A BRlgg OOTLIliK OF EOaiOMt IN THg CENTRAL PIAIW RKGIOW OF THAILMO? AMD PHgTQEaBCRJ
In this chapter, we outline the general fea tures of economy of the central plain region of Thai
land. We also present sim ilar information of Phetchaburi province, which is also situated in this region. The
focus w ill be on the study area and characteristics of
farmers/ who are taken as sample farmers for investi g a t i o n .
3.1 THg CHiHAL PIAIH CTOIOW:
3.1.1 Location, Topograply and CliMte:
The Central Plain Region is the largest paddy producing region particularly of non-glutinous rice in dry season. A double crop of paddy is always grown in this region. It surrounded by Nakhon Sawan, Phetchabun,
Utai Thani a n d Tak provinces in North, Chaiyaphum,
Buarirain ;^n d Nakhon Ratchasima provinces in the North- east, Myanmar in the West, and Cambodia to the East.
Chumphqn province lies in the South and the Gulf of
Thailand to the East, South, Southeast and Southwest.
(See figure no. 3.1)
Generally, the Central Plain Region i s characterised by low and flat topography. The lowest area is the middle part of the region. Some areas which are low lying are flooded by the Chao Phraya R i v e r every year in the rainy season. The region is situa;^ed
o partly in the basin of the Chao Phraya River and Pasak River and their tributaries in the North and middle part, partly in the basin of Meklong and the Phetchaburi River on the West and the basin of the Bang Pakong on the east. Besides, the soil in this region is of heavy clay and some mediiom heavy to light alluvia. However, some parts of the West and the East are low and high hills and mountainous area. Some parts are near the sea in the South and Southeast of this region*; The average temperature is about' 28 C** and annual rain fkll is about 1/354 mm per annum. A s a result, it is a lush and fertile valley. It is the richest and most exten sive rice producing area* Bangkok, the capital of Thai land is located in this region.
3.1.2 Land Utilization:
Agriculture plays an important role in the economy of this region. Soil or land is the most impor tant natural resource. The paddy crop is the main crop in this region. In table no. 3.1, we present land utilization statistics of the whole region. The total geographical area of this region is 10,390.1 thousand hectares or 20.24% of 51,311.50 thousand hectares of the whole country which was constant throughout the period of the study, but, the total farm holdings wajs fluctuating. It decreased from 4,629.6 thousand hect ares or 44.5% the total land in 1989 to 4,358.0 thou sand hectares or 41.9% in 1995. The land under forest during the above period was more or less constant. It decreased from 2,500.9 thousand hectares or 24% of total land in 1989 to 2, 387.9 thousand hectares or 22.9% in 1995. This is because the forest was destroyed and invaded for agricultural purposes.
The area under housing was more or less con stant. It was 121.9 thousand hectares or 2.9% of total farm holdings in 1989 and 125.4 thousand hectares or 2.6% in 1995. The area of paddy cultivation decreased from 2,070.7 thousand hectares or 44.7% of total farm holdings in 1989 to 1,889.7 thousand hectares or 43.3% in 1995. The area under field crops also decreased from 1,516.8 thousand hectares or 32.7% in 1989 to 1,413.0 thousand or 32.1% in 1995. However, the area under fruits, trees and vegetables have gradually increased, it has increased from 701.3 thousand hectares or 15.1% of total farm holdings to 727.4 thousand hectares or 16.7% and the vegetable growing area has increased from 36.1 thousand hectares or 0.7% of total farm holdings to 48.5 thousand hectares or 1.1% in 1995. This is because the farmers have diversified to cash crops which get a higher benefits than other tradi tional crops.
3.1.3 Irrigation:
There are two types of irrigation sources viz. agricultural wells and irrigation canals. The Central Plain is the best irrigated region of Thai land. Table no.3.2 indicates the area under net irri gation in the central plain of Thailand. The total farm holding area was more or less constant from 4, 629.6 thousand hectares {or 28,935.1 thousand rais) in 1989 to 4,407.7 thousand hectares (or 27,547.9 thousand rais). in 1993, and decreased to 4,358.0 thousand hect ares in 1995.
However, the area under net irrigation in the region increased from 2,003.5 thousand hectares (or 12,522.2 thousand rais) in 1989 to 2,151.7 thousand hectares (or 13,448.2 thousand rais) in 1995. The per centage of net irrigated area to the total farm holding area for the region increased from 43.3% in 1989 to 50.29% in 1993. The increase in the percentage of net irrigation area to the total farm holdings area was mainly due to the completion of dikes and ditches projects of the Regional Irrigation Office in the Cen tral Plain and due to increasing the number of agricul tural wells, pumps and irrigation schemes during the above period.
3.1.4 Cropping Pattern:
The cropping pattern of any region is the outcome of trial and adjustment depending on physical, sociological and economic features. In case of foodgrains, economic factors play an important role in determination of area under different competing cash crops.
Table no.3.3, reveals the area under differ ent crops and their respective percentage are declin ing. It was 4,481.8 thousand hectares (or 28,011.4 thousand rais) in 1991-92, it decreased to 4,407.7 Figure no. 3.1 Location of Central Plain Region, Thailand
N
Phetc:lial>ii ri
1 1
NORTH-EASTERN
NORTHERN
CENTRAL PLAfN
SOUTHERN T 3
oo o o CM CO ON m 0 ) 0 ) *S <0 tr> l O ■u o> <1) M VO TT r VD CO CM m ON 00 ON 0 0« VO • CM o > o § (T7 VO P - o «-H ^ (d Atm Otader Irrigation in thm Central Ragion of Thailand. ______^nit:'000 hecta£es)_ Year Total Farm Holding Net Irrigated Percentage Area Area (1) (2) (2/1) 1989 4,629,6 2,003.5 43.30 1990 4,597.2 2,034.2 44.26 1991 4,580.7 2,082.2 45.45 1992 4,481.8 2,104.5 47.00 1993 4,407.7 2,216.9 50.29 1994 4,383.8 2,139.9 48.80 1995 4,358.0 2,151.7 49.30 Source: Thailand, Royal Irrigation Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. Tabla no. 3.3 Cropping Patt^xn in Th« Central Plain. (Unit: '000 hectares) Year Particulars 1991-92 1995-96 Total farm holding land 4,481.8 4,407.6 (100.0 ) (100.0) Paddy - Wet season 1,633.9 1,562.0 (36.54) (35.43) - Dry season 429.6 600.3 ’(9.501 (13.62) Maize 343.0 325.4 (7.60) (7.38) Cassava 401.2 333.2 (8.90) (7.56) Sugarcane 548.5 458.9 (12.20) (10.41) Mungbean 57.2 41.8 (1.20) (0.95) Sorghum 87.9 59.7 (1.90) (1.35) Groundnut 17.2 13.1 (0.39) (0.29) Cotton 28.2 16.6 (0.12) (0.37) Kenaf 4.6 # 3.0 (0.10) (0.06) Pineapple 68.8 84.8 (1.59) (1.92) Fruit, Vegetable, Flower 750.28 773.0 (16.73) (17.53) Others 400.4 92.9 (8.93) (2.10) Source: Thailand, Office of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Statistics Of Thailand, Crop Year 1995-96. o thousand hectares (or 27,547.9 thousand rais) in 1995- 96. An examination of data revealed that the area under paddy crop, especially in dry season increased from 9.5% in 1991-92 to 13.62% in 1995-96, but in the wet season it decreased marginally from 36.54 % to 35.43% in 1995-96 of the total farm holding. This is due to the fact that there is sufficient irrigation and the irrigation facility of the Central Plain Region is advanced for dry season paddy crop, where as the wet season depends mainly bn weather conditions. The area under food crops and non-food crops, mostly decreased from year 1991-92 to year 1995-96, expept in the case of cotton and pineapple • which in creased from 0.12% and 1.59% in 1991-92 to 0.37 % and 1.92% in 1995-96 respectively. It should be noted here that the area under fruits and vegetables marginally increased from 16.73% in 1991-92 to 17.53% in 1995-96. This situation was mainly due to cash crops and can get higher benefits than that of food crops. 