Abstract
This chapter examines the process of market integration and its impact on farmer livelihoods and the environment and agriculture of northeastern Thailand. Using an anthropological approach and fieldwork conducted in the northeast of Thailand during 2008–2009, the chapter shows the way in which northeastern Thai farmers have integrated their practices into the ethical niche markets of fair trade and organic food. This chapter also illustrates the impacts of the buyer-driven food chains on social–nature relations in the northeast of Thailand and the changes that have occurred as a result. Competition in the organic trade market depends significantly on the capacity of farmers to comply with international regulations, so this paper will also focus on the distinctiveness of socio-economic and ecological conditions in northeastern Thailand, especially those which have contributed considerably to competition in fair trade products and organic rice commodities.
The chapter argues that conversion to organic agriculture is a strategy employed by northeastern Thai farmers in northeastern Thailand to cope with the problems of environmental deterioration and increasing production costs, yet the emergence of niche markets has brought both opportunities and challenges. The farmers participating in these niche markets can maintain their farmland and gain benefits from the value-added production they engage in, but they confront difficulties related to intensive labor-use, tighter standards and controls, and increasing production costs. In addition, the emergence of niche markets in northeastern Thailand has been an uneven process, as the majority of farmers have been excluded from the rise of niche markets and have not been able to convert to organic agriculture because of a lack of technical knowledge and finances.
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Notes
- 1.
- 2.
6.25 rai is equivalent to 1 ha.
- 3.
One US Dollar is equivalent to 35 Baht.
- 4.
Bangkok Post Newspaper, Jan 9, 2008, http://www.biothai.org/cgi-bin/content/news/show.pl?0518
- 5.
Initially, the ACT was named Alternative Agriculture Certification Thailand and had four main objectives, one of which was to assure consumers of the distinctive quality of organic foods produced by alternative agriculture. After the ACT had run for a few years, it changed to focus on certification alone. In 1998, the Alternative Agriculture Certification Thailand was renamed to Organic Agriculture Certification Thailand, and its standards were also revised to meet those of IFOAM in 2000 (http://www.actorganic-cert.or.th/standard.html).
- 6.
Jasmine rice or jasmine rice is called the ‘Khao Dawk Mali 105’ (KDML 105) (in Thai script, it is written as ‘ʿʿʿʿʿʿʿʿʿʿʿ’).
- 7.
Buyer-driven commodity chains are identified by reference to three main dimensions: (1) the input–output structure i.e., a set of products and services linked together in a sequence of value-adding economic activities, (2) territoriality i.e., a spatial dispersion or concentration of production and distribution networks, comprised of enterprises of different sizes and types, and (3) a governance structure i.e., authority and power relationships that determine how financial, material, and human resources are allocated and flow within a chain (Gereffi 1994).
- 8.
The fair trade standards.
- 9.
The American USDA National Organic Program (NOP).
- 10.
The Council Regulation of the European Union (EEC) No 2092/91 on organic production of agricultural products.
- 11.
The Swiss Organic Regulation.
- 12.
The Japanese JAS standard.
- 13.
The International Organization for Standardization.
- 14.
Food Safety Management Systems.
- 15.
Office of Agricultural Economics.
- 16.
Jasmine rice is known for specific characteristics, particularly its aroma and low amylase content, which makes the cooking of jasmine rice different from other rice grains. These special characteristics can be distinguished among Asian consumers and help generate a premium price. The aroma and grain quality of jasmine rice grown in different geographical regions are not uniform, due to the production environment, soil nutrient levels, and cultural management practices (Isvilanonda and Seiichi 2005).
- 17.
A survey conducted by the Office of National Statistics, calculated by Office of the National Economics and Social Development Board in 2004.
- 18.
The Bank of Agriculture and Cooperatives reported in 2004.
- 19.
Interview with a development programmer on 28 December 2009.
- 20.
Farm records cover the recording of farm history, including the agricultural area, land ownership, land use patterns, types of crop, chemical usage, water resources used for cultivation, management of agricultural inputs, the harvesting and selling of crops, and total production and income from product sales. Importantly, farm records record the field history of the farm for the previous 3 years.
- 21.
Products used in organic production and processing, e.g. fertilizers, soil conditioners, plant protectants, including additives and processing aids used in organic processed products.
- 22.
Handling refers to wind-drying, sun-drying, cleaning, cutting, sorting, packing, storage, and transportation of the product (IFOAM).
- 23.
Includes all agricultural land holdings (for crops or animal rearing) under the management of the same person; it also includes land rented from others for farming purposes, where the farmer is not the owner.
- 24.
The primary sources of income for rural households are categorized as farm, off-farm, and non-farm sources. Farm income includes livestock as well as crop incomes and comprises both the consumption of own-farm outputs and cash income from the outputs sold. Off-farm income typically refers to wage or exchange labor on other farms. It also includes labor payments in kind such as harvest-share systems and other non-wage labor contracts. Non-farm income refers to non-agricultural income sources and includes: (1) non-farm rural wage employment, (2) non-farm rural self-employment, (3) property income, (4) urban-to-rural remittances arising from within national boundaries, and (5) international remittances arising from cross-border or overseas migration (Ellis 1998).
- 25.
“Conversion period” means the period from starting to carry out organic agriculture in accordance with IFOAM standards, until the product has been certified as organic. For organic rice, this conversion period takes 3 years.
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Taotawin, N. (2011). The Transition from Conventional to Organic Rice Production in Northeastern Thailand: Prospect and Challenges. In: Stewart, M., Coclanis, P. (eds) Environmental Change and Agricultural Sustainability in the Mekong Delta. Advances in Global Change Research, vol 45. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0934-8_23
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