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Published on January 28, 2008

My first thought is "Oh, wow, it's so green."

Then, as soon as I spotted the scene of small palm trees planted along the concrete walkway that runs in front of the bungalows, I changed my mind. Why palm trees, when Thailand has a variety of large trees that give more shade and promises a cooler atmosphere?

The scene also reminded me of a conversation with a lady whose family has been involved in agriculture.

Let's say her name is 'A'. 'A' has a deep concern about the future of farmers. Living in Chiang Mai, which attracts many Bangkok people and expatriates, she realised it was tempting to sell rice fields to others in return for a lump sum.

"They are tempted to sell the land for a lump sum, which could take years for them to collect, if they can. But after that, what will they do for a living?" she said.

To 'A', it is understandable why farmers leave their rice fields. At the national level, they are talking about increasing yield per rai - something that farmers find hard to accomplish.

Let's say there was a family that owned 100 rai of land. Then the land was split into five plots for five children, each of whom had 20 rai. About 20 years later, the land was split again. If the five children had 10 grandchildren, that means there would be 10 rai for each. In the next generation, the land plot of each would be smaller and smaller, until there was no economy of scale.

Without economy of scale, it is difficult to buy rice seeds at a bargain price. That also applies to the purchase of other products, like fertiliser.

Then, at harvest time, it is difficult to hire a tractor at a decent price. It takes less than a day for a machine to harvest the 5-rai paddy field. Still, the farmer has to pay for the fuel and other costs. If the tractor and the driver were hired for a larger plot, say 100 rai, it would save costs.

'A' believes that there is no way to change the situation. Not all brothers and sisters love each other so much they are willing to combine their rice fields to achieve economy of scale.

So, folks, let's expect the mushrooming of resorts on rice fields. Should we then bless ourselves for visiting the rice fields? At least our visit means there is a rising demand for the fields, which, if they are lucky, could bring farmers higher prices from their land.

achara_d@nationgroup.com

The Nation