2012 Volume 3 Issue 1 Pages 55-61
Native beef cattle raising by small-scale farmers in the rural areas of Thailand is vulnerable to ecological, institutional and technological changes. Decrease of vulnerability can be achieved by increasing resilience. The study of the resilience of rice field and mountain based native beef cattle raising in Nakhon Panom province, Thailand was therefore conducted as a case study to assess the resiliency level of the system. A focus-group workshop and survey were used in this study. Animals were raised in harvested rice-fields and shifted to a free-grazing area in a forest-mountain area over the wet season. The results indicated that the system was resilient. For this reason, it is felt that native-beef cattle raising in these two ecologies are sustainable. The resilience of the system can be manifested into eight elements: 1) good governance among rural communities and national parks in terms of policy and cooperation; 2) socio-economic enhancement and a sound and sustainable livelihood; 3) well integrated natural food resources in the forest with abundant crop residues and natural grasses in the rice field; 4) adaptation of land-use and the less significant need to support the basic infrastructure; 5) sound orientation and awareness of risks in the system (therefore, risk reduction stems from the integration between indigenous technical knowledge (ITK) and proper technology for herd management); 6) farmers’ awareness of early warning signs of identified risks that alert them to prepare, protect and prevent the loss of animals; 7) well preparedness and undertaking of procedures established for animal protection such as diseases outbreak, heavy rain and supporting networks; and 8) in-place plans of action for the recovery of food resources and a herd management plan. Improvement needed, farmers focus on value adding within integration to husbandry practices and increasing an adaptation capacity for changes in the future.
