From Indigenous Technology to Modern Technology in Rice Farming : a Reflection on Farmers' Adaptations in the Central Plain

Abstract

This research is a comparative case study on rice farming technology and dynamics of the recent rice farming transitions under the agro-ecological, technological and socio-economical conditions. The two ricefarming villages of this study were Ban Khoh in Ayutthaya province and Ban Khoh Rat in Nakhon Pathom province, representing the former and the more recent rice-producing reas, respectively. Qualitative research approach was employed, grounded on two conceptual frameworks: the Practical Technology Concept and the Agrarian Systems Concept. Highlights of the findings were as follows: 1) In Ban Khoh of Ayutthaya province, wet-season rice farming was still predominant, depending on single cropping of floating rice. Traces of indigenous rice farming technology could be minimally observed. Transitions to modern rice farming system had been gradual and limited, due to the constraints of the agro-ecology of the rice lands. Only a small number of full-time farmers existed. 2) On the contrary, Ban Khoh Rat of Nakhon Pathom province is an exemplary case of a rapid transition from traditional to a full-scale modern and commercial rice farming. Intensive all-year round rice farming system is predominant. Notably, full-time farmers comprised the majority of the village households. Factors contributing to this rapid transition phenomenon were: the government's continuous export-oriented rice policy, farmers' perceived benefits of intensive rice farming, advantage from the full-scale irrigation network, influx of the green revolution packages of technology, and the supporting culture and innovativeness of the farmers.