"how You Gonna Keepem Down On The Farm,

[pautai]

DOWN ON THE FARM: Labour crisis looming in rice sector

Published on February 04, 2005

Experts meet in bid to stave off crisis in backbone industry

Having long been the world’s biggest rice exporter, Thailand must now deal with the worrying problem of a decline in the ranks of farmers as the young generation opts for work in the city and the industrial manufacturing sector rather than working in the fields all day.

The urgency of the problem prompted the Education Ministry to set up a brainstorming session for concerned government and private-sector agencies as well as rice exporters in an effort to stave off a decline in the Kingdom’s backbone industry.

Speaking at a seminar yesterday titled “Rice-trading business … future of new generation”, academics, rice exporters, farmers, small and medium-sized rice traders and officials from the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Bank of Thailand shared the view that the number of rice farmers was dropping, posing a threat to production. Moreover, they said, existing farmers comprise an ageing group whose children are not interested in keeping up the family farm.

To convince the young generation to return to the rice field, they need to be persuaded of the potentially high income that farmers can earn through the application of modern marketing techniques, and that farming can be a “comfortable” career choice for those willing to adopt the latest technology.

“We must try to find a way to preserve the country’s rice farming heritage in a rapidly changing natural and social environment. We must try to convince the younger generation to follow their parents’ footsteps into growing rice,” said Veerasak Wongsombat, secretary-general of the Education Ministry’s Vocational Education Commission.

The ministry has drawn up curricula at levels ranging from vocational certificates through to doctorates focusing on rice-industry technology, rice trading, rice-product manufacturing technology and rice milling.

“The challenge is luring the new generation to look beyond their parents’ rice fields and understand the modern rice business to ensure a bright future for Thai rice,” Veerasak said.

He added that 45 agriculture and technology colleges countrywide had put rice curricula on their programmes. In addition, agriculture faculties that have been set up at the government’s universities have linked the study of rice farming and trading with related fields such as the food industry, business management and machine manufacturing.

Of the approximately one million pupils studying at the vocational-school level, few are interested in rice-related businesses or industries, Veerasak said. This group represents an untapped resource that could strengthen the country’s competitiveness in terms of production, marketing and export of farm goods.

Thailand has rice plantation area of 60 million rai, out of total farmland of 321 million rai. Export volume achieved a record high of 10 million tonnes last year, the world’s largest, generating Bt100 billion in foreign exchange. Some 32 million work in the rice industry.

Narong Limlamthong, assistant managing director of Bangkok Rice Products Co, said the new generation was an important source of manpower for the sector. He said he hoped they could be persuaded to apply new technology and modern marketing to strengthen the country’s export competitiveness.

New technology will reduce rice-production costs, which it is hoped will come down from the current Bt4 to Bt3 per kilogram in the near future. Moreover, young people are more savvy when it comes to modern marketing and hi-tech communication tools, which will help them compete with rivals, Narong said.

Narong said a reduction in the number of farmers would affect major production areas such as Suphan Buri over the next 10 years. Production capacity, meanwhile, is set to reach at least one tonne per rai in the same period, compared with an average of around 600kg per rai now, to ensure export competitiveness.

The government plans to reduce the country’s rice plantation area while increasing yield. Total paddy rice production is expected to rise from 27 million tonnes now to 35 million tonnes by 2015.

The new generation of farmers will play a key role in implementing new technology in farming, as well as modern marketing and management techniques.

But for now, “the new generation doesn’t want to continue [their parents’] farming careers as they see it as low-income and labour-intensive”, Narong said.

Monchai Choonboon, owner of a small rice mill in Loei, said he started his business last year with an investment of more than Bt2 million. He expects to reach break-even point next year.

Monchai is one of the new generation who generates a lucrative income of more than Bt90,000 per month from his rice mill. After graduating in economics from Kasetsart University and working with Charoen Pokphand Group on a rice farm, Monchai has learned much about running a business.

However, he has tired of growing rice and wants to become a trader. “I’ll focus on marketing and manufacturing technology rather than growing rice because I cannot grow rice as well as my mother and father did. But what I can do better than them is marketing and learning about technology, so I’ll focus on my strength,” he said.

