Oil palm farmers’ perceptions on occupational impacts of ASEAN economic community participation: Lesson learned from agro-economic zone for oil palm in Southern Thailand

Abstract

     Thai oil palm farmers’ perceptions of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) represent an outstanding issue. This survey research investigated sources of information and perceptions on the occupational impacts of AEC participation by oil palm farmers, and also examined what factors are important in determining their differences in perceptions on the occupational impacts of AEC participation. Primary data were collected using structured interviews from a total sample of 395 oil palm farmers (206 and 189 oil palm farmers for Surat Thani and Krabi provinces, respectively), using the multistage sampling technique. Descriptive statistics and ordered probit regression were applied for data analysis. The results revealed that the most important source of information of the respondents was personal media ( X̄ = 1.01±0.77). The respondents perceived a high level of potential occupational impacts of AEC participation (X̄ = 3.44±0.75). The statistically significant factors determining the perceptions on the occupational impacts of AEC participation of the respondents were: province, schooling year, oil palm production system, experience in oil palm farming, group membership, oil palm farming as main occupation, income from oil palm farming, saving, and debt, with respective perceptual probabilities of the most level of impacts of -0.0591, 0.0106, 0.0028, 0.0701, 0.0557, 0.0651, -3.33×10^-08,      -2.12×10^-07, and 3.95×10-⁰⁸, respectively. The results are useful for related government agencies to formulate appropriate agricultural extension strategies for oil palm farmers.