SBR- Content.pmd - INBO

8 - AgricultureDiversification into various kinds of non-ricecrops has taken place to a greater extent inThailand than in the other three countries,with a wide range of such crops grownextensively. 62 However, non-rice crops stillonly cover approximately 20 percent of thecultivated area in the Northeast Region. 63Vegetables, legumes, kenaf and tobacco aresometimes combined with rice in paddylands. In unbunded fields in the uplands,cassava, kenaf, sugarcane and legumes, suchas groundnuts and mungbeans, are oftengrown as mono-crops. 64 The majorconstraints on production in such uplandareas are soil quality problems and the build-up of disease in continuously-cropped areas. 65 Cassava,maize and sugarcane are the most important non-rice crops, although the area devoted to cassavahas reduced substantially. Although figures for the Northeast Region are unavailable, there havebeen major increases in the production of vegetables such as shallots and garlic. 66 Yields for mostcrops have seen moderate improvements since 1994, with a major (28 percent) increase for theyield of sugarcane.Table 12. Northeastern Thailand selected non-rice crops 1990-2000Crop yields in the LMB are generally low byinternational standardsHarvested Area Production (‘000 T) Yield (T/ha)(‘000 ha)Item 1994 2000 1994 2000 1994 2000Maize 313 334 838 1041 2.67 3.12Sorghum 3 2 4 3 1.47 1.69Mungbean 20 22 12 15 0.62 0.68Cassava 862 646 11680 10472 13.56 16.21Sugarcane 205 206 9382 12098 45.79 58.71Soybean 48 38 66 54 1.39 1.41Groundnut 30 30 43 46 1.42 1.54Kenaf 82 17 120 29 1.46 1.74Cotton 9 4 12 6 1.34 1.43Note: Figures for fruit and vegetable production for the Northeast Region were not availableSource: Thailand National Statistics Office 1997, 2000 and 2001Whereas rice is the agricultural mainstay in Viet Nam’s delta region, perennial and tree crops tendto dominate in the Central Highlands, with 269,000 ha devoted to the growing of major non-ricecrops, compared to 143,000 ha for rice. The production figures below indicate that the land areadevoted to major non-rice crops decreased by more than 10 percent in the Mekong Delta and increasedby 33 percent in the Central Highlands between 1995 and 1999. These trends reflect the individualresponses of small-holders and agribusiness operators to regional comparative advantage in theface of the relaxation of socialist market controls. Also important are government attempts to increaserice production in the delta and promote the growing of non-rice cash-crops such as coffee inupland areas by encouraging migration to the highland provinces.161