3 .2 PHETCHABORl PROVmCB: 3.2.1 Loomtion, Topography and Soil: phetchaburi, situated about 120 km Southwest of Bangkok, is a province in the Central Plain Region, the largest paddy and other crops producing region in Thailand. On the other hand, it is called the Western Region due to the fact that it is in the lower Central Plain Region. The province surrounded by Ratchaburi in the North, Samut Songkhram in the Northeasten, the border of Myanmar on the West, while Prachaup Khirikham lies on the South, and the coast of the gulf of Thai land is on the East of the province. It is within the latitude 12° 15'-13® 30 and the longitude 99® 50'-100° 25'. (see fig. no. 3,2) Generally, Phetchaburi is characterised by high, flat and lowland topography. On the West prov ince, the ground is the foothill region, it gradually falls and flattens out and becomes a lowland plain in the middle of the province whereas the East province is flat downland extending towards the sea. It should be note here, that the low lying area is not flooded in any season. This is due to the fact that the the best irrigation facilities are in this province. Some parts of the province in the Western part next to Myanmar are low hilly and mountainous areas where lies the source of the Phetchaburi River which is the most important river. The river flows for about 200 km or 120 miles from its origin in the West of the province to the gulf the in the East of the province which helps the whole cultivated area. In general the soils in this province is al luvial of recent deposit consisting of loamy sand, Boulder and large sized pebbles are found in the stream beds'. The sandy loam soil is found throughout the West bank of the Phetchaburi river whereas the sandy loam, sandy clay and clay soils are found in the flat lands in the East of province.^ As a consequence, the area in the West is appropriate for other crops viz maize, pineapple/ etc^ whereas the land in the East and Middle of the river are suitable for rice cultivation in this province. 3.2.2 Cliaata and Rainfall: ' V ' The climate of Phetchaburi is generally, tropi cal with long hours of sunshine and high humidity. As a result of. tl^ coastal strip of the province in the East a:ad . high mountains in the West of province, the d ^ ^ t e is moderate. Normally, Phetchaburi re- •• -fc'- ' cexvea South West monsoon which blows from May to October and the Bengal clyclonic rain which falls be tween toy and October. During these months the rain fall is light. The typhoon rain which moves from South- East between September to November carry heavy rain onto the watershede of Phetchaburi.(see fig. no.3.3). Table no. 3.4, indicates that during 1987- 1997, annual nimber of rainy days varied between 68- 127 with an average of 96.7 days and the total amount of rainfall ranged between 726.1 mm to 1,242 mm with an o Figure No 3.2: Location of Phetchaburi and Study Districts O Figure no. 3.3 Paths of Various Rain Carrying Winds During The Rainy Season Source: Agriculture in Thailand, 1957 0 average of 958.7 mm per annum. This also shows that the average minimum and maximum temperature in Phetchaburi during 1987-1997 varied between 17.8 to 36.3 with an average of 28.0 degree Celsius. The monthly rainfall and the number of rainy days in Phetchaburi can be seen from table no.3.5 which also shows the average monthly rainfall during 1987- 97. The amount of rainfall was lowest in the month of February (only 1.0 mm). After that it slightly in creased between March and May due to the Southwest monsoon and rapidly increased to about 102 mm in June, there after it decreased between July and August. The amount of rainfall again increased sharply to 158.4- 290.2 mm between the months of September and October as a result of the Typhoon from the South China sea. After that, the amount marginally decreased during the months of November, December, January and February. So the rainfall in Phetchaburi during those months was more or less constant. There was a period of moderate to heavy rainfall during the cultivating time between June and October. In the case of monthly temperature, the tem perature was highest in the month of May. After that it was constant and increased marginally and became low est in the month of January. According to table no. 3.6, in 1997 the temperature of Phetchaburi in May varied between 26.2°-33.7° C° with the average tempera ture of 29.8 Celsius, then increased a little and remained constant for July and August. The temperature o Tabl« no.3.4 and Teeperatuxe in Phatchabuxi 1987-1997. .....i'll'. : , No. of Rainy days Rain fall Ten^erature (C°) * (days) (nuQ) nin max average 1987 99 1242.3 16.4 37.5 27.7 1998 111 1076.1 16.7 37.0 28.2 1989 94 1135.6 16.9 37.3 28.3 1990 91 ‘ 754.9 16.5 37.8 28.4 1991 94 740.6 24.0 32.3 28.2 1992 92 1020.7 20.2 36.7 27.8 1993 97 918.7 14.1 38.1 27.8 1994 91 726.1 17.2 36.4 27.9 1995 100 799.5 15.0 37.2 28.0 1996 127 1136.9 14.6 37.3 27.6 1997 68 994.6 24.6 32.0 28.2 Average 96.7 958.7 17.83 36.3 28.0 Source: Ptetchaburi Meteorological Station, Thailand 1996-97. TabU DO.3.5 Monthly Raiafall and tabax of Raiay Daja in Pbotehaboxi 1987-1997 Month Average (1987-1996) 1997 (Days) (mm) (Days) (mm) January 1.1 9.5 1 34.3 1.0 1.0 1 1.0 2.2 20.54 2 6.8 37.5 2 15.9 >\2.9 May 0.3 77.7 5 48.7 June L2.8 102.0 7 29.1 July 13.7 76.5 13 64.2 August 14.6 98.8 12 56.9 Septen^r 16.9 158.4 13 369.3 October 17.9 290.2 10 154.0 November 6.2 82.5 2 214.4 Deceniber l.O 7.0 0 0.0 Total 99.5 962.5 68 994.6 Source: Phetchaburi Meteorological Station, Thailand, 1997. Tabltt no.3.6 Monthly T«apttratar« of Fhotchaburi, in 1997. Month Temperature iC^) Min Max Average January 20.0 29.6 24.8 February 23.4 31.6 27.5 March 24.8 31.6 28.3 April 24.6 32.8 28.7 May 26.2 33.7 29.8 June 26.2 33.1 29.7 July 26.1 32.1 ■ 29.3 August 26.0 32.5 29.3 September 25.3 31.5 28.3 October 25.1 31.9 28.5 November 23.9 31.4 27.6 December 22.7 31.9 27.3 Source: Phetchaburi Meteorological Station, Thailand/ 1998. then decreased continuously and became lowest in the month of January with an average of 24.8 C e l s i u s . Broadly speaking, according to the rainfall pattern and level of temperature, Phetchaburi h a s t h e rainy eeason beginning in June and ending in November fo llo w Northeast monsoon in mid-November to mid- February' resulting in a cool season. The hot season starts in March and ends in May. 3.2.3 P^polatlOT and Adninistratxv* Division: T a b l e n o .3,7, indicates the total population o f Phetchaburi according to 1998 census, was 456,527 persons with 223,365 m a le a n d 233,162 females^ Since 1986, the growth rate of population increased between 0.42 and 1.83% per annum, the lowest being 0.42% in 1986 and the highest 1.83% in 1992 with per year aver age increaise of 0.83%. This table also shows that the rate of population increase was less than 1% during the last 6 years. Table no. 3.8 shows Phetchaburi provincial adm inistrative organization. Phetchaburi is organized under the Department of Local Administration. It is administered by a Governor who is appointed and con- the M inistry of I n t e r i o r . ^ On December, 31*^ 1^98, Phepchaburi comprised of 8 Amphoes (or districts) n a m e l y Muangphetchaburi, Cha-am, Ban-leam, -Ban-lat, Khao-yoi, Tha-yang, Nong-yaplong- a