Nyt Article: Thai Youth Seek A Fortune Away From The Farm

[BigJohnnyBKK]

Link

Not much "news" here for most of us, but an interesting bit of reading, stats etc.

[Ron19]

I shudder to think what is going to happen with the next generation.Out of a family of my wifes seven siblings,only one of their children have stayed on the farm and that is my wifes eldest son who works our land.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

I shudder to think what is going to happen with the next generation.Out of a family of my wifes seven siblings,only one of their children have stayed on the farm and that is my wifes eldest son who works our land.

Thai rice will get a lot more expensive, less of it will be grown, farmland will get bought up for higher-profit cropping by larger companies, eventually the peasantry will be turned into cash-enslaved working class as in all developed countries.

[aneliane]

“We are losing what we call Thai-ness, the values of being kind, helping each other, having mercy and gratefulness.”

Thai are evolving from innocent kind peasants to self centered offices workers

[bina]

duh!.. the same here. average age of farmers is 40+ and the kids run as soon as possible to the big cities or to hi tech jobs, anything rather then get up at 4:00 am work all day eat dinner at 20:00 and lose money when there is no rain, or there is hail, or bugs, or too much rain, or frost in an area that never gets frost...

it may look romantic to those that dont farm, but for those of us that have farmed, its something that u either choose, or it is in your veins, not for the money... and its hard as hell and yes for sure dont want to be out in the heat, in the muck, with bugs and snakes and breakback work...

on our kibbutz we stil farm, but mostly only for tha same reason that professor mentioned: for our 'connection to the land'... part of the philosophy of which a country is built upon.; my ex was a farmer, my son was gung ho about working in our apple orchards and vineyards but now that he has to think of his 'real' future, farming is no where in the plan... our farming is not for money, maybe for breaking even, because we can afford to keep doing it, by also having industry...

sadly farming will become industrialized (or not sadly), and there are always migrant workers to work the land for the rich land owners of the bought up farms (burmese, whomever the thais use as cheap labour-- like the thais are here for us); but like many wester countries, the return to small farming will become in style (only for those that can afford it) and boutique crops will take the place of cash crops or substinance crops.. i give thailand 20 years to start doing heirloom rice, heirloom buffalos, specialty egg layers, etc...... all owned by well to do owners..

bina

israel

[notmyself]

Good read

[sirineou]

Unless the economics of rice farming in Thailand change, the exodus from the rice farms is an inevitable trend.

My Father in Law who is a retired government worker ,now works a small rice farm, at the end of the day, he barely brakes even, we always tell him not to do it, and that we can help him buy all the rice he could ever want, or need, but we understand his reasons, it gives him a reason to get up in the morning, and a source of pride.

But as far as younger people are concerned, if only motivated by monetary rewards, their time is best invested elsewhere.

[DrTuner]

Same as my country in the 70's. Luckily I could escape the current form of living in the west here and will probably be worm food by the time it gets the same here.

As for the kids, no future in the rice business run by the MIL I think, so I'm grooming them to be mobile so they can have their pick. Most probably they'll end up marrying the first motorbike taxi dude, but hey, free rides, eh ?