Farmers’ Perception and Drivers of Membership in Rice Production Community Enterprises: Evidence from the Central Region, Thailand

Abstract

In rapidly developing economies such as Thailand, farmers face multiple challenges preventing them from improving their livelihoods, and are therefore reverting to collective action as a means to overcome those obstacles. Community enterprises (CEs) have recently emerged as a new form of such collective action, yet there is limited evidence regarding farmers’ perception of rice production CEs (RPCEs) and the specific factors influencing their decision to join. In order to fill this gap, primary data were collected through questionnaires administered to 406 farmers in six districts in Uthai Thani province in the central region of Thailand. A weighted average index (WAI) was employed to assess the farmers’ perception of RPCEs’ role, and a binary logit regression model was used to investigate the determinants of perception and membership in RPCEs. The results revealed that both members and non-members perceived RPCEs as a saving source but not a credit provider. Compared to non-members, members put more emphasis on the product competition with rivals. Decision to join was associated with small landholdings, diversity of rice varieties cultivated, participation in networks, membership of economic groups, access to extension services, access to credit, and proximity to the market. The results suggest that production-oriented and marketing-oriented policies should be promoted in order to encourage farmers to cultivate organic rice and rice for the niche market to supply to RPCEs in order to generate greater group income.

The Impact of the Use of Village Funds on Sustainable Agricultural Development

“…With regard to the impact of income on the probability of farmers facing agricultural production barriers, the results suggest that off-farm income may ensure cash flow and decrease income fluctuations. As a survival strategy, farmers often seek to diversify their sources of income and use other strategies to stabilise their earnings through off-farm activities [15,16,17] Previous research by [18] analysing the warehouse receipt system in Cianjur and Subang District also showed that income had positive effects on adoption of agricultural innovations. The results also confirm the importance of farming experience.…”

Perceptions of an ageing agricultural workforce and farmers’ productivity strategies: Evidence from Prachinburi Province, Thailand

“…Farm size is expected to influence the ageing workforce negatively. Existing research revealed that the ageing agricultural workforce negatively impacts the effective use of land resources, food security, and agricultural modernisation (Apipoonyanon et al, 2020;He, 2013), however it can have a positive effect on the perception of rice production enterprises (Petcho et al, 2019).…”

“…The ageing population and shifting occupational patterns have been integrated and linked to the development of economic, social and environmental aspects. Despite this and a number of existing policies and strategies, the agricultural labour force continues to decline (Apipoonyanon et al, 2020;Naipinit et al, 2014;Petcho et al, 2019).…”

Socio-economic and environmental barriers to increased agricultural production: New evidence from central Thailand

“…Specific challenges include climate variability, limited access to technology, lack of irrigation, degrading soil fertility, an ageing farmer population resulting in labour shortage, and price fluctuations (Dang et al, 2014). Despite the Green Revolution and subsequent technological advances, weather and climate remain the key factors determining agricultural productivity throughout Asia (Petcho et al, 2019; Tsusaka and Otsuka, 2013). Sub-optimal agricultural production can have significant profound effects on the composition of agricultural value chains, market access opportunities for small-scale farmers, and their collective organisation (Petcho et al, 2019).…”

“…Despite the Green Revolution and subsequent technological advances, weather and climate remain the key factors determining agricultural productivity throughout Asia (Petcho et al, 2019; Tsusaka and Otsuka, 2013). Sub-optimal agricultural production can have significant profound effects on the composition of agricultural value chains, market access opportunities for small-scale farmers, and their collective organisation (Petcho et al, 2019).…”