n d Kean-krachan, T h e s e 8 Amphoes are divided into 93 Tombons (or s u b d i s t r i c t s ) which are further divided into 673 Mubans (or o villages). In addition to this division, in the prov ince iwas also established as 2 municipalities, 9 sani- ^ 29 Tombon Councils and 53 Tambon Administra- iVl^l^ganizations. Table no. 3.8 also presents the 3^ea (6,225.138 Sq.km ) and number of dwellings in the province of total Amphoe. Zt can be seen from table no. 3.9 that of the total %)(H>^iation in 1998 , 26.66% lives in 18.67% in Tha-yang and 14.13% in Cha-ain. '^heaW districts are highly populated due to tixe fact that they are industrially developi The labour force of Phetchaburi is shown in t a b | ^ no- 3.10, out of the total population in 1998, 51.otV«#1224,815 with male 27.9% and female 23.9%, were in the labour force. Out of this, 99.6% were employed and 0.4% unemployed- Among the number of em ployed population, 40.9% were in the service sector, 38.6% in agriculture and 20.5% in non-agriculture re spectively. It can also be seen from the table no. 3.10 that there is little difference in the proportion of employed persons to unemployed persons, that is 0.4% only. This labour force can contribute to the improve* ment of .socio-economic conditions of this province. e Conditions: fTable no. 3.11 demonstrates the Gross Provin- pial ^toduct of Phetchajburi at current prices during to The G.P.P. was B 13,060.4 million with the per capita G.F^P of B 32,489 in 1990. It increased marginally to B 13,070.7 million, with the per capita G.P.P. of B 41,008 in 1993. It again went up to B 23,666.7 million with the per capita G.P.P. of B 55,556 in 1996. From the table, it can be seen that the most in^ortant share of G.P.P. come mainly from wholesale and setail sector, agriculture sector, service sector and destruction sectors. Especially, In 1996 the share \ of G.&.P. of this province from wholesale and retail sector ^ins^y^ed for B 4,557.1 million or 19%, from service 3e^l^ about B 3,094.2 million or 13.1%, and from agriculture sector about B 2,974.7 million or 12.6%. It is observed that the important share of agricultural sector for G.P.P, had marginally increased froi B 2,000.8 million in 1990 to B 2,974.7 million in 199o/ activities in this sector, crop production wafc thi^in, which accounted for about 9.1% of G.P.P.. Paddy is the most important crop. It can be cultivated once or twice per annum. According to the crop year 1997-98, the area under paddy cultivation was about 408.2 thousand rais for wet season rice and 172.7 thousand rais for dry season rice. Fruits were the seco- Table no .3.7 Population of Phetchaburi During Period 1986-1998. (Unit: persons) Year Male Female Total % of variation 1986 204,060 208,277 412,337 0.42 1987 205,543 210,203 415,746 0.82 1988 208,193 210,578 418,771 0.72 1989 210,432 213,157 423,589 1.15 1990 212,457 215,528 427,985 1.03 1991 213,288- 217,437 430,725 0.64 1992 216,627 221,988 438,615 1.83 1993 217,784 223,228 441,012 0.54 1994 219,305 225,139 444,444 0.77 1995 220,249 226,845 447,094 0.59 1996 220,834 229,206 450,040 0.65 1997 222,194 231,197 453,391 0.74 1998 223,365 233,162 456,527 0.69 Source: Thailand, Department of local Adminitration, Ministry of Interior. National Statistical Office, Ministry of Prime Minister's Office. Note: % of variation=(EP-BP)* 100/BP, Where, EP= popula tion at the end of the year. BP= population at the beginning of the year. IT) Q CM CM VOCO CO m U-) CM Csl CM CTk • OCQ O -M aM -iH «o >0> 4-» •W(O »»H fn -5 -S 2(U 4-> +J us M-lO M-l O 5 tH _— _ CM —_ 1 ^ _ o o o o r — a s _ — ^ OO _ o o e C 3 o CM OO o f o o o VO o e n o> o> ^ 9 c m 1 0 c •H cn r ~ r-H IT ) c n 0 0 I c ^ -— . 0 1 -P >1 r - (O 00 CM r~ lO 1 • CO (0 -P g .. • ••• . 1 cn 1— 1 00 r ~ n CO LD 0 0 1 r~ 0 ) 1 D CO • >x> C\l cr> 0 CM 1—1 (— t 1 Q 4 Q.C c r ■^r rH 1—1 (— 1 1 0 (U CO CU TJ ! 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The important fruits were ba nana and lemon. The remaining crops which were inqpor- tant in Phetchaburi province were pineapple, maize/ sugarcane and so on. (see also table no. 3.16) In addition to crops, livestock and fisheries also form part of this sector. Most of the animals reared in this province are chicken, swine and cattle. Due to the presence of a large coastal strip to the East of this province, Phetchaburi has an important industry in fisheries which can provide for provincial domestic consumers and also the neighboring provinces. It can be summarised that the wholesale and retail trading, manufacturing, service industry and agriculture had played the vital roles in the economy of the proTince by contributing about 56.7% to the share of G.P.P. in 1996. The per capita G.P.P. of this province ranked the twenty third position out of 76 provihdes in Thailand and sixteenth position out of 24 provinces in the Central Region. 3.2.5 Education and Public Sarvicaa: A; gdttcation; According to .the table no. 3.12, there were total of 308 schools in the province, out of which 271 schools were at pre-primary level, 269 schools at elementary level, and 67 schools at secondary level. There were schools for vocational training and one which imparts university level education. There were 92,220 students of which 16%, 45.5%, 28,0% and 10.4% were at pre-primary school, elementary, secondary and university level respectively. Currently, the educa tion system in Thailand is compulsory education for € years of elementary education and will extend to in clude at least 12 of compulsory education with the^ implementation of the Eight National Economic and So cial Development Plan(1997-2001) , It can be seen from the table that there were 45.5% of children between 7-12 years in elementary schools and the remaining 55,5% were outside the com pulsory education. However, the number of students in higher level of education was moderately high compared to the number of students in elementary schools. They accounted for 61.5% and 22.89% in secondary and uni- versity levels respectively. In this regard, it can be estimated that the education status of Phetchaburi was higher than other provinces in the Western Region of Thailand, with 61.5% of children who came into the higher education level. This is the most important basis for further national economic development. How ever, table no. 3.12 also shows that the student teacher ratio was low, only 17.5:1, which means that there is further scope for expansion of educational service to the people of this province. B: Public H#alth; According to the table no. 3,12, in 1996, there were 16 hospitals both government and private, 119 public service centers operated by 107 doctors and 837 nurses, providing their services for the whole province. The population to doctor ratio and population to nurse ratio were 4,266.6:1 and 545.4:1 respectively. This shows a comparatively better condi tions than in other provinces. Besides the above services; there were other public services in Phetchahuri such as electricity, clean drinking water, telephone services, financial institutions, transportation system etc. For example, in 1996 there were 99.5% of total villages in the province which could utilize electricity from the gov ernment agency. In terms of telephone services, Phetchahuri has 35 telephone exchanges with a 35,000 line capacity which has already subscribed 24,850 con nections to people for the whole province. In the case of financial facilities, in 1996, there were 30 com mercial bank branches which served people in the