Publication Date
1985
Location
Kyoto Japan
Description
The diagnosis of the problem in Northeast Thailand (Isan) has been that it is relatively unsuitable for the production of rice ( Oryza sativa) due to insufficient rainfall and irregular weather patterns, in conjunction with excessively well-drained soils and topography which does not lend itself easily to irrigation technology. Despite such severe limitations, officials in the Royal Thai government and proponents of the Green Revolution have pushed hard for a rice industry in Isan. The results of such efforts have been a greater impoverishment of the population (Isan is and has long been the most economically depressed region in Thailand) and increased political instability. A better rationale would be to work with a tropical grasslands strategy, keeping in mind that lsan has been the leading producer of buffalo and oxen in Thailand. The savanna vegetation which covers the flatter expanses of lsan is largely composed of relatively unsuitable forage species which should be replaced by more productive species used in tropical settings elsewhere. lsan's flatlands are inherently more suitable for grasslands development in the majority of cases than for forced paddy production. In many instances, riceland should be taken out of such production and reverted back to a pastoral setting. There are numerous economic and social reasons for reaching such a drastic conclusion aside from agronomic considerations. Also to be addressed are the multiple conservation benefits to be derived by moving from rice paddy to tropical grasslands on a regional scale.
Citation
Mason, D M., "Tropical Grasslands as an Appropriate Agricultural Strategy in Northeast Thailand (ISAN)" (1985). IGC Proceedings (1985-2023). 14.
(URL: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/1985/ses15/14)
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Tropical Grasslands as an Appropriate Agricultural Strategy in Northeast Thailand (ISAN)
Kyoto Japan
The diagnosis of the problem in Northeast Thailand (Isan) has been that it is relatively unsuitable for the production of rice ( Oryza sativa) due to insufficient rainfall and irregular weather patterns, in conjunction with excessively well-drained soils and topography which does not lend itself easily to irrigation technology. Despite such severe limitations, officials in the Royal Thai government and proponents of the Green Revolution have pushed hard for a rice industry in Isan. The results of such efforts have been a greater impoverishment of the population (Isan is and has long been the most economically depressed region in Thailand) and increased political instability. A better rationale would be to work with a tropical grasslands strategy, keeping in mind that lsan has been the leading producer of buffalo and oxen in Thailand. The savanna vegetation which covers the flatter expanses of lsan is largely composed of relatively unsuitable forage species which should be replaced by more productive species used in tropical settings elsewhere. lsan's flatlands are inherently more suitable for grasslands development in the majority of cases than for forced paddy production. In many instances, riceland should be taken out of such production and reverted back to a pastoral setting. There are numerous economic and social reasons for reaching such a drastic conclusion aside from agronomic considerations. Also to be addressed are the multiple conservation benefits to be derived by moving from rice paddy to tropical grasslands on a regional scale.
