Abstract
The decrease and aging of farmers are becoming serious problems in Thailand due to rapid economic development. As a result, the contract hire systems that use large tractors or Thai-made combines have steadily prevailed in place of manual labors for rice farming. This field study discusses the present situation and background of such contract hire systems based on survey at Nong Pla Mor village, Ratchaburi province, Thailand. This report concentrates on the current situations and constraints of rice farming in conjunction with contract hire systems. The results show that most farming households are making use of contract hire systems in almost all stages of farming practices. Such systems can be classified into two types: One type is the system which has started as a cooperative group farming system in the community, utilizing small agricultural machinery, and the other is the semi-professional system providing relatively expensive bigger agricultural machinery. The latter covers both harvesting practice by using Thai-made combines and cultivating practice employing riding type tractors. Farmer's behaviors in terms of technological acceptance are also discussed.
