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

The New theory is a novel approach and concept aimed at assisting individualfarmers possessing a small piece of land in being able to manage the utilization of land andwater for agricultural activities properly in order to create optimum benefits. Theimplementation plan is divided into three phases as follows:7.1 Phase 1: The allocation of Land for Farming Activities and Housing AreaThe small piece of land is divided into four parts. Part 1, or about 30 percent is setaside for digging a pond to store water for cultivation as well as for raising aquatic animalsand plants. Part 2, or about 30 percent will be used for rice farming which will provide thefamily with sufficient rice for consumption all year round. Part 3, or another 30 percent ofthe land is allocated for planting of fruit trees, vegetables, field crops, etc., from whichfarmers can sell the surplus to the market. The last 10 percent is reserved as a place forhousing, animal raising, and other purposes. The ultimate goals of the theory are to ensurethat during the dry season, a sufficient amount of water will be available for cultivation;farmers will have enough rice to eat all year round and become self-reliant at an economiclevel; and hopefully, unity will prevail within the community.From “New Theory” phase 1, There are main principles and important guidelines,which can be described as follows:a. The main idea of the "New Theory" is to serve as a production system that allowsfarmers to become self-sufficient, self-reliant, and frugal. To be viable, this concept requiresunity and willingness of the community to work with and assist one another in order toreduce expenses, similar to the traditional practice of Long Khaek (traditional mutual helpgathering for an activity such as rice harvests).b. With rice being the staple food for every Thai household, the theory estimatesthat, if each family carries out rice cultivation over an area of 0.8 hectares they will beguaranteed a whole year’s supply of rice for consumption. This means that farmers will nothave to buy rice at an unreasonably high price and can lead their lives freely because theyhave become self-reliant.c. Another important point is that the storage of water must be sufficient to supplyfarming during the dry season or dry spells. Therefore, the concept ensures that a part of theland is set aside for the construction of a pond to store sufficient water for all year roundcultivation. According to His Majesty’s guideline for cultivation of 0.16 hectare, a farmerwill need about 1,000 cubic metres of water. Thus, under the "New Theory", if an area of0.8 hectares is used for rice farming and another 0.8 hectares for field or fruit crop farming (atotal of 1.6 hectares), approximately 10,000 cubic meters of water will be needed annually.Therefore, under the assumption that each piece of land has a total area of 2.4hectares, a formula has been derived for farmers to apply on their plots as follows:- an area of 0.8 ha for rice cultivation.- an area of 0.8 ha for field and garden crops cultivation.- an area of 0.48 ha for a pond with a depth of 4 metres and a storage capacity of19,000 cubic metres which is a sufficient amount to supply farming and other dailyneeds during the dry season.- an area of 0.32 ha for housing and other activities.137