverford included).

I've been reading about the best rice producing areas in Thailand and sometimes the information that I've gathered was contraddictoty. I will appreciate if somebody can guide me in this search.

Provided that water, rice mill and other facilities are handy, how much am I supposed to pay per Rai???

Your feedback is highly appreciated.

[slapout]

riceman; did you review the post I made above on this topic. Your figures will tell you how much you can afford to pay for land, depending on your other expectation/wishes/wants. If you do not want to follow this plan you are probably going to pay what the seller of the land wants and this is probably not what he will ask.

[riceman09]

riceman; did you review the post I made above on this topic. Your figures will tell you how much you can afford to pay for land, depending on your other expectation/wishes/wants. If you do not want to follow this plan you are probably going to pay what the seller of the land wants and this is probably not what he will ask.

Dear Slapout,

Thanks ever so much for the reminder. Actually I'm not into rice farming at all and I'm trying to learn as much as possible.

Let's say I would like to start( not but in a very close future as I'm saving up) with 10 rai or 250.000 bath( I hope I'm not sounding stupid with those figures and apologies if so). Is this realistic?

If I cannot count on big amount of labour, what type of machinery do I need?

I'm planning not to rely on banks for this. Are the required machinery so expensive?

Thanks again

[Mali1964]

You could invest in one of these Rice Harvesters. Note below from another post

As we can't Post Videos here I thought I'd set up with this U Tube thingy.

Anyway as people tend to ask for photos etc. Thought I'd give a link to my Tractor working last Harvest, when I enter the video it shows me lots of others at work all over Thailand so take a look I hope this link works OK, have fun.

Cheers Shaun

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzvfOpHU6gA

[jopham]

That link takes you to a korean webstie and it all in korean so maybe it not valid.

Cheers jopham

Sorry, it's:

http://www.greennet.or.th/

Thanks that works a bit better

[riceman09]

You could invest in one of these Rice Harvesters. Note below from another post

As we can't Post Videos here I thought I'd set up with this U Tube thingy.

Anyway as people tend to ask for photos etc. Thought I'd give a link to my Tractor working last Harvest, when I enter the video it shows me lots of others at work all over Thailand so take a look I hope this link works OK, have fun.

Cheers Shaun

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzvfOpHU6gA

Dear Mali1964,

Thank you ever so much for the link. Now thanks to you, I have another learning tool.

[Mali1964]

You could invest in one of these Rice Harvesters. Note below from another post

As we can't Post Videos here I thought I'd set up with this U Tube thingy.

Anyway as people tend to ask for photos etc. Thought I'd give a link to my Tractor working last Harvest, when I enter the video it shows me lots of others at work all over Thailand so take a look I hope this link works OK, have fun.

Cheers Shaun

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzvfOpHU6gA

Dear Mali1964,

Thank you ever so much for the link. Now thanks to you, I have another learning tool.

Your welcome.

Just remember take it slowly, already you are doing more than I did at the start & yes I have lost some money along the way, but things are slowly looking up so its worth persevering, even when you feel its against all odds, its certainly changed my hole out look on life living here in Issarn with my family.

I've no plans to be rich, with the illness i have being happy is number one for me & even though times are hard for us all right now i couldn't be in a better place to be happy.