Ageing Isaan blazes a trail for Thailand

[webfact]

Ageing Isaan blazes a trail for Thailand
MARWAAN MACAN-MARKAR, Contributing writer

BAAN DONG BANG, Thailand -- For the past three years, Boonterm Chaila has puttered around on his improvised three-wheel motorcycle spreading two messages across five provinces in Thailand's rice-growing northeast region. One is that smaller paddy plots are better. The other promotes crop diversification. Both messages are aimed at villagers like Boonterm himself, a graying, weather-beaten 69-year-old former farmer, who wanted to help others who continue to till the soil well into old age.

Boonterm, who runs a community organization promoting healthy living and local wisdom, sees his communications efforts as part of a grassroots strategy to help Thailand's rural population cope better with farming problems that become harder to resolve with age.

Boon Seng​, nearly 70,​ ​still ​keeps busy ​in her old age by ​cleaning the rice she grows on her family's plot ​ in northeast Thailand. (Photo by Marwaan Macan-Markar)​
"Farmers will not stop because of age, so we need to come up with a way of working that is suitable for older people," he explained over fresh mangoes in Baan Dong Bang, his village in Thailand's northeastern province of Khon Kaen

Full story: http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Economy/Ageing-Isaan-blazes-a-trail-for-Thailand

-- NIKKEI ASIAN REVIEW 2016-05-09

[SpokaneAl]

I have often wondered why no one seems to believe in crop rotation.

[clockman]

They do in some areas. But there there is no cohesion in Thailand. A lost state!

[skildpadden]

I have often wondered why no one seems to believe in crop rotation.

Exactly - I guess it is just me who doesn't understand the extremely efficient Thai farming, but as crop rotation has been performed elsewhere hundreds of years, perhaps they should a least consider it - supported and promoted from central level as well?

[soalbundy]

I have often wondered why no one seems to believe in crop rotation.

where i am in Isaan it's all about finding a market for anything other than rice, the farmers would gladly change if someone would buy the produce in bulk.

[wabothai]

I have often wondered why no one seems to believe in crop rotation.

Exactly - I guess it is just me who doesn't understand the extremely efficient Thai farming, but as crop rotation has been performed elsewhere hundreds of years, perhaps they should a least consider it - supported and promoted from central level as well?

My experience is that they refuse to listen to good advice of bettering their situation.

[wabothai]

The ministry of agriculture better make some drastic changes soon.

The youth is walking away to the cities and many of the ladies find better incomes in the known cities.

They don't want to work the paddies in the blazing heat, they prefer to hang out in the ACed malls.

Invest in ACed tractors with radios and EDUCATE !!!!!!!! the lot.

[Stray]

I have often wondered why no one seems to believe in crop rotation.

Crop rotation requires spare land which many farmers just don't have. Further, as soalbundy points out, only crops that have marketable value can be grown.

On farms that have comparatively large tracts of land, crop rotation IS carried out in many areas. Rice is grown during one season and, during the dry, cassava is planted. Crops such as corn and sugar cane are also grown. Rice is not planted again, on the same plot, for around 2 years. That doesn't mean that rice isn't grown on the farm, just not on the same plot of land.

Unbeknownst to many keyboard experts, there are farmers around that are aware of the affects of anaerobic bacteria upon their soil. Hence, the reason for allowing it to rest, from rice crops, for a couple of seasons. They are also aware of crop rotation methods. However, for many, these requirements are just not financially feasible. Hence, the growing debt and selling off of sections of land and the overburdening of the soil they have remaining.

[wabothai]

I have often wondered why no one seems to believe in crop rotation.

Exactly - I guess it is just me who doesn't understand the extremely efficient Thai farming, but as crop rotation has been performed elsewhere hundreds of years, perhaps they should a least consider it - supported and promoted from central level as well?

Crop rotation is necessary and is very successful if implemented and controled from an independant organisation. However if corruption is involved, forget it.