Achara Pongvutitham

The Nation

[ProfessorFart]

What would you do? 15 hours a day of backbraking graft in the blazing sun or a nice laid back job running after tourists?

This is an age old debating point first raising its head when people voiced concerns about the exodus of women from Isaan to go and work in bars in BKK, Pattaya etc.

[bina]

or same hours for 12 shekels per hour working in agriculture in israel; why do you think we have thai migrant workers?

20 yrs ago when i came to kibbutz, the fields, orchards and cow shed were the 'high level' work, men fought to work in the fields , 45 minutes from home, 18 hr days, backbreaking work, half mechanized ( how did i manage to get pregnant then i dont know, husband used to fall asleep in the toilet....) but it was considered 'real work' the backbone of israel, bread of the earth; they got first dibs at the first cell phones, pickup trucks, etc.....

then arab cheaper labour was introduced as kibbutzim moved to industry and the young people came back from uni. w/ degrees in business computers etc and didnt deign to get their hands dirty as my father in law gripes....

when the antifada started, the thai workers showed up and took over, so now most field workers are young israeli kibbutzniks coerced (kibbutz will pay for uni if u work in the fields....)and large groups of thai migrant workers from issan....on the moshavim its the same, 200-300 !! migrant workers from thailand picking peppers and artichokes on a moshav of 150 members!!!! it seems to me that half of udon thani is working in israel....

perhaps thailand will use cheaper migrant labour (burmese? )

or they can round up the kids from koasan and offer them to work as in ecotourism (why would anybody in his right mind pay to pick apples, but tourists love it and do it here )

[bannork]

An alternative is to stop growing rice and turn the land to pasture, breeding cattle. It's not such a hard life herding the cattle at 9am to the fields, locking the gate behind them in fenced fields and returning at 5.30pm to drive them back to the cowshed.

Ask my wife.

bannork.

[pnustedt]

It's a natural progression - there'll be less people, but more machines, working the fields.

Hopefully the people will be leading more meaningful lives - and the farmers will profit from more efficient farming methods.

[srisatch]

Interesting about the guy with the rice mill. I thought that was part of the two problems with rice. One: that all the profitable parts of the process: Selling Seed, Milling and Distribution was in Chinese hands while the Thais toiled. Two: the q. of land ownership...If you do not own land, with proper title deeds, you are on a hiding to nothing re credit etc. And you are never going to get large enough rice paddies to have the economies of scale, investment in machinery required...and even if you do...what are all those people going to do? Except as Bina says go to Israel....The whole point about 'organic' development of production would surely be to continue, strengthen. modernise Issan (and elsewhere) life, not some Lao Industrial Revolution, with displaced families. Cattle? Is that not the US/S.America problem? Do cattle eat rice?

[meadish_sweetball]

What would you do? 15 hours a day of backbraking graft in the blazing sun or a nice laid back job running after tourists?

This is an age old debating point first raising its head when people voiced concerns about the exodus of women from Isaan to go and work in bars in BKK, Pattaya etc.

Gotta be better to spend a few hours on one's back in a 5 star hotel bed for 2,000 Bhat, than 15 hours a day breaking your back for whatever they get paid.

If that was truly the only choice (which of course it isnt), I would still work in the fields, considering the general appearance of the punters here. There are more opportunities though.

[kurgen]

As my Dad used to say "Women are sitting on a fortune".

[chuchok]

As my Dad used to say "Women are sitting on a fortune".

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'd normally agree, except that the women that live in our moo ban walk around on four legs....what a horror show!

