Custom Search
Agriculture
Much of the impressive economic growth recorded by Thailand in the 1970s and the
early 1980s was owed to the steady expansion of the agricultural sector. This
sector provided adequate food for the rapidly growing population and produced
substantial surpluses of some commodities for export.
The Thai farmer's ability to adapt to changing market conditions contributed to
the country's agricultural success, but even more important was the availability
of large areas of virgin land for cultivation. Between 1950 and 1980,
agricultural holdings nearly doubled to an estimated 22 million hectares, of
which about three-quarters were farmed annually, and much of the rapidly growing
population was absorbed in the expansion. By the early 1980s, however, most of
the arable land had been occupied, except in the South, and continued growth of
the agricultural sector became increasingly dependent on the acceptance of new
technologies and the adoption of more intensive cultivation. Observers feared
that without these changes growing domestic demand--both from increasing
population and from rising expectations--would seriously affect the nation's
balance of payments position through the reduction of exportable surpluses of
vital major foreign exchange earners, such as rice and sugar.
Agriculture--crops, livestock, forestry, and fisheries-- employed about
three-quarters of the labor force, and it was estimated that some four-fifths of
the total population was dependent on the sector for its livelihood. During the
mid-1980s, agriculture accounted for an average of about 25 percent of GDP, and
agricultural commodities accounted annually for over 60 percent of the value of
all exports.
The type of agriculture engaged in--whether cash crop, subsistence, or a
combination thereof--varied from region to region and within regions. In the
central plain, there were farmers whose sole activity was the raising of such
cash crops as maize, sugarcane, vegetables, and fruit. In the rice bowl region
of the central plain, farmers grew rice for sale as a main crop. Elsewhere, rice
was raised basically for subsistence purposes, but many farmers also cultivated
secondary crops for the market. In areas without developed access roads and
services, such as parts of the upper Northeast, participation in the market
economy was limited. Farmers in these areas practiced subsistence cultivation,
selling only an occasional surplus locally.
Agriculture was dominated by smallholders, most of whom had either outright
title to the land or effective possession of it; tenancy was significant only in
parts of the central plain. In the early 1980s, the average holding for the
whole country was about 5.6 hectares, but considerable size differences existed
within different regions and locales that related in part to terrain, soils,
rainfall, and other natural factors. In the North, where nearly a quarter of the
nation's more than 4.5 million agricultural households were located (1983
estimate), over half the land is mountainous. In the upper part of the region,
which is characterized by narrow valleys, average holdings were only about 2.2
hectares. In the parts of this upper area that had controlled irrigation, the
typical farm only had slightly more than one hectare. A farm on nonirrigated
land consisted of about two hectares, part of which was rain-fed paddy and part
upland. The lower part of the region had areas similar to those in the central
plain. Farms were considerably larger, the typical one having close to five
hectares. Both paddy and upland crops were grown, and maize had become an
important secondary cash crop for many farmers (see table 12, Appendix).
In the Northeast, the generally infertile soil required larger holdings to meet
subsistence needs. Over half the farms had between 2.4 and 7.2 hectares, and the
typical farm had an area of about 4 hectares. In the early 1980s, about 40
percent of the country's agricultural households lived in this region. Holdings
in the Center, which contained about 20 percent of the nation's agricultural
households, varied considerably. Near Bangkok small farms producing market
vegetables might have little more than half a hectare, whereas commercial rice
farms outside the city averaged over ten hectares. The typical commercial rice
holding on the central plain, however, averaged somewhat over three hectares,
and all available land was under cultivation. In the upland to the east of the
plain, where maize was grown commercially, the typical farm size was close to
6.5 hectares. Cassava was also grown in this area on somewhat smaller farms,
typically of about five hectares. West of the plain, the uplands were devoted in
part to sugarcane grown on holdings usually of about three hectares. In the
South, the rugged terrain made about two-fifths of the region unsuitable for
agriculture. The climate, however, favored the cultivation of rubber trees, and
the majority of farms grew rubber as a cash crop along with subsistence rice. A
typical household had about three hectares: 1.5 hectares of rubber trees, small
areas of coconut or fruit trees, and the rest planted in rice. In the three
southernmost provinces holdings were smaller, averaging about two hectares.
Library of Congress
Country Studies
Back to Articles about
Bangkok, Articles about Thailand
