Factors influencing the adoption of agricultural innovations by tribal farmers in the North of Thailand | |
| Author | Aryuwath Pratumsa |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.RD-06-09 |
| Subject(s) | Agricultural innovations--Thailand, Northern Farmers--Technological innovations--Thailand, Northern |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | This research dealt with the factors influencing the adoption on new agricultural technologies by the tribal farmers in the North of Thailand. The main objectives of the research were to examine farming practices of Karen and Hmong farmers on the newly promoted vegetable and fruit farming technologies, to assess their adoption level on those new technologies, obtain the perception on benefit and satisfaction after their adoption, identify factors influencing the adoption of the new agricultural technologies, examine motivations and forces of those tribal farmers in their adoption and suggest recommendations to reorient the enhancement in the adoption of the new agricultural technologies and provide implications for the highland agricultural development of the tribal farmers in future. The tribal farmers in this research included Karen and Hmong in the two types of farming practices consisting of lettuce and persimmon cultivation methods which were promoted by the MHRPC. The research was conducted in three Karen villages and three Hmong villages in Mae Chaem and Mae Wang districts of Chiang Mai Province. A standardized questionnaire was employed to collect data as a prime tool and was supplemented by interviews, a group discussion and a participatory rural appraisal (PRA) technique. The research was mainly focused on a quantitative analysis but with the support of a qualitative analysis. Main findings of this research showed the major changes in the traditional into the modem farming practices in both tribal groups as a result of the implementation of the highland agricultural development policies since 1960s primarily induced by the MHRPC. The adoption levels of Karen and Hmong farmers were slightly different between the lettuce and the persimmon cultivation technologies although it was moderate to high levels in both groups. For the lettuce cultivation techniques, Karen farmers had rather a high adoption level while for the persimmon; their adoption level was moderate. In contrast, for Hmong, it was at the high levels in most of the techniques applied in both introduced crops. Factors affecting to the adoption levels of both tribal groups were found in common in relation to the broadly policy support and enabling environment perspectives based on bio-physical (climate, water and land use), economic (household income, land size, household labor, capital investment costs, market and road network), social (education, farm experience, knowledge and skill, perception, food security and dependency of external inputs), institutional (policy, extension services and credit) and environment (soil erosion, land degradation and contamination of agro-chemicals) aspects. However, specific socio-economic variations were found between these two groups having the different influence on their decision-making resulting to a disparity in their adoption levels of both groups by each of the lettuce and the persimmon cultivation technique. Those afore-mentioned factors both motivated and limited the adoption levels of those two tribal groups depending on their existing resource base particularly on economic factors between Karen and Hmong farmers that had influenced on the decision-making in their adoption despite of the strong extension services provided from the implementation of the highland agricultural development policy. Both tribal groups received various kinds of bio-physical social, economic and intuitional benefits from their practices of the new technologies of those introduced crops particularly on income generation, employment, food security, soil improvement, extension service, marketing and credit, which both groups were mostly satisfied. In the practices of the new technologies in these two tribal groups, major problems were found in common from the lettuce and persimmon cultivation practices consisting of land degradation, insufficient water, diseases and insects, high cost of investment, complicated techniques and competitive market with imported products. Key potentials derived from the modern practices were identified including income increased, food security, marketing, credit, extension services and increased knowledge, skill and experience and policy support. Certain recommendations were given to reorient the enhancement on the practices of the new technologies to be introduced to these two tribal groups based on the findings from this research after analyzing their adoption perspective. A set of recommendations were also suggested for the planning implications of the highland agricultural development for tribal farmers in the Northern Thailand in future |
| Year | 2006 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Rural Development, Gender and Resources (RD) |
| Chairperson(s) | Soparth Pongquan |
| Examination Committee(s) | Thapa, Gopal B.;Dietrich Schmidt-Vogt |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Royal Thai Government Fellowship |
| Degree | Thesis (M. Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2006 |