Rural Household Characteristics and Agricultural Activities in Relation to Local Non-Farm Employment: A Comparative Study of Two Wet Rice-Growing Villages in Northeast Thailand

The Khon Kaen Agriculture Journal, Vol.45(4), no.4

pp. 721-730

Shirai, Yuko, Leisz, J. Stephen, Fox, Jefferson and Rambo, A. Terry

This study examines the relations of local non-farm employment and out-migration with agriculture in two rural villages in Khon Kaen Province in Northeast Thailand. The villages have similar populations, topography, and agricultural systems, but differing in the number of residents employed in local non-farm regular wage jobs. The availability of local non-farm jobs was found to be related to the rate of out-migration, household structure, and agricultural activities. Households having members with local non-farm jobs have few out-migrants and are more likely to be extended and nuclear type households. These types of households can expand their agricultural activities by using family labor and investing in farm machinery. They are also able to transplant rice seedlings, which is more labor-intensive than broadcast seeding. In contrast, there are many out-migrants from households whose members lack local regular wage non-farm jobs. These households are more likely to be of the skipped generation and truncated types. Because their labor supply is small and they often lack sufficient cash income, they resort to broadcast rice seeding to save labor. Government promotion of rural industrialization may be an effective strategy to reduce rates of out-migration and develop more stable and prosperous agricultural communities in Northeast Thailand.