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8 - Agriculturein this region. Land in the Central Highlands is relatively abundant given the low population density,and the government has been encouraging the resettlement of lowlanders to the these provinces toexploit opportunities for expanding production of cash-crops such as coffee, tea and rubber.The Korat Plateau and the rest of the Northeastern Region of Thailand, following rapid deforestationin the 1980s, are now almost 80 percent agricultural land. There are three main geographic areas –the upper and the lower sections of the Chi-Mun rivers and the smaller Mekong tributaries. The soilis generally low in fertility and highly saline. 25 Most agricultural cultivation takes place mainly inthe alluvial soils in the middle and lower portions of the river valleys where there are pockets ofhigher productivity.3. Agricultural methods and production3.1 OverviewAgricultural crop growing takes place in the upland and lowland (floodplain) areas of the MekongBasin. Forms of upland agriculture vary considerably depending upon cultural practices and localsoil and topographic conditions. Majorupland farming systems include shiftingand semi-shifting cultivation. Crops areusually rainfed, with relatively lowirrigation ratios in the upland areas. Rice isgrown, as are fruit trees along with a varietyof industrial cash crops. Agriculture in theuplands is typically less efficient than inthe Mekong floodplains and other lowlandareas, where the majority of cropproduction takes place. The floodplainsaround the Mekong are flat and nutrient richand under extensive rice cultivation.Lowland rice farming systems include wetseason rice, floating rice, flood recessionrice, dry season irrigated rice, and multicropproduction systems. The variousFarmers are increasingly diversifying from rice intoother more profitable cropsregions of the basin record between one and three harvests per year. The main harvest is the wetseason crop, with smaller numbers of farmers planting in the dry season as well (with or withoutirrigation.) Some parts of the delta area of Viet Nam also grow a third harvest later in the year.Cropping patterns vary, although rice predominates. Dry season cropping is mostly combined withcontinued wet season rice, and sometimes with other crops such as corn, soybean, and vegetables. 26Agriculture across the basin involves a mix of subsistence and commercialised production. Ingeneral, farming households focus first on production to meet household needs and then sellwhatever surplus they have, although barter predominates in remote regions with weak marketsystems. Gradually, lowland households have accumulated sufficient wealth from sale of theirsurplus to make the transition into increasingly commercialised agriculture: production for saleand increased purchase of food for household consumption. This shift involves increaseddependence on market-supplied inputs such as fertilisers and pesticides, machinery and advancedseed varieties. Commercialised agriculture has been practised for some time on the Korat Plateauand is now being pursued with vigour in Viet Nam’s Mekong Delta and, to a lesser extent, in theCentral Highlands. This trend is likely to accelerate as governments stress increased regional and151