Farming, profits and foreigners.

[charlie10]

"I'm a little bit surprised to hear you think a person can make good profit and money from 10 rai of land. What are you growing and selling?"

Charlie I never said a good profit, I said a good living. In a rural setting 10 rai farmed with the right crops/livestock during the right conditions and the right land to start with, you can earn more than you could teaching the 2nd most popular choice of profession for expats.

Growing Rice isn't a crop that you can make a profit from small scale so why bother. Unless it is only for your own needs. Personally, I believe in subsistence farming. You lower your own cost of living by being self sufficient. That should only take about 1-2 rai to support a family with rotating gardens, fish pond, certain livestock, and rice if you really want to do it. I personally don't do rice, too much effort for me.

Don't raise crops just because that is what your partner's family has been doing for 50 years. Llamyai used to be the crash crop of the north, wouldn't even pay for your water and fertilizer to grow them now though.

Good to hear you are making a go of self sufficiency. I've gone down that line with a just under 2 rai of land close to where we live and separate from the rice fields. Pigs, chickens, ducks, raised vegetable beds, fruit trees (yet to bear fruit) etc. Lots of hard physical work, but having fun fulfiling a dream and living a new new way of life tied to land and nature. Results to date: definitely not large scale or intensive enough to generate sufficient money to live. Luckily I have other sources of income and so it's not a problem. The lack of water availability and poor soil (sand) does limit the vegetable growing.The climate does too in terms of what can be grown. What we grow we eat. Not enough really to sell. The rice is what the family do (although I help in the fields for the 4 -5 weeks of harvesting - great fun, the highlight of the year) and i keep well away from any interference with that aspect of farming. It's their livelihood and something they know how to do, and do well. We benefit from a good supply of rice throughout the year and they get the pittance paid for the excess hulled rice we don't need to keep for eating or future seeds.

The options of growing something other than rice appears to be extremely limited in our area - perhaps sweet potato's, euca trees, sugar cane. These crops can grow in our immediate area but few people seem to bother other than the growing of euca trees on land not suitable for rice. That makes me wonder why? Not enough money in it? Don't grow well enough? A neighbour is trying rubber trees - have to see whether that works out as no-one else is growing this in our general area so not sure whether this is a soil, water, climate issue or not. Further North (150km+ away where there is higher altitude and better soil) rubber trees are a major crop and income source so is there a reason why it isn't in my area?. Another neighbour tried growing water melons over a few rai. He got a reasonable crop but has never repeated the planting, so I think that says something about whether it was worth his time and effort. It's possible to try something completely new but the risks of crop failure is likely to be high. The local people grow and don't grow crops for a reason, and it's not always just because they are ignorant or tied to a tradition. They often know what crops can grow or cannot in an area. I've certainly seen that with my vegetable growing in the suan when I've tried growing something different to what is generally grown around here and failed.

So back to whether you can make enough profit from farming to support yourself and extended family. For me it looks like the answer is no. The returns are certainly unlikely to be worth the effort. I can make much more money in other businesses for far less investment, time or business costs, and I do. However, I enjoy raising livestock and growing vegetables and I will continue to this as part of a back to land, and nature, self reliance outlook on life. Living in Thailand has given me the opportunity to do this, and I am grateful.

[RedBullHorn]

Reminds me of the Python gang's routine "'Ole in Road, bloody luxury!"

The fact RBH is making money has little to do with being farang. He has been lucky or smart enough to find a niche and a critical mass to start kicking goals. But I don't read anything in what he writes that indicates he is doing much different to the locals in the same position. The numbers he quotes as expenses in the above posting show me a very comfortable but still Thai Farming lifestyle. I'd be more than happy with those numbers.

How about you guys?

I have an Australian friend who has lived in Bangkok for many years and was recently offered a new job at 220,000 baht a month. AND HE TURNED IT DOWN saying IT WASN'T ENOUGH! WFT....? This guy has been talking about moving to Isaan and starting a farm to live an easier life for years.

So the Sunday sermon concludes with: be under no illusions here. There are profits to be made farming here all we have to do is be happy with what we can achieve and live within our incomes.

So what was the next step down from the Ole in Road?

My daily meals are heavy breakfast at 10am, heavy lunch at 2-3pm, no dinner just a fillet of raw Salmon sliced up into 10-12 bite size Sashimi with wasabi + Japanese soya sauce accompany by half a bottle of Lao Khao.

Been a Chinese, rice is the base and is from our own paddy which is free because the land is on lease to the uncle so we get a third of the harvest. The wife knows what to cook for this fussy-less husband, a big pot of soup with pork and bones (sometime i get ribs if the wife is satisfy with my performance. ) that would last me the whole day. Stir-fried vegetable with mushroom and an egg sunny-side-up. Other days I'll get congee or porridge with fish + salted vegetable and fermented tofu or instant noodles with left over in the fridge.

The wife and son are easy too, Somtam, pla ping, moo ping, steam vegs, nam prick and khao niew, kway teow, khao soi, nam niew... (vegetable, chillies are free from the grandma's garden and khao niew are free when we trade the Hom Mali 105 paddies in exchange for sticky rice paddies.)

Occasionally there's Spaghetti Bolognese, T-bone steak with mash potatoes, salad and sweet corns, Chicken rice and khao ka moo. At times I'll sneak out to town for a Triple Big Mac or Wanton noodles. Family eating out once monthly - MK, Sizzler, Pizza, Fuji (rotated monthly)

The Golden Retriever and farm guard dog are on 20kg sack of Pedigee liver flavour that last for one and a half month. Average ฿22/day for 2 dogs + left over, rice and soup.

Being rich is security... but taste buds will always stay the same, I'll still crave for food I've eaten growing up. Just the price of the same food have change...... they became more expensive.

Edited June 30, 2013 by RedBullHorn