Farm labor shortages are posing a challenge to the Thai agricultural sector, causing labor constraints. Farmers who grow Robusta coffee in Chumphon Province are highly dependent on seasonal migrant labor from northeast regions during the harvest season. However, recent changes in labor market conditions and the development of non-agricultural sectors across the country have increased the difficulty in finding seasonal farm labor, and this acute labor constraint may affect coffee production. This study examines the effects of this labor constraint on production outcomes and labor allocation. To identify constraints and the allocation of inputs, especially labor input, a quadratic production function is employed to estimate marginal productivity. An augmented inverse probability weighting estimator is then utilized as a double robust to estimate the average treatment effect. Our estimations found that the difference in the marginal productivity of labor inputs is not significant; however, the labor hiring constraint has a negative and statistically significant effect on coffee production. Thus, the exchange of labor information and providing information on coffee picking practice in the site are needed. Additionally, as farmer groups serve an important role in building stronger social ties and decreasing labor constraints, programs that implement technology and tools for supporting unskilled harvesting labor, labor information, and coffee farm practices should be implemented through farmer groups communities.

Today, in the 21st century, we are in a period of change, and for humankind to continue to prosper, it is necessary to alter the society so that it shifts away from capitalism towards sustainability. Agricultural science is an academic field with great potential to enable the realization of a sustainable society, but there exist several problems associated with the current academic system regarding agriculture and the direction of technological development.In this paper, we summarize the current state of development in science and technology which has played a role in the economic development, and state of environmental problems, and state of the global economy, and attempt to explain the necessity of realizing a society type that emphasizes local production for local consumption. It was initiated by attempting to change the direction of a new society and increasing awareness regarding the necessity for its realization. Hiroi’s theory of post-capitalist society will be introduced as an example of a sustainable society. Following this, the issues of agriculture, such as the current situation in which the agricultural and rural areas of Japan have been exhausted, and those of agricultural science, such as specialization and technology-centered research, will be summarized. We then outline the ways in which a sustainable society can be realized.