prov ince. Total deposit stood at B 18,050.9 million and total credit at B 15, 348.0 million. There is also the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Co-operatives for loan operations and financial aid both for indi vidual and cooperatives farmers. In terms of transportation, there are two principal highways from Bangkok (BKK.) to Phetchahuri and go on towards the neighbouring province in the South of Thailand. Two principal highways are Highway no. 4 and 35. There is also a railway from Bangkok to Phetchahuri and passes to the South of Thailand. In addition to this, there are principal high ways linking communities within the province as well as the rural roads constructed for the transportation o Ttblm no.3.12 Status of Bdnc«tion and Public Haalth of Riatchabori 1996-97. Particulars % Education Pra-*priMiry sdiools No.of schools 271 No.of classrooms 674 No.of teachers 629 No.of student 14,898 16.15 StudentS'Teachers ratio 23.7:1 Kit— ntary sdkool (compulsory education) No.of schools 269 No.of classrooms 1,960 No.of teachers 2,689 No.of students 41,927 45.50 Student-Teacher ratio 15.6:1 SacMidaxy adboola No.of schools 67 No.of classrooms 7 No.of teachers 1,462 No.of Students 25,805 28.00 Student-teacher ratio 17.7:1 Vocational and univarsi^ laral No.of institution 6 No.of teachers 507 No.of students 9 , 5 9 0 1 0 . 4 0 Student-teacher ratio 19.0:1 Total lml<**» No.of total schools 308 No.of teachers 5,287 No.of students 92,220 100.00 Student-teacher ratio 17.4:1 Public BMlth<^^» No.of Hospitals 16 No.of public health service centers 119 No.of Doctors 107 No.of Nurses 837 Population-Doctor ratio 4,226.6:1 Population-Nurse ratio 545.4:1 Note: a: Here classified by jurisdiction, b: included government and private hospitals; data on 1998. Source: a: Phetchaburi Statistical Office; 1996. b: Phetchaburi Provincial Commercial Office ; 1997. of people and agricultural products to the town. There is also a shipment to the other provinces through the Gulf of Thailand. Phetchaburi, thus has both land and sea transport. 3 .2 .6 Lm nd Utilization: In this province, the main occupation of the people is in the agricultural sector.. The population of 95,778 persons earn their livelihood from this sec tor.^ Therefore, almost all the land has been devoted to agricultural activity. According to table no.3.13, the geographical area of the province is approximately 3,890.7 thousand rais (or about 622,514 hectares) which was constant throughout the period of our study, but the total farming land was more or less fluctuating depending on other factors. In 1993, the total fam holding land was about 693.6 thousand rals (or about 110,984 hectares) and increased to 711.3 thousand rais (or 113,812 hectares) in 1995 i.e. from 17.8% in 1993 to 18.3% in 1995. The remainder came under unclassi fied land and forest land, which was more than 82% of the total area of the province. In the case of the total farm holding land 50,4 % was paddy land, 29.0% under field crops and 13.8% under fruit tree crops; The rest, about 6.9% under housing area, vegetable and flower growing area, livestock farm area, idle land and others. It is to be noted that in 1995, the area under paddy had decreased slightly compared to 1993 i.e. decreased from 50.4% to 48,2%. This was a result of diversification to other crops e.g. from paddy to field crops, fruits, veg etables and flower growing and also due to water short age and drought in the paddy cultivated area. The very important point is that the area under fruit-trees increased noticeably from 13.8% in 1993 to 18.2% in 1995. However, the data given in the table indicates t'hat the land was still utilized mostly in the major crop i.e. paddy, field crops and fruit-trees crops. 3.2.7 A t m XSnOmx Irrigation: Irrigation is an in^ortant input factor in agricultural production. It makes possible the maximiim use of other modern inputs, such as modern variety seeds (MVs) and chemical fertilizers, in order to in crease productivity of farming. There are three important rivers in Phetchaburi i.e,Phetchaburi, Bangloy and Bangthaboon which serve the people of the province. Phetchaburi is served mostly by the Phetchaburi river basin. Moreover, the agricul tural well and canal irrigation systems are also im portant sources of water supply in this province. The Royal Irrigation Department established two gauging stations in 1914. After that establishment, there have been many irrigation projects in this territory. Phetchaburi dam irrigation project, which provides both irrigation and flood protection, was established in 1954. This project supplies water to people in the areas of Tha-yang, Cha-am, Ban-laem, Muangphetchaburi Tabltt no. 3.13 Land U tilisation of Ph«tchaburi 1993-1995 Areas (Thousand Rais) Items 1993 % 1995 Total land 3,890.7 100.0 3,890.7 100.0 Unclassified land 1,829.7 47.0 1,822.1 46.8 Forest land 1,367.3 35.1 1,357.2 34.9 Total farm holding land 693.6 17.8 711.3 18.3 Housing area 32.0 (4.6) 33.9 (4.8) Paddy land 349.6 (50.4) 324.6 (48.2) Field land 200.5 (29.0) 171.9 (24.2) Fruit trees crop 95.6 (13.8) 129.3 (18,2) Vegetables & flowers 3.9 (0.5) 10.4 (1.5) Livestock farm area 4.6 (0.7) 7.3 (1.0) Idle land 5.5 (0.8) 6.1 (0.9) Others 1.9 (0.3) 9.8 (1.4) Source: Office of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Statis tics of Thailand Various crop year, MOAC. Note: The figures in parenthesis are % of total farm holding area. o and some part of Ban-lat district. Kaeng-kracham dam project is Thailand's largest water reservoir which contains water capacity of 710 m^ and supplies water to Phetchahuri dam project. Besides, there is also the main Mae klong irrigation project which uses water from Srinakharin dam in the Kanchanahuri province and irrigates the areas of Khao-yoi, Muangphetchaburi and Ban-lat districts of Phetchahuri. These projects pro vide water for cultivation and to the people of 70% of Phetchahuri. Table no. 3.14 presents the area under irri gation in Phetchahuri during the period of 1990 to 1995. The net irrigated area went up from 472.68 thou sand rais (or 75,630 hectares) in 1990, to 491.33 thosand rais (or 78,614 hectares) in 1995, while the total farm area went up from 667.67 thousand rais (or 109.814 hectares) in 1990 to 711.32 thousand rais (or 113.812 hectares) in 1995. However, the percentage of net irrigated area to the total farm holding area in this province re mained more or less constant. It was approximately 70% during the study period of six years i.e., the propor tion of the net irrigated area increased in accordance with the total farm holding area. This is the result of improvement and development in irrigation efficiency of the Thai Government with regard to the agricultural policy. 1 ■1 4-1 1 O 1 (0 1 V 1 CO •H 1 1 U as 1 ^ 1 •H U OOO O O 1 4-> M t-H i CO O 00 00 O ' 0) o 1 ^ \ I • • # • •H o \ U cvj ! o CM Concrete Artesian Hollow Districts Reservoir wire pond well Well Muangphetchaburi 0 0 0 8 6 Kaeng-krachan 24 2 9 127 10 Khao-yoi 7 0 9 74 28 Cha-am 14 3 10 160 7 Tha-yang 14 2 24 201 40 Ban-lat 7 0 14 82 25 Ban-laem 0 0 1 18 2 Nong-yaplong 9 3 1 85 29 Total 75 10 68 755 147 Source: Thailand, Phetchaburi Regional Irrigation Office. Table no.3.15 shows the niomber of water res ervoir in Phetchaburi by districts in 1996. There were 1,055 water sources in this province, which were di vided into 75 reservoirs, 10 concrete wires, 68 ponds, 755 artesian wells and 147 hollow wells which were the main resources for crop production. 