The Future Of Thai Rice Farming: Are Thai Rice Farmers Losing Heart?

[moe666]

maybe if the workers were paid a decent wage people wouldnt want to look elsewhere for jobs,170bt for a backbreaking days work why would anyone want to keep doing it.so much for the minimum wage in this country.

I am just amazed that mechanizations is not already being used. The result of dirt cheap labour I suppose. This must happen if Thailand is to stay competitive with other nations.

There is nothing wrong with dumping chemicals onto the ground. Fertilizer is a necessity of modern day agriculture. A lot of land would become highly unproducive without it. Thailand has a lot going for it to maintain it's position as the worlds top rice producer. The current government needs to somehow stop unrealistically raising the prices per ton of rice to uncompetitive heights. The world's population is growing. More and more people will be needing food. Don't price yourself out of the market.

http://www.economist.com/node/21558633

mechanization is here all ready. It is OK for the big agra corporations.

About three years ago a reliable paper in Bangkok ran an article on rice farming.

The article said that when you took all the variables into consideration it was more profitable for the small farmer to use Buffalo for farming over mechanization.

The government of the time had set up a school to help them make the change. It was a ten day school it took three days to train the Buffalo.

There is plenty of mechanization out there from the one man tiller to a full tractor with all the bells and whistles, combines to harvest the rice after growing. Riding a motorcycle around Thailand especially on the back roads will open a whole new world for you. De-forestation in the north is full blown and in motion as I type this. On my trip saw lots of buffalo eating and doing what they do but not one in a field working

[iancnx]

A view from the village. I have only been in the village for 18 months so my knowledge is limited. What I do know is the vast majority of the rice grown (1 crop due to water supply issues) is mostly kept by the family for their own consumption and not sold. Other crops for income purposes are soya, peanut and corn (animal feed grade) and fruit (small scale). The choice of crop is determined by the perceived market price of the crop. For example if soya seed (bean) is expensive +fertiliser cost adds up to not much less than expected market price, then of course they do not grow. Many fields this last 6 months remain unplanted for this reason. So these 'family' farmers either do nothing for 6 months and consume their rice and home grow veggies or scrape together an income labouring whenever work available. Some are lucky enough to have a couple of pigs or a buffalo. Most have chickens. Life is really tough for these people. Their offspring have a real aversion for hardworking. The girls are more responsible and see office work as their future, or they fall in love and get married and have kids.....not necessarily in that order. The boys become labourers, mechanics etc or just don't work, which leads to possible exposure to criminal activity etc etc. unfortunately many of the uneducated parents lack the motivational techniques for their children's development and hope and pray they will continue working the land .... Otherwise there will be no food to eat!

I see no plans, or any strategy to change this existence. Once this generation dies off I suspect all the land will be sold to pay off the family debt which seems to be out of control. Easy government borrowing for these people will mean a dramatic redistribution of land in the fullness of time..... And then the poor really will become poor..... Destitute in fact. Wish I could see a way out. I would dearly like to start some 'cottage industry' type endeavour, but have already been stung once with young people's aversion for even the lightest of work, and the level of quality for those that do turn up is laughable.......even if you pay the highest wage! They just don't get it! A complete waste of manpower due to apathetic society borne out of flawed government policies over many years.

I'm with you on nearly everything you state. But, I am starting to really question our singling out the governments so narrowly. Surely the governments over many years should bear much of the blame, but what portion of the blame, if any, do we ascribe to others -- regular Thai citizens, parents, educators, children, powerful business people, etc.? Don't they all share much of the responsibility?

In total agreement Paully, Thai society middle and upper class should shoulder a good part of responsibility. It's all about mindset I guess, historical Siam in a modern guise perhaps. In other posts I have expressed my misgivings about the education system; it will take a generation to tackle just that single issue, and only if they get cracking NOW. A good education system will identify the real gems of the future, the entrepreneurs, the academics, the leaders, the visionaries and perhaps a more compassionate environment........ I hope...... My son is has just turned 4 months old!

Please note this is not a Thai bash; I love where I live and am very fortunate to be here with my lovely wife and son.

[waza]

A view from the village. I have only been in the village for 18 months so my knowledge is limited. What I do know is the vast majority of the rice grown (1 crop due to water supply issues) is mostly kept by the family for their own consumption and not sold. Other crops for income purposes are soya, peanut and corn (animal feed grade) and fruit (small scale). The choice of crop is determined by the perceived market price of the crop. For example if soya seed (bean) is expensive +fertiliser cost adds up to not much less than expected market price, then of course they do not grow. Many fields this last 6 months remain unplanted for this reason. So these 'family' farmers either do nothing for 6 months and consume their rice and home grow veggies or scrape together an income labouring whenever work available. Some are lucky enough to have a couple of pigs or a buffalo. Most have chickens. Life is really tough for these people. Their offspring have a real aversion for hardworking. The girls are more responsible and see office work as their future, or they fall in love and get married and have kids.....not necessarily in that order. The boys become labourers, mechanics etc or just don't work, which leads to possible exposure to criminal activity etc etc. unfortunately many of the uneducated parents lack the motivational techniques for their children's development and hope and pray they will continue working the land .... Otherwise there will be no food to eat!

I see no plans, or any strategy to change this existence. Once this generation dies off I suspect all the land will be sold to pay off the family debt which seems to be out of control. Easy government borrowing for these people will mean a dramatic redistribution of land in the fullness of time..... And then the poor really will become poor..... Destitute in fact. Wish I could see a way out. I would dearly like to start some 'cottage industry' type endeavour, but have already been stung once with young people's aversion for even the lightest of work, and the level of quality for those that do turn up is laughable.......even if you pay the highest wage! They just don't get it! A complete waste of manpower due to apathetic society borne out of flawed government policies over many years.

Some member will tell you this cant possibly be true as Thailand has zero unemployment