A Model in Promoting Highland Terrace Paddy Cultivation Technology in Northern Thailand

抄録

This study aimed to investigate the adoption of Highland Terrace Paddy Cultivation Technology (HTPCT) in Northern Thailand. HTPCT was promoted by the Rice Department in 2003 in four provinces of Northern Thailand under the Royal Development Project. Previous studies showed increased yields using HTPCT while cost of converting sloping lands into terrace paddy can be recouped in a few years. However, despite the promotion of the technology, adoption had not been widespread. To understand the limitations in the adoption process, quantitative and qualitative research was conducted in 5 villages of Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son provinces located in Doi Ompai Mountain. Results show that overall the respondents had high level of adoption but for two practices, namely, soil fertilizer management and sequential cropping system and livestock production, the respondents had moderate level of adoption. Further, the two production practices were only partially practiced by the farmers. This means that even if the adopters converted their upland rice areas to terrace paddy, they still used some traditional technologies and did not follow all recommended HTPCT practices. The common problems mentioned by the respondents in practicing HTPCT were water and labor shortage, difficulty of land preparation, lack of bio-pesticides and green manure seeds, familiarity with traditional cultivation and their superstition which worked against widespread adoption. Thus, a model in promoting HTPCT in Northern Thailand is proposed. The model takes into consideration the necessary policies, roles of various stakeholders and joint learning among farmers, extension workers and researchers in each step of HTPCT promotion.