Beef Cattle and Buffalo. Since the beginning of history, cattle and buffalo have been raised by Thai farmers primarily as draught animals, with meat production as a by-product. Most farm households own a small herd of cattle or buffalo using low-cost raising techniques that are fed using farm by-products and use of under-employed and excess labour. Genetic improvement of these animals was formerly neglected by farmers. Bulls with good appearances were often sterilized to make them docile. Not until recently has the demand for high quality meat increased and live cattle imports for breeding purposes are on the rise. The population of cattle has increased steadily, from 3.5 million head in 1961, to 259 million heads in 2001, whereas the buffalo population increased from 4.3 million heads to a peak of 5.8 million head, but later declined to 2.6 million heads during the same period. The declining trend in the buffalo population reflects its diminished use as animal power for rice farming, being replaced by modern machinery.
Although ordinary consumers would prefer beef to buffalo meat, there is no distinctive difference between them, neither in flavour nor texture. In fact buffalo meat products could be developed as a niche market for connoisseurs and health watching consumers because it contains less fat than beef. Thailand is regarded as self-sufficient in beef and buffalo meat production despite some import of high-grade meat for high-end markets.
Dairy Cattle. Milk was not learnt as and important source of food for the Thais in the past. Although dairy cattle were introduced to Thailand by Indian migrants in 1907, production was mainly for household consumption and trade was small. Commercial production began after the Danish government granted assistance to establish the Thai-Danish Dairy Farm and a training centre in 1962. Dairy production was later developed through the Dairy Farming Promotion Organization of Thailand, a state enterprise under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. At present, dairy cattle are raised throughout the country. However, milk production is not sufficient to meet the rising demand created by population growth and nutrition awareness. The countryΓÇÖs raw milk production in 2001 was 564,313 tons, while import of milk products was 162,118 tons worth 12,873 million baht.
Pigs. In the past, pig production was confined to subsistence farming only. Farmers usually kept a small number of native pigs in their farmyards for their own consumption, with any surplus being sold to local markets. Modern pig production began around forty years ago after high feed conversion breeds such as Large White, Duroc-Jersey, and Landrace were introduced from abroad. Commercial pig production has developed slowly due to price and feed cost variations and changes of government regulations. Thailand is self-sufficient in pig production with live pigs and pork products being exported to Asian countries such as Hong Kong and Singapore. The volume of frozen and processed pork export in 2001 was 8,688.56 tons, generating an income of 756.11 million baht. The total number of pigs slaughtered in 2001 was 4.45 million.
Poultry. Poultry products consist mainly of chicken meat, hen eggs, duck meat and duck eggs. Among these, the chicken meat industry has experienced the most rapid expansion and benefited from the most developed technology during the past few decades.
Although subsistence farmers still raise a flock of chickens in their farmyards, commercial broiler production is usually carried out by various contract farming arrangements such as price guarantees, hire-to-grow contracts, and open account contracts. The broiler industry still has to rely on imports of parent and grandparent stock to produce young chicks. At present, the broiler industry is highly regulated, with decision making and arrangements the result of cooperation among parent stock farms, broiler farms, feed companies, processing plants, and exporters. The major broiler production areas are in the central region, that accounting for 75 percent of total production. In 2000, total broiler production amounted to 891 million chickens. Native chicken production in 1999 was 99 million. The export of chicken meat (chilled and frozen) in 2001 was 296,425 tons, earning foreign exchange of 24.6 billion baht.
Thailand is self-sufficient in hen egg production, with the volume in 2001 being 8,265 million eggs, most of which were consumed domestically. There are some exports to Hong Kong and Singapore every year, but demand is inconsistent. In 2001, the export of hen eggs was 45.3 million eggs valued at 95.6 million baht.
Native ducks have long been raised in Thailand for both meat and egg consumption. The demand for duck meat is seasonal with highest consumption around festivals. The demand for duck eggs comes from restaurants and sweet shops because of their unique properties. To improve productivity, the Department of Livestock Development has introduced many duck breeds from abroad such as Khaki Campbell and India Runner, to cross breed with native ducks. These hybrids are suitable for both meat and egg production. Peking ducks and Muscovy ducks have also been introduced specifically for meat production. The duck population in 2001 was 28.4 million, about one seventh of the chicken population at the same time. The quantity of duck meat exported in 2001 was 6,880 tons, valued at 638.6 million baht. There is some export of duck eggs every year but the value is not much. Regular markets for duck meat and eggs are in Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and Germany.
