Untitled - CGIAR Impact

Structural changes
in rice supply relations:
Philippines and Thailand
J.F. SISON, SOMSAK PRAKONGTANAPAN, AND Y. HAYAMI
THIS PAPER 1 ATTEMPTS to estimate the structural changes in rice supply relations
that occurred when modern rice varieties were introduced into Southeast Asia.
It includes case studies in the Philippines and Thailand.
HYPOTHESIS AND METHOD
One of the major controversies in past development economics was whether
small peasant producers in developing countries respond rationally to
economic incentives. A Philippine study was made by Mangahas et al. (1965)
for rice and maize, and a Thailand study was made by Behrman (1967) for rice,
maize, cassava, and kenaf. The studies showed that almost without exception,
the peasant producers do, in fact, respond rationally to price incentives.
Since the controversy was settled empirically, the initial enthusiasm for the
analysis of farm supply response faded. Rice supply study has been no exception.
As summarized in Table 1, most of the rice supply studies for developing
countries, including those of Mangahas et al. and Behrman, based their
analyses on data gathered before 1965.
Since then, however, a number of factors that might have resulted in major
changes in the rice supply relations have developed.
First, new rice technology represented by modern semidwarf varieties was
developed and diffused rapidly in the Philippines. Diffusion of the same technology
lagged in Thailand, partly because of difficulty there with water control
Former IRRI research scholar, Institute of Agricultural Development and Administration,
University of the Philippines at Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines; former IRRl scholar now in
Bangkok; and visiting agricultural economist, International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños,
Philippines, now in Tokyo, Japan.
1 Based on M.S. dissertations completed at IRRI Agricultural Economics Department by Jerome F. Sison
(1976) and Somsak Prakongtanapan (1976).