3.2.8 Cropping P a t t « m : The cropping pattern indicates the allocation of land to different crops by the farmers. It affects the general employment and earnings of the people. Therefore, agricultural marketing development of a re gion depends' upon the cropping pattern in that region. The cropping pattern of this province is ac tively the outcome of trial and adjustment on physi cal, sociological and economic conditions. Economic factors are the main determinants of area under the different competing cash crops. Table no.3.16 indicates the croppng pattern of Phetchaburi, The data given in the table shows the area under different crops and percentage change of total cropped area in 1997-98 with respect to the previous cropped area 1996-97. An increasing trend in the total cropped area is observed. It was 811,896 rals in 1996-97 and it increased noticeably to 827,256 rais in 1997-98 or 1.9% compared to the previous year. An analysis of data revealed that the land was mostly devoted to paddy production. The total cultivated area of wet season rice was 408,203 rais in 1997-98 with negative percentage change of 1.5% compared to 1996- 97. Total cultivated area of dry season rice was 172,750 rals in 1997-98 with positive percentage change of 21.6% compared to 142 , 0 67 rais in 1 996-97 . In Phetchahuri, paddy can be produced in every district except in Kaeng-krachan and Nong-yaplong. It is to be noted here that the same area which produced wet season paddy is used again to produce paddy for dry season rice. So, the area for dry season rice production is also the part of the area used for the wet season rice. The area under maize and sugarcane substan tially decreased for the year 1997-98. For maize, it was 16,043 rais in 1997-98 which decreased to 27.6% compared with 22, 102 rais in 1996-97. In the case of sugarcane, the planted area was 62,476 rais in 1997-98 which shows a negative change of 11.7% in comparison to 70,807 rais in 1996-97. Maize and sugarcane are densely grown in Tha-yang Kaeng-krachan, Nong-yaplong and Cha- am districts. Pineapple is the cash crop second to paddy and is widely produced in Cha-am, Tha-yang, Nong-yaplong and Kaeng-krachan districts. The planted area was 97,340 rais in 1997-98 which increased to 0.8% from 96,546 rais in 1996-97. Pineapple can be grown all the year round. The area under banana slightly increased to 38,248 rais in 1997-98 compared to 34,230 rais 1996- 97. It was a positive change of 11.7%. The major pro duction area is in Tha-yang, Ban-lat, Nong-yaplong and Cha-am districts because there are many cottage indus tries to process banana. Last but not least, Phetchaburi is also the largest lemon producing province of the country. Lemon is densely grown in Tha-yang and Ban- lat districts. Tha-yang district produces and harvests lemon all the year round. The planted area in 1997-98 was 32,196 rals which increased from 31,677 rals in 1996-97, accounting for a positive change of 1.6%. According to the table no-3.16, paddy is the most in^ortant foodgains crop grown in Phetchaburi. 3.2.9 DistrietwlM A t m IlDdsr BwU|f CEops: As is well known, paddy is the most important cash crop of Phetchaburi, It is produced in every district of the province. The districts in which paddy is densely grown are Muangphetchaburi, Khao-yoi and Ban-lat. In these districts the land is very suitable because the. area is flat and low lying. Both natural water and idan made canals are available for irriga tion. The remaining districts have less paddy. Table no.3.17 presents the data in terms of planted area, harvested area production and yield of crop year 1997-98. The area under paddy remained more or less constant in each district. In the case of planted area, the table shows Muangphetchaburi as hav ing the maximum area under paddy cultivation for both wet and dry season rice i.e. 119,311 rais for wet season and 70,013 rais for dry season followed by Khao- Tabltt no.3.16 Th« Cropping Pattern of Ph«tchaburi. Cultivated area {'000 rais) Items 1996-97 1997-98 % change Paddy wet season 414.5 408,2 -1.5 Dry season 142.1 172.8 21.6 Maize 22.1 16,0 -27.6 Sugarcane 70.8 62.5 -11,7 Pineapple 96.5 97.3 0.8 Banana 34.2 38.2 11.7 Lemon 31.7 32.2 1,6 Total cropped area 812.08 827.3 1.9 Source: Phetchaburi Provincial Agricultural Exten sion Office for 1996-97. Phetchaburi Provincial Commercial Office for 1997-98. yoi, and Ban-lat.In the case of harvested area also, Muangphetchaburi has the maximum value compared to other districts. However, the production of wet season rice is maximum in Khao-yoi district at 38,382 tonnes and maximum in Muangphetchaburi for dry season rice at 54,820 tonnes. From the above, it can be concluded that wet season rice depends on the optimum climate condi tions of Khao-yoi whereas Muangphetchaburi depends on irrigat^ibn for growing dry season rice. ■ The yield per rai shows similar trend where mas^imum is in iciiao-yoi for wet season rice and dry season rice maximum at Muangphetchaburi with values of 596 kgs per rai and 783 kgs per rai respectively. Thus, it can be concluded that paddy production of Phetchaburi depends on conditions such as climate, quality and variety of seeds, fertilizers, sufficient irrigation and also on general facilities like transport, machin ery, labour etc. These factors contribute to the pro ductivity of paddy. The wet season rice depends prima rily on the season, that is the rainfall. The dry season rice depends on sufficient irrigation, 3.3 TH» STODY JtfllX; In this study, the districts of Banlat{BL), Muangphetchaburi {M2) and Thayang (TY) are selected as study area (See fig. no. 3.2). The reason for this is that many agricultural and marketing facilities are available all over the villages in these districts which play a crucial role in paddy marketing. Each district also has Agricultural Cooperatives which act as government agents in agricultural extension to farm ers . BL is located in the central area of the province, about 6 km west of the province. In this district, there is canal irrigation system (Western Bank Project) which provides water to the paddy farms from the Phetchaburi river. The total land for culti vation purpose is about 85,097 rais of which about 45,696 rais or 53% are devoted to paddy cultivation. The number of farmers holding land for paddy cultiva tion is about 3,317 households. Hence, the land in this district is utilized more for paddy farming. With regard to marketing facilities, there are seven rice mills located in this district which carry out paddy trading business. Besides, there also exist two paddy and rice warehouses with a total stor age capacity of 2,100 tonnes of paddy and 1,000 sacks of rice. MP, the largest district where more land is utilized for paddy production, is also the province centre. It is also an urbanised and modern area and houses the governor's office. The business and commer cial centre is situated in this district. The district receives plenty of water from the Phetchaburi river which is the main river both in the wet and dry sea sons. Actually, in this district, the farmers grow rice twice a year. The total production is also much more than other districts. There are 4,048 households which own paddy land. CO r - o c o 1 VJ o CM as 1 ^ IH o CJS VO .00 1 TT is situated about 17 km South of the prov ince, There are elevated and lowland lying areas. The district is provixted with the main river of this prov ince, the Ptetchaburi, The highland is aK>ropriate for cash crop production such as lemon, banana, and fruits. The paddy is grown in the low lying area to which irrigation system is available. The number holding paddy land is approximately 1,831 hoseholds or only 20% of a total of 9,130 household3 with the paddy land being about 22,333 rais. Accordingly/ most of the land is utilized for high land crops. This district is the second largest trading centre of the province. In the case of marketing infrastructure and facilities, the district has 9 large rice, mills which operate rice trading activity. Morever, there are also 8 agricultural warehouses with a total capacity to store 3,600 tonnes of rice and 124,500 sacks of high land crops. 