Fisheries
ThailandΓÇÖs fishing industry can be divided into two groups: fresh water and marine fisheries. Fresh water fisheries are important to the ThaisΓÇÖ daily life. Fish catches from natural fresh water and fresh water aquaculture account for about 10 percent of the total fishery production, mostly consumed domestically. Annual catches of both marine and fresh water fish rose from 2.2 million tons in1985 to 3.6 million tons in 1999. The figures opposite show that exports of fishery products have doubled that ten years ago. Comparison of fishery products exported in 1988 and 1999
Total exports of fishery products in 1999 were 1.135 million tons, earning foreign exchange for the country worth 166.4 billion baht. Among these products, shrimps and prawns have enjoyed the highest export growth rate. Their value has overtaken canned tuna, which had long been the top export income earner until the last decade. The boost of shrimp and prawn exports did not come from natural catches, but from the expansion of commercial prawn farming, especially, the black tiger prawn.
In 1985, only 106 tons of black tiger prawn were produced. Production increased to 271,071 tons in 1999, contributing about 98.31 percent of total shrimp and prawn culture. Recently, an advanced raising technique called ΓÇ£low salinity prawn cultureΓÇ¥ has been developed. This technique allows black tiger prawn farming to be done in freshwater areas, away from the coast, where salt water usually does not penetrate. However, to avoid damage to the environment from salt deposits, in late 1998, the government stepped up enforcement of a cabinet resolution to prohibit salt-water prawn farming in fresh water areas.
Research and Development
There are two ways to increase agricultural production: by expansion of area and by improving efficiency. As mentioned before, the high growth rate of the agricultural sector in the past was largely due to expansion of farmlands through forest encroachment and now it is almost impossible to increase agricultural area without degrading the environment. As evidence, the government has a policy to reserve and restore 25 percent of the countryΓÇÖs area for forest, including 160,000 hectares for mangrove forest. Therefore, the only way to retain the high growth rate in the agricultural sector is to increase yield per unit area. The statistics indicate that the yields of most major agricultural productions are still low compared to that of other countries. It means that agricultural productivity can be increased with appropriate research and development.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives has actively supported agricultural research through its various departments such as the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Livestock Development, the Department of Fisheries, and others. Each department is responsible for research and development of a certain area of agriculture in order to improve yields and reduce production costs, as well as to conserving agricultural and natural resources.The Department of Agriculture has carried out research on plant variety improvement, cultural practices, development of farm machinery, integrated pest management, and post-harvest handling, including research on minimum processed products. Recently, biotechnology has come to play a vital role in plant breeding programmes and in research on pest control. Genetic improvement of livestock has been conducted with good success by the Department of Livestock Development through the introduction of live animals for breeding purposes, artificial insemination, and, most recently, the introduction of embryo transfer techniques. As for fishery research, technology developed by the Department of Fisheries has resulted in the expansion of aquaculture in recent years.
FarmerΓÇÖs Organizations
Successful development of the agriculture sector depends on the quality and management of human resources. The establishment of farmerΓÇÖs organizations is a tool to enable farmers to benefit from government support and to increase their bargaining power.
There are two important types of farmerΓÇÖs organizations: agricultural cooperatives and farmer groups; both of which receive support from the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.
The first cooperative in Thailand was established by a group of farmers in 1916, but it was not until 1928 that the first Cooperatives Act was enacted. Cooperative activities were the responsibility of various government agencies prior to the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives taking charge in 1972. In 2002, there were 5,633 cooperatives of various types including 3,588 agricultural cooperatives and 71 fishery cooperatives. From the beginning, the government has supported the cooperative movement and this policy has been consistently followed. However, only 14 percent of them are achieving their objectives.
Farmer groups were first organized informally in 1955. At that time they were called ΓÇ£rice grower groupsΓÇ¥. When the Department of Agricultural Extension was established in 1967, the name ΓÇ£rice grower groupsΓÇ¥was changed to ΓÇ£farmer groupsΓÇ¥ but they were not legalized until the Cooperatives Act was amended in 1972. Initially registered farmer groups numbered 12, with 1,130 farm family members in 1972, increasing to 4,055 groups and more than 500,000 farm families in 2002. The farmer groups consist of 3,805 rice groups, 971 field crop groups, 967 horticulture groups, 663 livestock groups, 114 fishery groups, 44 aquaculture groups, 24 sericulture groups, and 3 bee-keeping group.
Agricultural Development Policy
The agricultural development policy being implemented by the MOAC has followed the policy guidelines of the present government led by H.E. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra It was submitted to the National Assembly on 26 February 2001 The Agricultural policy is drawn into 3 parts as follows:
1: Revival and Strengthening of Farmers
(1) Reform the debt structure and maturity profile of the agricultural sector to correspond with the crop production cycle. Expedite the resolution of farmersΓÇÖ debt. Implement a debt moratorium and suspension of interest payments for a period of 3 years for small scale farmers.
(2) Promote the practice of mixed agriculture, alternative agriculture and organic agriculture as well as support the learning process for farmers.
