The Role of Smallholders in Thai Agricultural Development

Abstract

The role of smallholders in underpinning the Thai economy through exported and domestic product and supporting their 70 percent of the population without government welfare is emphasised in a review of the needs for smallholder development. Economic development models are discussed in a context of agriculture fuelling economic growth with a revision of assumptions that family farms can be viewed as a phase toward large-scale commercial agriculture. Intensive smallholder agriculture permits production of high quality produce, efficient use of by- and waste products in integrated systems, and maintenance of cultural values. The review concludes that specific attention to smallholders is a prim..