[thaiguzzi]

Isaan is not the central plains. Nor is it the deep south. Nor is it Europe. The only decent soil is what is close ie 200-500 metres from the large river banks. Everywhere else has poor soil, very barren, not enough water, and a lot of this is man made. Teak and mahogony forests plundered in the mid 1900's by some very wealthy and important individuals today. Add relatively small household plots into the equation, poverty, and topics like "crop rotation been done for hundreds of years elsewhere" does'nt really cut it. There is a reason why Isaan is the poorest region in Thailand, and has been since post WW II, helped along by the last 60 odd years of various Thai governments. Don't blame the mess this region is in on "poor uneducated farmers". They've never had a chance against what Big Bangkok has taken from the area.

[PoorSucker]

I have often wondered why no one seems to believe in crop rotation.

Up in northern Chiang Mai my father in-law rotates 7 different crops each year.

The soil is perfect, black and full with earthworms so 7 crops per year is possible.

Mountain springs provides plenty of water all year around.

If you are in middle of Issan the soil is not suitable for multiple crops.

[willyumiii]

I have often wondered why no one seems to believe in crop rotation.

where i am in Isaan it's all about finding a market for anything other than rice, the farmers would gladly change if someone would buy the produce in bulk.

I agree.

But another issue is that there is no system in place to get fresh perisable produce to market in bulk.

Rice and cassava ( mon saparone ) are both dried, processed and shipped without much difficulty and they are the crops most commonly grown in Isaan.

I have a large Thai family who are almost all involved in farming the aforementioned crops.

When I ask them why they don't grow other crops that are worth more, they always reply along the lines of" This is what we grow because this is what we have always grown here."

I think if more Thai people, like this old woman, and maybe even the government ,would advocate diversifying, more Thai people would try it.

Thai people like Thai ideas, not foreign ideas.

It may even be a good investment if the government would subsidies farmers willing to new crops.

Buddha knows the government has dumped tons of money into rice farming in the past with devastating results on today's value of rice.

Investing money in something that may improve Thailand's agronomic situation may be a better idea!

The government also needs to look into a water reclamation program where flood waters are retained for use during the drought months, but that is a topic for an entire threas of it's own.

Edited May 9, 2016 by willyumiii

[scorecard]

I have often wondered why no one seems to believe in crop rotation.

Exactly - I guess it is just me who doesn't understand the extremely efficient Thai farming, but as crop rotation has been performed elsewhere hundreds of years, perhaps they should a least consider it - supported and promoted from central level as well?

My experience is that they refuse to listen to good advice of bettering their situation.

Also true, over many decades:

- Thai farmers have been strongly influenced to change crops / tress etc by various officials and in reality their advice has been quite wrong and done damage.

- Thai farmers have because of intimidation by various officials changed their cops / trees etc ......

[nervona81732]

Isaan is not the central plains. Nor is it the deep south. Nor is it Europe. The only decent soil is what is close ie 200-500 metres from the large river banks. Everywhere else has poor soil, very barren, not enough water, and a lot of this is man made. Teak and mahogony forests plundered in the mid 1900's by some very wealthy and important individuals today. Add relatively small household plots into the equation, poverty, and topics like "crop rotation been done for hundreds of years elsewhere" does'nt really cut it. There is a reason why Isaan is the poorest region in Thailand, and has been since post WW II, helped along by the last 60 odd years of various Thai governments. Don't blame the mess this region is in on "poor uneducated farmers". They've never had a chance against what Big Bangkok has taken from the area.

I totally agree, the powers that be look at these dark skinned Issan folks with disgust. They are no better than falangs. That is digusting. I feel for these simple honest hard working folks. Many of which are ( I consider ) my family. I would not trade them out for all the tea in China or all the $ in the world. Their Gov does not give a <deleted> about them and that is quite obvious. I hope I don't get tagged for telling the truth.

[jackinthebox]

The ministry of agriculture better make some drastic changes soon.

The youth is walking away to the cities and many of the ladies find better incomes in the known cities.

They don't want to work the paddies in the blazing heat, they prefer to hang out in the ACed malls.

Invest in ACed tractors with radios and EDUCATE !!!!!!!! the lot.

Shiny John Deere Tractors with AC are quite expensive. I wonder who would invest in upcountry farming-communities when in the capital 45 year old non-AC-busses still run from the suburbs to downtown every day.