The
Agriculture and Mining Sectors
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The agriculture sector's contribution to the Gross Domestic
Product declined from 39.4 percent in 1961 to 12.2 percent
in 1993 due primarily to the rapid expansion of other sectors
of the economy. However, agriculture will continue to be
a dominant sector of the Thai economy for years to come.
In 1993, farm population comprised approximately
57 percent of the total labour force. If the people indirectly
engaged in agri- business industries were also included
in the estimate, labour force absorption by agriculture
totaled 57.2 percent.
Agriculture exports were the major source
of foreign exchange earning during the 1960s and 1970s.
However, as Thailand's progress towards industrialization
increased, manufactured exports gained importance. In 1993,
exports of agricultural products amounted to only about
18.1 percent of total exports compared with the share of
40 percent in 1982.
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MAJOR CROPS
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Field crops, which accounted for 50 percent of agricultural
output in 1993, increased at an annual average rate of 8
percent between 1961 and 1993. Agricultural production was
still dominated by seven major crops: rice, tapioca, rubber,
maize, sugar-cane, mung beans and tobacco leaves , most
of which were grown primarily for export.
Since 1970 the increase in crop production
have come from both the expansion of cultivated areas and
improvements in yields. In response to high agricultural
prices, the total area planted has continued to increase.
Furthermore, farmers are switching from crops with relatively
low returns per hectare to those with higher earnings. Performance,
however, varies considerably: sugar-cane, rubber and tapioca
yields have been increasing significantly, rice and maize
yields growing slowly, and kenaf yield declining. The trend
towards crop diversification continues in response to price
incentives as the proportion of cropped area devoted to
rice declines.
Although the national average rice yield has
remained low , recent trend clearly indicates certain structural
changes in production. At present, rice cultivation is undertaken
in intensive irrigated areas, wet-season irrigated areas,
and rainfed areas. Intensive irrigated areas, which enable
farmers to produce at least two crops a year, increased
phenomenally from 407,488 hectares in 1977/78 to 4,240,000
hectares in 1992/93.
Furthermore, there is ample evidence that
yields in both intensive and wet-season irrigated areas
have risen sharply during the past five years. About four
million hectares of paddy land now benefit from wet-season
flood control to keep fields free of excess water which
would damage crops. Nevertheless, the remaining six million
hectares represent rice production in rainfed areas where
limited access to modern technology and inputs results in
low yields.
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LIVESTOCK
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Livestock production is second in importance in the agricultural
sector. Between 1988 and 1993, its share of the total GDP
of agriculture declined from 1.7 percent to 1.3 percent.
The Government has been trying to improve
beef and dairy production through cross-breeding and artificial
insemination using high-grade stock imported from United
States, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, and Australia. Likewise,
indigenous breeds of swine have been improved through cross-breeding
with pure-breds imported from abroad. The Livestock Department
has set up swine breeding centres throughout the country
and has conducted a nationwide artificial insemination programme.
Of all livestock raised for the market, poultry
has improved the most. Pure-bred chickens are popular among
poultry raisers and research in breeding and management
with the aim of improving egg production and feed conversion
rate has been conducted with great success. As a result,
frozen chickens have become one of the country's important
exports.
