Crop Diversification in the Asia-Pacific region - United Nations in ...

Land TenureMore than half of the Thai farmers have farm holding sizes of less than 3.2 hectaresper household. In the future, the farm land tenure is expected to gradually decrease becauseof limited land resources as well as the inability to compete with other production andservices sectors to secure additional land. The small plots of land occupied by farmers areusually situated in non-irrigated areas; their income is therefore low which is insufficient fortheir subsistence.Marketing and Farm PricesIn general, the quantity of supplies of farm products is unstable and low because mostfarmers are small producers. The quantity of their production is in small amounts. Farmersstill lack the facilities to store their produce after harvesting for even short periods. The farmprices are determined by the marketing mechanism at different periods and farmers have nobargaining power for their produce.Technology Transfer and Dissemination of Information for Decision MakingAnother problem and constraint of farmers is their education, which is normally atthe compulsory level only. However, the development of technology to increase theproduction efficiency and value of products is deemed necessary because the dependence onnatural factors only does not enhance the competition in the world market. With thedecrease of soil fertility, the major production inputs, technology and proper managementhas become essential. So, it is necessary that technology from elsewhere be modified andimproved to suit local conditions before transferring to the farmers. However, the farmers’adoption of such technology requires updated and reliable information together with thereadiness of capital for procurement of production inputs.Environment differences and non-transferable technology becomes one of the majorconstraints. This is because research on crops, in the form of basic research, is carried out atthe research station. Consequently, technology transfer is not appropriate or fitted to thefarmers’ circumstances because of different locality and environment variables.Socio-economic constraints include cost and return for enterprise investment,supporting inputs attitudes and traditions. Besides that, information flows hardly ever reachthe farmers.Funds for rural credit are limited with the result that farmers have to borrow frommoney lenders, traders and middlemen in order to buy farm inputs and produce from themarket. Borrowing money usually means paying interest rates as high as 10 percent permonth.6. POTENTIAL FACTORSLand: The cultivated land is approximate 21.28 million hectares of which rice alonecovers 10.88 million hectares or more than 50 percent of land used. During the past decade,rice cultivation has decreased therefore increased productivity from existing land and crop135