3.3.1 Thtt Hunter of Study Households: The total number of 150 householdes were sur- veyed by random sample method for tl^e study. The survey was carrying out among 50 households in each district of BL, m and TT respectively. The responded farmers were 21, 13,and 40 households from BL, MP, and TT respectively. These will be utilized in analysis for the study.(see table no.3.18) 3.3.2 Family Structure o f Housaholds: In the agricultural sector, the member of households can be provided with job opportunities and other activities. They receive income from various sources both from agricultural and other sectors pay tax to government and spend their disposable income or save it. In this respect, the family structure of households will determine the number of persons of each household who are employed or are in any activity other than paddy farming. The data given in table no. 3.19 point out that the average family size of all households studied was 3.41 persons per household. Among^ the three dis tricts, farmers in BL had the largest family size with an average of 4.19 persons, while the corresponding figures were 3.33 and 2.08 in TT and MP respectively. In the case of sex structure, BL also had the largest number of male numbers per household with an average of 2.11 person, while 1.70 and 1.46 were male in TT and MP respectively. However, households in MP had less num ber of females, that is only 0.62 persons. In the total study districts there was an average of 1.80 male members per household as against the female number of 1.61. Table no. 3.19 also indicates that the aver age age of member of households in MP was highest with 47.28 years, while the corresponding figures of TY and BL were 42.31 and 38.75 years respectively. When it is observed in detail, it is found that majority of family members fall in the age group 14-60 years or 81.16%. As a matter of the fact, in Thailand, this age group is defined as the labour force. Thus, according to the age structure, 81.16% is the labour force (or productive age group) in the study area, with an average of 2.66 persons per household. Households in BL had the larg est size of labour force compared to other districts. In terms of occupation, it was reported that 58.55% of family members of all households in the field study areas were working in agriculture, with an aver age of 2.26, 2.00 and 1.4 6 persons per household in BL, TY and MP respectively. The remaining working members of 39.63% worked in other sectors. With regard to unemployed family members, there were only 0.06 per sons per household or about 1.82% of the total unem ployed. For the education status of households, it was found that 70.18% of the education level of family members is mostly at primary level, with an average of 2.41 persons per household, while the remaining were 24.00 and 5.82% at secondary and university level re spectively. 3 . 3 , 3 hqm, Kduoation, Xxp«rlmott and MMDb«rshi.p 1b f!ua»rs' Ozgaz^Mtion oC Stead oC A z m Hou— holds: A g m : Table no. 3.20 reports that the average age of all heads of fatm households in sample survey was 52.76 years. Among those, the average age of heads of farm households in BL was highest at 54.78 years, while the corresponding figures were 51.83 and 51.46 in TT and MP respectively. It can be observed from the table that, 12.50%, 31.25% and 23.75% were in the age group 30-40, 40-50 and 50-60 years respectively. Only 2.5% ^ r e in the age group of more than 30 years or less but the 30.00% were in the age group of more than 60 years. We can conclude that in the paddy farm enter prise the heads of farm households in study area was mainly of the higher age group (40-50, more than 60) . The importance of paddy farming as an occupation has a tendency to decline for the younger people. »dttc«tion: Formerly, cpmpulsory education in Thailand was 4 years or grade 4. It has been expanded to 6 years. Nowadays, it extends from 6 to 9 and 12 years, that is lower secondary and upper secondary levels. This can be seen from the data in the same table. Education level was extremely low, with 96.25%, of all of heads of farm households, being educated only for 4 years or less than grade 4 while only 3.75% was more than four yeas. The heads of farm households in MP have reached the highest education level at an average of 4.23 years, while the corresponding figures were 4.11 and 4.08 in BL and TT respectively. Tabltt no. 3.18 Total Hufltb«r of Studied Fasm Bous^olds Districts number of samples Ban-'lat (BL) Total sent out questionnaires 50 100.0 Total rpsi^dn^ed ques i^nsfi r e s 2^' 54.0 MuangphecKaburi' (kP) ^ ‘ . * if* Total sent out questionnaires 50 ^ 100.0 Total responded questionnaires 13 26.0 Tha-yang (TY) Total sent out questionnaires 50 100.0 Total responded questionnaires 40 80.0 All Total sent out questionnaires 150 100.0 Total responded questionnaires 80 53.33 Source.: Survey % Table no. 3.19 Faunily Structure of The Households Items BL MP TY Family size 4.19 2.08 3.33 (1.62) (1.98) (1.73) (1.85)’^ Sex Male 2.11 1.46 1.70 1.80 52.75 Female 2.07 0.62 1.63 1.61 47.25 Average age(yes) 38.75 47.28 42.31 42.78 Age Less than 13 year 0.52 0.00 0.20 0.21 6.16 13-60 year 3.15 2.88 2.63 2.66 81.16 More than 61 year 0.74 0.15 0.38 0.46 12.68 Occi^ation Agriculture 2.26 1.46 2.00 2.00 58.55 Non-agri. 1.74 0.62 1.35 1.36 39.63 Unemployed 0.07 0.00 0.08 0.06 1.82 Education Up to primary or less than primary 2.85 1.62 2.38 2.41 70.18 Secondary school 1.15 0.46 0.73 0.83 24.00 University level 0.19 0.00 0.25 0.19 5.82 Note: Figures in parentheses are standard deviation. Source: Field survey. Nevertheless, the average education level of farmers in study area was 4.11 years, there is not much difference in educatiori> levels of each district. Mxpmri.mnGm: The experience of farmers is nec essary in view of know-how of the working in agricul ture. The farming experience of farmers can be mea- sured by the length of time he has spent in the occu pation, In '^^eyal# after con^^letiing compulsory educa- tioHr 9 facme^ leaves school and starts working with hie ^rent^s In, farming. The average experience of all of faM with an averafe of 27.6 v ^ np,3-20 illuiStr«tfS that the heads of fats %6Useholda in BS> have a long term of farming experience with an average of 30.63 years, wfeile the cortea^nding figures in HB and W were 28.23 and 25.35 years xf)^|»#^lvely. i: The cooperative of farm- er$ in the form of cooperative and farm- group seem to parform a vital role in in^roving their bargaining power, realizing economic scale and marketing activity. From the field survey, it was found that of the total heads of farm households, approxi mately 53 households or 66.25% were members of Agri cultural Cooperatives, while 16.25% and 10.00% were menbers of Farmers' Organization i.e. thrift an(i credit cooperation and paddy farm group respectively. At the district level, the data reveals that the farmers in TT have the highest number of members in Agricultural Cooperatives, i.e. 25 households, while the corre sponding figures were 21 and 7 in B L and M P respec tively. The main reason for membership of head of farm households in this organization is that of loan pur pose for general investment and agricultural invest ment in farming. Thus, it can be concluded that the Agricultural Cooperatives have played a dominant role in this province. They form a tool for further agricul tural development. Farm activities can be increased through these organizations. 