[bannork]

Interesting about the guy with the rice mill. I thought that was part of the two problems with rice. One: that all the profitable parts of the process: Selling Seed, Milling and Distribution was in Chinese hands while the Thais toiled. Two: the q. of land ownership...If you do not own land, with proper title deeds, you are on a hiding to nothing re credit etc. And you are never going to get large enough rice paddies to have the economies of scale, investment in machinery required...and even if you do...what are all those people going to do? Except as Bina says go to Israel....The whole point about 'organic' development of production would surely be to continue, strengthen. modernise Issan (and elsewhere) life, not some Lao Industrial Revolution, with displaced families. Cattle? Is that not the US/S.America problem? Do cattle eat rice?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There's no money in crops unless you own large tracts of land; going back 20 years, grandfather died and split his 100 rai 5 fold with his 5 children;20 rai each and then they split it 5 ways with their 5 kids each, so now it's 4 rai each

The cost of fertiliser, ploughing, wages to plant and harvest the rice makes it a subsistence life. That's OK for the over 40s, plenty of Issan people live on their rice, catch fish, birds, field mice; but if you need money for your kids' education and you want to stay on the land then the only option I see is cattle.

They eat grass, especially the Lucerne variety, seeds for sale all over Issan; 10 rai can support 20 heads in the rainy season and in the winter and dry season all the fields are one's oyster as it were. Of course with a fish pond as well pla nin can eat the dried manure and excess manure can be sold to the rice farmers or exchanged for rice.

bannork

[srisatch]

Interesting about the guy with the rice mill. I thought that was part of the two problems with rice. One: that all the profitable parts of the process: Selling Seed, Milling and Distribution was in Chinese hands while the Thais toiled. Two: the q. of land ownership...If you do not own land, with proper title deeds, you are on a hiding to nothing re credit etc. And you are never going to get large enough rice paddies to have the economies of scale, investment in machinery required...and even if you do...what are all those people going to do? Except as Bina says go to Israel....The whole point about 'organic' development of production would surely be to continue, strengthen. modernise Issan (and elsewhere) life, not some Lao Industrial Revolution, with displaced families. Cattle? Is that not the US/S.America problem? Do cattle eat rice?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There's no money in crops unless you own large tracts of land; going back 20 years, grandfather died and split his 100 rai 5 fold with his 5 children;20 rai each and then they split it 5 ways with their 5 kids each, so now it's 4 rai each

The cost of fertiliser, ploughing, wages to plant and harvest the rice makes it a subsistence life. That's OK for the over 40s, plenty of Issan people live on their rice, catch fish, birds, field mice; but if you need money for your kids' education and you want to stay on the land then the only option I see is cattle.

They eat grass, especially the Lucerne variety, seeds for sale all over Issan; 10 rai can support 20 heads in the rainy season and in the winter and dry season all the fields are one's oyster as it were. Of course with a fish pond as well pla nin can eat the dried manure and excess manure can be sold to the rice farmers or exchanged for rice.

bannork

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What do they do with the cattle..?

I know there is big marketing pressure on Thais to eat yoghurt and drink milk..but many Chinese do not eat beef...export it?

[utapaortnab]

I totally agree with Pnustedt. In the United States, Great Britain, Europe, Australia, NZ, etc. all countries at some time in their early "progression" had small family run farms and few mechanical assistance.

I grew up as a city boy, but was farmed out to uncles to help on their farms as a kid. Now all our family farms were bought out by large corporations. I think most of the U.S. farms are slowly but surely meeting with the same fate.

My wife grew up in Chiayaphum, and all her family's farms are still intact, but most of her nephews and nieces are all staying in school through college and have visions of careers outside the family farms. Even now, because only one of her sisters and two brothers still work their own farms (and the one sister works 3 family farms) they have to hire "outside" workers during the planting, and harvesting seasons.

It will be very interesting to see if there are any small family farms left in say one or two more generations or if Thailand joins the natural progression as quickly as the more developed countries in the world once "education" becomes more important in Isaan and the other provinces in Thailand.

My take is that just like the developed countries, small farming has lasted for a few hundred years and once the development of machines and the wealth of the farmers families provide for better education, and/or more options for the children of those families, Thailand too will become a country of large corporations taking over most or all farms, production will go up by leaps and bounds, and "progress " will be etched in stone.

But remember, progress is NOT always all good. Look at Pattaya Beach in the 1970's and today for instance...lol

Ken Bower

San Antonio Texas

http://homepage.mac.com/mgnewman/KenLat/ Homepage

http://kenandlat.diaryland.com daily THIS AND THAT column

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's a natural progression - there'll be less people, but more machines, working the fields.

