1995 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Commercial Agriculture under Prevailing Agro-Ecosystems
| Project/Area Number |
05041039
|
|---|
| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for international Scientific Research
|
| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
|---|
| Section | Field Research |
|---|
| Research Institution | Tokyo University of Agriculture |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
MATSUDA Toshiro Professor, Tokyo University of Agriculture, 農学部, 教授 (90078121)
|
|---|
| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
KAMPHOL ADUL カセサート大学, 経済学部, 教授
OTA Katsuhiro Associate Professor, Tokyo University of Agriculture, 農学部, 助教授 (00078205)
FUJIMOTO Akimi Professor, Tokyo University of Agriculture, 農学部, 教授 (80147488)
KIKUCHI Masao Professor, Chiba University, 園芸学部, 教授 (10241944)
NIINUMA Katsutoshi Professor, Tokyo University of Agriculture, 農学部, 教授 (60078160)
MATSUMOTO Shinji Professor, Tokyo University of Agriculture, 農学部, 教授 (00109547)
YAMAZAKI Kou Professor, Tokyo University of Agriculture, 生物産業学部, 教授 (30011878)
ADULAVIDHARA Kamphol Professor, Kasetsart University
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
1993 – 1995
|
| Keywords | Commercial farming / Small farm sector / Ecosystems / Rice conversion / Viable farming / Nonthabuti / Chiang Mai / Khon Kaen / Village study |
|---|
| Research Abstract |
The small farm sector in Southeast Asia has been undergoing dramatic changes in recent years with the adoption of new crops and technologies, promoting commercialization in agriculture. This study aimed at the clarification of the nature of such changes by dealing with the process and impact of agricultural commercialization in three areas under distinctively different agro-ecosystems in Thailand : Nonthaburi in Central, Khon kaen in Northeastern, and Chiang Mai in Northern Regions. Two villages were selected in each area for a detailed questionnaire survey, and the total of 300 farm households were studied. Survey results include the following :
1. Agricultural commercializationoccurred in both rice and upland areas. Rice farming has been converted to horticultre such as vegetable and fruit farming. Land infrastructure had to be converted to ulpand with a unique water management system by polder for planting non-rice crops. This was inevitable in low-lying Nonthaburi but the system has also been introduced in lowland villages in Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen.
2. Intensive vegetable cultivation in Nonthaburi and Khon Kaen villages showed much higher profitability than rice farming but accompanied by heavy dosage of agro-chemicals, presenting an urgent need for alternative cultivation methods.
3. There is an obvious trend in Chiang Mai to shift toward fruit farming from the traditionally intensive multiple-cropping on rice land. This reflected a higher profitability of Chiang Mai fruits and the increased lack of young rural labor.
4. Original upland farming in Khon kaen Since the 1960s has been market-oriented with a concentration on mono-culture of a certain crop. This proved to be fragile in price deline and destroyed ecosystems. At present, economically viable crops are being sought under new market conditions, but ecosystems should also be taken into consideration in the selection of crops and cultivation methods.
|
Research Products
(2 results)