3.3.4 Faza Six* «nd Lsad Owwirghip: Table no.3.21, Indicates the average farm size of each household studied. It presents that most farms were small, that is 40.00 %, 36.25% and 15.0% had farm size between 1-10, 10.1-20 and 20.1-30 rais respec tively. Only 8-7% of farmers operate a farm size above 30.1 rals. In the case of the average farm size being 16.24 rals, compared to the country's average of 25.23 rais in 1995.^ It is to be noted here that about 40% of farmers cultivated a very small farm, that is 1-10 rais in all districts, MP had the biggest average farm size of 21.42 rais, while the corresponding figures of B L and TT were 15.56 and 15.13 rais respectively. Table no. 3.21 also points out that 68.75% of the farmers cultivated only in their ownland, while the remaining 30.0% of farmers cultivated both in own and rented land, and 1.25% in other types. A similar trend is seen of farmers classified by land ownership OKO o o o Lo tn o iT> ir> m in o o o u-> tn CM r* o cvi r* CM CN O iT) • « ♦ • • • • • • • • • o csj CN 1—( m o VO CO VO VO o r- o «H fn CNj n V O « H i H fH o Csj o m o^ ^ VO — . r- 00 1-H —. o —. COCO 0 0 tH CM rH CM r« rH r - iH P - VO in m < r o m • CO CM • ^ • r - • m i-H o CM « -t iH ------iH >H O *H in CO rH O 00 — . 0 % C O o o ___ m — m r - in 00 «-H »H i*H 0 0 CO o r- 0 0 r H CM • r H • • , r H • • m • m r H o CM c h r H ; a* CO rH rH rO VO CM VO ^ CM rH CO ^ CO r-* CM iH cn rH ^ in CM CO CM GO s • r - o 3.3.5 Agricultural and Cradit; Agricultural assets and credits are important factors of farm capital inputs in the agricultural sectors. Farm assets are the physical inputs and pro ductive assets which are used in agricultural produc tion by farmers. They contribute to farmers in paddy farming in the view of marginal productivity and mar keting efficiency^ whereas credit is the loan which farmers take from financial institutions, both formal and informal, for purchasing inputs such as equipment, for farming enterprises, and other personal purposes. In other words, they come under debt. Table no. 3.22 reveals the important farm assets owned and utilized by farmers for the produc tion and marketing of paddy in the study areas e.g. poweir tiller, irrigation pump, sprayer, tube wells, farm truck and rice storage areas. It is evident from the table that the total average farm asset value of households in all districts, was B 73,698.13 per farm, among the three districts, TY had the biggest average farm asset value with an average of B 88,573.75, while the corresponding figures for BL and MP were B 63,948.15 and B 48,176.92 respectively. m tmhXm no. 3 . 2 1 Htaibmr of Farm Households And Fazm by 8i,%m A n d O w n - • r s h i p i n Thm S t u d y A t m . Districts Particulars BL MPTY Farm sis* (rsis) < No.of farmers > All 1-10 11 4 17 32 (40.7) (30.8) (42.5) (40.0) 1.1-20 11 2 16 29 (40.7) (15,4) (40.0) (36.25) 20.1-30 4 4 4 12 (14.8) (30.8) (10.0) (15.0) 30.1 afodf above 1 3 3 7 (03.7) (23.1) (7.5) (8.7) Average size (rais) 15-^6- 21.25 15.08 16.24 (SD) 9.37 14.31 10.65 10.99 Ovmed land 21 6 28 55 (77.78) (46.15) (70.00) (68.75) Rented & owned land 4 7 13 24 (14.81) (53.85) (32,50) (30.00) Others 1 0 0 1 (3,70) (0.00) (0.00) (01.25) Total 27 13 40 80 (100.0) (100.0) (100.0) (100.0) Source: Field survey Note: The figures in parentheses are the percentages. d » The percentage of farmers who ovmed iic^ortant farm assets such as power tiller, irrigation pump and sprayer was high, accounting for an average or 73.75, 66,25 and 58.75% respectively in the three districts. While farm trucks and rice storage areas are important assets for paddy marketing, the incidence of ownership is low, with an average of 16.25 and 48.75% in all districts, the number of rice storage areas in BL was higher than any other with 55.55% out of 27 households, the corresponding figures were 53.84 and 42.50% in MP and TT respectively. As a result of this, farmers mostly prefer to sell paddy immediately after'.th^^ har vesting season- capital is invested in machinery, livestock and other assets. The farmers who have limited capital can borrow money from lenders with a promise to return, the amounts and interest over the period of specified time agreed by borrower and lender. The outstanding amounts are called debts. It can also be seen from table no. 3.23, 33 farmers or 41.25% out of 80 farm households had debts during the time of study. The farmers borrow money from many different sources. The important source of loan of farmers came from formal financial institutions (namely 90%), while only 9.09% from informal. The ma jor formal sources are Bank of Agriculture and Agri cultural Cooperatives, Agricultural Cooperatives, and Farmers' Organizations in each study area. The very important point to be noted here is that a loan from any commercial bank is not found in this study- The average amounts of debt accounted for were B 36,342.59 per farm. TT had the biggest average debt of B 49,444.44/ while the corresponding figures in BL and MP were B 31,250.00 and B 28,333.33 respectively. In the case of interest rates, farmers borrow ■money from formal institutions paying ' low interests ranging between 5 to 20.0%, with an average of 10.81% per annum. Th;p farmers in BL paid low interest with an avjiirage of y^&r, whil« the corresponding ■a®A’V9,6c^' j:esp«c;tiyely. ' Tt a l s p hftd mascimum interests of 20.0% per annum, while the figures in tt and W were the same. When it is observed in detail, it is found that farmers who tate loan from farmers' groups in. villages can pay low intei^est at 5% per annum. This is a result of government policy regarding agricultural credit by promotion of cooperatives of farmers in the form of farmers' organization. The mitxinnM average of informal s^txrce of loan was annual average of 24.0%. In fact, if farmers take loan from moneylenders, the interest rate will be considerably high, whereas if they take from a friend or from relatives, the interest rate will range between 0-24% per annum. The types of debt of the farmers are short-term debt for which repaying is within 12 months, and intermediate debt for which paying back is between 2 and 3 years. Table no.3.22 Number of Fanner by Ownership of Farm Assets and the Average Value of Farm Assets Items BL MP TY All No. of Farmers 27 13 40 80 (100.00) (100.00) (100.00) (100.00) Farm Assets: Two Wheel Tractor YES 26 9 34 69 (96.30) (69.23) (85.00) (73.75) NO 1 4 6 11 (3.70) (30.77) (15.00) (26.25) Farm Trucks YES 4 1 8 13 (14.81) (7.69) (20.00) (16.25) NO 23 12 32 67 (85.19) (92.31) (80.00) (83.75) Irrigation Punps YES 8 10 35 53 (29.63) (76.92) (87.50) (66.25) NO 19 3 5 27 (70.37) (23.08) (12.50) (33.75) Sprayers YES 15 3 29 47 (55.55) (23.08) (72.50) (58.75) NO 12 10 11 33 (44.45) (76.92) (27.50) (41.25) Heeder YES 4 4 7 15 (14.81) (30.77) (17.50) (18.75) NO 23 9 33 65 (85.19) (69.23) (82.50) (81.25) Tube Well YES 5 0 13 18 (18.52) (0.00) (32.50) (22.50) NO 22 13 27 62 (81.48) (100.00) (67.50) (77.50) Rice Storage YES 15 7 17 39 (55.55) (53.84) (42.50) (48.75) NO 12 6 23 41 (44.45) (46.20) (57.50) (51.25) Average Value of Farm Assets(baht/farm) 63948.15 48176.92 88573.75 73698.13 (SD) 89817.45 54665.79 111635.60- 97534.80 Note: Figures in parentheses are the percentages. Source: Field survey Tablft no. 3.23 NaidMr of Faimrs by D ^ t And Sourco of D«bt in Studjf Periods Items BLMP TY All % No. of faXMTS 27 13 40 80 100.00 Ko. of faxMTS fay dabt: NO 17 8 22 47 58.75 YES 10 5 18 33 41.25 Sooroo of dabt: Formal 8 4 18 30 90.91 Informal 2 1 0 3 9.09 &T«xaga nonnt of 6tbt: (baht/farm) 31.,250.00 28,333.33 49,444.44 36,342.59 l a t e T M t (% por y M T ) : r o t M l Minimum 5.00 9.00 9.00 5.00 Maximum 15.00 15.00 20.00 20.00 Average 9.75 11.00 11.25 10.81 Infozul Average 24.00 24.00 0.00 24.00 Source: Field survey 3.3.6 Harkttting Infoznuiti.on: It is widely accepted that agricultural in formation is imperative for agricultural development. It-enables farmers to have access to a wide array of up to date and accurate information on production, stor age, transportation, grading, market,weather and so on. It also helps to make agricultural market more competitive. Moreover, marketing information is neces sary for fully and systematically integrating produc tion and marketing to keep up with the current trend in production and marketing. The farmers who have access to more information can get a wider range of opportu nities in sustaining or increasing agricultural devel opment for continuing expansion of agricultural mar keting. Although, farmers can get information though various sources of media such as reading material, TV, radio and others, in this study, we have taken only reading material, TV, and radio into consideration. We have also divided the frequency of getting information into three levels, that is, more than once in a week, more than once in a month, and less than once a month. Table no.3.24 reveals that 55 % of the total number of farmers record a frequency of more than once a month of reading agricultural material. 30 % of total number read only once a month. 15 % belonged in the third level of reading that is, less than once a month. There can be seen a trend of decline towards less by A frequency, that is a higher percentage for higher fre quency of reading and viceversa. The same is in the case of obtaining information by radio and TV. At the first level of more than once a week, the percentage of total number of farmers is 81.25 %. 12.50 % of the total obtain in formation by radio and TV more than once a month, whereas only 6,25% of the total get information from these sources less than once a month. A similar trend of higher number of farmers getting information at higher frequency is seen in the case of radio and television. These observations are true for all far^n sizes. A comparison of reading material and visual/radio shows that more farmers received information more than once a week from both TV/radio and reading material • The number of farmers getting information less than once a month is less for both reading and TV/ radio. This also shows a similar trend for both sources over all farm sizes. Another observation of the two groups of the sources of reading and TV/radio is that for the later groijp the highest frequency has a higher percentage thaa for reading materials for all farm sizes. There fore, it can be sianmarized that the role of modern information technology, especially TV/radio programs significantly influence marketing information dissemi nated to farmers. 3.3.7 Pftdd^ Cropping Pattern And MotxTatlon For Production: Cropping pattern of paddy is important in agriculture in Thailand. A single crop of paddy per year is the most widely practiced land use pattern in this country. Where irrigation facilities are avail^ able in adequate amount, two or three crops of paddy in a year may be cultivated. As is well known, in Thai land, the number of paddy crops per year is divided into wet season rice or first crop and dry season rice or second crop. This can be seen from table no,3,25, there are two paddy crops in the study area i.e. wet season rice or a single rice cropping and wet and dry season rice or double rice cropping. From the survey, it was found that in a group of all farm sizes, 100.00% of the total farmers were growing paddy once a year in the wet season, only 22.50% of farmers were growing paddy twice per annum (i.e. wet and dry season). This trend is same in all farm sizes. That is, more farmers devoted their land for cultivation paddy in the wet season than in both wet and dry seasons. The important reason for this situation is that no sufficient water supplys for paddy double cropping eventhough there is irrigation system in the area. Generally, there are many motives, which de termine paddy farm enterprise. The figures of the same data source also reveal the reason for farmers to go for paddy production. The table has shown that among 80 households, 78 farmers cultivate paddy due to it being Tabl* no. 3.24 Sourott and Fr«qimqf of NarJwting InfozMtion. Farm size (Rai) 1-10 10.1-20 20.1-30 30.1 and above Soaxos/fr^qiMncy <- No.. of farmer — > All R M d l n g mmtmxiala More than once a week 17 14 7 4 44 (53.13) (48.28) (58.33) (85.71) (55.00) More than once a month 11 11 2 0 24 (34.38) (37.93) (16.66) (00.00) (30.00) Less than once a month 4 4 3 I 12 (12.50) (13.79) (25.00) (14.29) (15.00) TV/Radio progzUM More than once a week 28 23 8 6 65 (87.50) (79.31) (66.66) (73.71) (81.25) More than a month 2 5 3 0 10 (6.25) (17.24) (25.00) (0.00) (12.50) Less than a month 2 1 1 1 5 (6.25) (3.45) (8.33) (14.29) (6.25)^ Total faxaars 32 29 12 7 80 (100.00) (100.00) (100.00) (100.00) (100.00) Source: Field survey. Note: The figures in parentheses are the percentages. Tabl* no. 3.25 of Padd(f Crops a Tm t and Motiv* for Production Farm size (Rai) I t ^ 1-10 10.1-20 20.1-30 30.1 and above All Total no. of fanners 32 29 12 7 80 Crop « ym r HS 32 29 12 7 80 (100.00) (100.00) (100.00) (100.00) (100.00) trs+DS 7 5 4 2 18 (21,88) (17.24) (33.33) (28.57) (22.50) R M s o n s Traditional 31 29 11 , 7 78 Highest price 5 1 0 2 8 Previous experience 19 17 10 3 49 Better than other crops 2 10 1 0 13 Others 0 1 2 0 3 Source: Field survey Note: Figures in parenthesis are % of total farmers. DS*Wet season rice, DS=Dry season rice. a traditional occupation. The farmers had inherited land from the previous generation and it is carried to the next. Another reason is that they had a good pre vious experience in this regard. The third reason is that the income from paddy cultivation can help to cultivate other crops. The interesting point is that only eight house holds decided to carry on paddy cultivation because it fetches highest price than other products. These simi lar observations are made in all farm sizes. From the survey, it appedr^ that the main motive is the traditional aspect and not a c<^erci»l. In short, it can be said that there has been very little revolution in paddy production. ENDNOTES ^ Ministry of Agriculture, Agriculture in Thailand, Bangkok; 1957. p.p. 150-158. ^ Ministry of Internal Affair. ^ Thailand, National Statistical Office Re port of the Leibour Force Survey, National Statisti cal Office, February, 1999. * Agricultural Statistic of Thailand, Crop Year 1996-97, Ministry of Agriculture and Coopera tives (MOAC). r H fH « fO 3 o M 3 •H 0) iH 0 MH 3 O <0 U 3 JQ 4J •H *0 JZ 3 A lO U M 0) O >t •H a • ■ 8 2.^ H o • • G V A ■§ >- -H . > 0 ) 03 rH 0) (U M C u O • • 6 o> o> r H • -rH CT' o 0) € M 0> 9) 4J 4J a < z CO 0) 3 4 J O O c O 0 H 2 D CO z V.Or-HrOO^OfOOTHr*-tOr^'.OCOO'NOO%i—I dP •p cN