(3) Support farmers to have adequate land for earning their livelihood by implementing a coordinated and comprehensive land utilization policy and by optimizing the use of land. The management of water resources at every level must also be improved efficiently in a manner that is suited to the production system of each crop and the conditions of the terrain. Emphasis must be placed on the full participation of the people in the restoration, conservation and development of land that is watershed as well as in river basins, reservoirs, irrigation canals, water quality, and piped irrigation, The use of surface water and underground water must also be efficient and systematic, especially in projects for development of large water sources.
2: Development of Domestic Markets and Strengthening Rural Communities
(1) Develop production in the rural sector and strengthen community economies by linking the processing of agricultural produce with the ΓÇ£One Village, One productΓÇ¥ Project. A one million-baht Village and Community Fund has been established in each village to serve as a revolving loan facility of the long-termlocal investments and income creation in rural areas at community levels.
(2) Develop the marketing system for modern agricultural produce. Provide support for the construction of barns and crop drying grounds for farmer groups in rural areas. Promote the establishment of an information technology network for agriculture news and improve access to marketing information concerning agricultural goods so that farmers may undertake production planning in an efficient manner.
(3) Promote and strengthen cooperatives, community businesses, agricultural institutions, and community organizations, enabling them to participate in making and proposing agricultural policy and measures as well as in agricultural research and development.
(4) Increase production efficiency by promotion research and learning from Thai local knowledge and modern technological know-how.
3: Increasing the Competitiveness of the Agricultural Sector in the World Market
(1) Support the creation of new value added through agricultural produce processing, Develop quality, standards, forms, and packaging of agricultural and agro-industrial goods.
(2) Develop Thailand as a centre for the production of organic agricultural products, Promote the registration of patents involving agricultural production in every area as preparation for future liberalization in trade of agricultural products.
(3) Improve qualify controls, standards and safety of agricultural products, both imports and exports. Support the development of biotechnology to improve productivity. quality and standard that are internationally recognized and market tested.
(4) Promote coastal fishing, aquaculture and marine. farming as well as fishing beyond territorial waters based on bilateral cooperation with neighboring countries, developing a strong national fishing fleet. Supporting the cold storage industry, and promoting the processing of fishery goods. Conservation and protection of natural marine resources and the ecology of the sea are also the important policy.
Commercial Production: This measure is important both as a response to meeting food security requirements of people in the country and in the global community, as well as a source of income for the country. This comes at a time when tariff barriers to agricultural trade are low as a result of the last Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade and subsequently the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Despite the fact that world trade in agricultural products is being freed, non-tariff barriers such as sanitary and phytosanitary measures, food standards and environmental issues, have been reinforced by some countries more than ever. The agriculture sector must be adjusted to increase its competitiveness in the form of new technologies, sanitary standards imposed on products being traded, and linkages between trade and the environment. Emphasis is placed on improving quality and standards of agricultural products in response to the new market environment.
Production toward a Self-sufficient Economy: This measure is to expand the agricultural production base on the principle of a self-sufficient economy by providing small holder farmers with quality in their living standards and establishing food security at household level and within the community, while reducing reliance on external inputs, and alleviating risks from price instability. Emphasis is placed on adoption of integrated agricultural technologies and diversity of both short term and long term production at the on-farm level. This measure coincides with a royal initiative project called ΓÇ£The KingΓÇÖs New TheoryΓÇ¥ which has been implemented during the economic crisis. In this project, small farmers who own about 2.5 hectares of land are encouraged to engage in an integrated farming pattern in order to be self-sufficient. Farm activities are diversified to cover rice and other cropping, animal husbandry, and aquaculture. With appropriate support from the government, these subsistent farmers will gradually be changed and will be ready to become commercial farmers.
Agriculture After 2000: The development of agriculture in the future will therefore be based on a combination of these two contrasting measures: production for commercial purposes and production for self-sufficiency. Farmers will decide themselves which type of production suits them depending on personal factors. The government will support them with basic facilities and technical advice, sufficient for them to be self-supporting. However, to be in line with international trade agreements to which the government is committed, any assistance in the form of ΓÇ£export subsidiesΓÇ¥ will have to be avoided.
The Modification of the Agricultural
Development Plan
The agricultural development plan during the Eighth National Economic and Social Development Plan (1997- 2001) has been modified for the agricultural sector to be able to address the economic crisis in the country, aimed at maintaining the sectorΓÇÖs growth at 2.9 percent per annum. In accordance with this situation, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives has formulated nine agriculture policies, namely: (1) restructuring of the agricultural production system; (2) improving productivity and reducing production costs; (3) improving the quality of products and encouraging agro-processing; (4) restructuring the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives; (5) increasing saving in rural communities; (6) more efficient use of fertilizers and agricultural chemicals; (7) conservation of natural resources; (8) preparing for global climate changes; and, (9) preparing for the 21th century. These agricultural policies were approved by the cabinet on 17 March 1998.