Hopefully the people will be leading more meaningful lives - and the farmers will profit from more efficient farming methods.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[bina]

what will happen is what is happening in israel and the states;

the original farmers will be taken over by technoagriculture; the next generation will go off and study, then a group of upper/high middle class people looking to get away from the city will start looking for places to turn to alternative/organic sustainable living etc... farms....

the moshavim (semi co operiative villages)are selling out to ex city types who want to be gentlemen farmers: i.e. one partner works outside, one grows organic basil or pick your own strawberries operations or whatever....not large scale, more like the ecotourism stuff...

those families that are left w/ real agriculture, well, thank god for thai workers cause the younger generation wants none of it ; and most are sitting on horrendous awful debts that are payed back on next years crop which probably will also lose out...

-

and the farmers will profit from more efficient farming methods.

farmers never profit unless they are a large corporation

]the people will be leading more meaningful lives

what is more meaningful than farming anyway?? slaving away in a factory is just as bad if not worse..

i've worked for 20 years either in a factory on line or in agriculture in one aspect or an other....give me farm work any day and i'm not glorifying or romantizizing farming.... 10-12 hour days in 40 celcius and the rows of cotton go on forever (worked weeding manually); apples are a b&&ch to pick for 10 hours and its no fun getting up at 3:30 a.m. .... but factory?? no way no how..... line work is boring boring boring and physically difficult as well but is meaningless compared to harvesting a crop that you have watched from seed to harvest... my ex husband still drives past cotton or wheat or whatever and says, look, the plants are thirsynot enough irrigation, or that farmer has a bad crop too many weeds mixed in , etc.... he still lives it breathes it and feels it in his blood even though he works in a different non agricultural branch in the kibbutz....

maybe u meant more quality of life, better education, medical etc??

[NedKelly]

I agree that mechanisation is fast creeping into Isaan rice fields. Now everywhere u look there are tractors twoing ploighs, harvesters working the fields or some other form of modern machinery. I noticed the other day that a lot of farms around the area I was in, were bulldozing their fields into very large fields in order to be able to harvest their rice using machines.

In the future it is not un-reasonable to think that there will be some really big farms in isaan and a lot more diversification. Already eucalyptus is a big industry for wood-chips.....in Surin there is a big factory making mountains of woodchip. I guess it goes to Japan.

I would stilllike to see something done with the huge amounts of water that go to waste eachyear after the rainy season........it would be so easy to store zillions of litres of it for use as irrigation for other crops.

[bina]

euculyptus is a bad news cash crop in all ways: so is the rubber tree, tobacco, etc....

they leach the soil, prevent other things from growing, and the crop is paid for by large companies but the farmer doesnt get too much from this, and in the long and short run, the farmer cant eat any of it if he needs to....

check out our thread in farming in issan started by mangohead i think, plachon and sbk and others gave good ideas etc

w/mechinaization, the farmers have to buy fertilizer instead of the buffalo fertilizing, the farmer must widen fields, changing drainage channels etc for water usage, cut down trees to make path for the tractors who cant really cut close around.....its funny but here the small 'boutique' farms, and hand done 'old fashioned' way farms are becoming more profitable then our farms on the kibbutzim (techno agriculture cash crops, over using the cubic liters of water allotted to us etc....).....

unfourtunalely the area around udon seems to be being bought up by the salt companies which is super bad news.....

and a friend of mine has mentioned that global warming has reduced the amount of rice yield drastically. maybe someone could check this out? ... she's a geographer something or other but i dont know where she found this, she follows global warming stuff......

if i could ever move to issan and it was feasible, i would try to farm with the sustainable, bio diversity type attitudes and trust me , i know what farming is w/o the mechanics (i shovel shit manually, haul everything manually , slog thru sleet and wind and desert heat and the middle of the night etc.... no romantic illusions ) but my explanations to the thai workers here fall on deaf ears.... the more chemical mechanical the better.....