Identification of agricultural systems in the mountains of Northeast Thailand

摘要

Agricultural systems in Thailand's northeastern mountains are described in terms of their type of crops,marketing channels,and labor requirements.Five distinctive systems are identified:The Field crop system,Fruit tree system,Industrial tree plantation system,Specialty crop system and Agro-tourism system.The different systems are compared with each other in order to identify their respective strengths and weaknesses as development models.The Field crop system covers the largest area of agricultural land and is found in all mountainous villages but it generates very low net profits per hectare.The Specialty crop system and Agro-tourism system generate very high net profits per hectare but cover only a small land area and have a restricted spatial distribution.Expansion of these high value systems may be limited because they are capital and labor intensive and require highly skilled farmers to manage them successfully.If these constraints can be overcome,they may offer a useful model for mountain agricultural development.