"Changes in Rural Livelihood and Agriculture during the Last 20 years in Northeast Thailand"

Date:15:00-18:00, May 9 (Mon), 2005

Venue:Room C307, 3rd floor of CSEAS Common Building

Speaker 1: Dr. Viriya Limpinuntana (CSEAS & Khon Kaen University)
Title: "The Changing Conditions and Future of Rice Growing in Northeast Thailand"

Rice growing, under rainfed conditions, has traditionally been central to most farm households in Northeast Thailand. Since the early 1980s, many sudden and sustained changes have taken place in the world and in country’s economic conditions and government policies. Examples include cassava market restriction by the European Community, expansion of cane sugar industry in the Northeast, industrial expansion throughout the country, economic crisis, and economic recovery. These changes may have had significant impacts on the livelihood system and farm practices of small-scale farmers in the Northeast.

Speaker 2 : Dr. Miyagawa Shuichi (Gifu University)
Title: "From the 1980s to 2000s at Don Daeng Village: Rice-base Farming System"

We carried out an interdisciplinary survey at Don Daeng village, Khon Kaen province, in the early 1980s when Thai economy is going to shift from agriculture-based to industry-based and village economy from rice-based to money-based ones. In the early 2000s, we again surveyed the same village to monitor the changes in farming and livelihood during the last two decades. A wide range of urban landscape is going to be embedded in the rural village. The talk will focus on 20 years changes in rice cultivation and their implications.