Social Factors Influencing the Development of Beef and Cattle Production System in Southern Thailand : a Case Study on Farmers in Nakhon Sri Thammarat Province

Abstract

Beef and cattle farming are one of major agricultural occupations for increasing family income of farmer in Nakorn Sri Thammarat province. The beef and cattle development, presently, requires not only technological development but socio-economic development also. The result shows the farmers have interests and needs to improve their production. However, they have faced serious constraints such as deficient knowledge in practice, and management, lack of concentration in practice because, livestock occupation, normally, is supplementary occupation of rubber occupation. The farmers, however, have maintain positive attitude on this occupation as a role of government officer concerning inducing modernized practices and technology toward the efficiently technological transferation. The main source of information in local area is personal media especially, livestock officer, extension worker, and rural officer. Farmers, presently, do not have much interest in participating the membership of local group due to inefficient local group. Characteristics of the rearing system is individual rearing system. It , therefore, had to late capacity building and inefficient local group activity. The farm production energy such as grass for animal feed and family labor are influencing on the production decision in beef and cattle development.