| Author | Sukunya Tukaew |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no.AS-15-02 |
| Subject(s) | Sugarcane products--Thailand
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| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for thedegree of Doctor of Philosophy in Agricultural Systems and Engineering, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Dissertation ; no. AS-15-02 |
| Abstract | Many farmers in Thailand grow sugarcane under contract farming (CF) system, which is a potential system to support management of sugarcane production from farm to sugar factory. CF system has potential advantages to both farmers and agribusiness companies. The farmers receive input support, production services, credit support, appropriate technology, skill transfer, guaranteed and fixed pricing from agribusiness companies. Agribusiness companies which make the contract with farmers obtain quantitatively and qualitatively assured products. Two major problems of sugarcane production under CF system in Thailand are low yield and low quality which is dependent on production practice. The objective of this research was to investigate the influence of different production factors on cane yield and commercial cane sugar (CCS) level of sugarcane grown under CF system in Thailand. It also assessed the level of farmers’ satisfaction and expectation of CF system for sugarcane production. The data were collected from a farm survey through individual interview of contract sugarcane farmers from three sugar mills located at Lopburi, Saraburi and Nakhon Sawan Provinces, Thailand. A total of 270 farmers belonging to small, medium and large farm sizes were selected. The results showed that production factors of irrigation, chemical fertilizer application and farm size significantly influenced cane yield, and accounted for 82% of the variation in cane yield. Timely delivery from farm to sugar mill and crop age of sugarcane during harvesting were the factors significantly related to the quality of sugarcane product typically measured by CCS value and accounted for 71.8% of the variation in sugarcane quality. Good management practice in sugarcane farm is important to increase yield and CCS level. Farmers can obtain higher cane yield by providing adequate irrigation depending on the need during different crop growth stages and application of chemical fertilizers based on soil analysis. These practices can be better managed in small farms where farmers have greater control. The quality of sugarcane can be improved by harvesting at maturity period and minimizing delivery time of the harvested product from farm to sugar mill. The highest satisfaction of sugarcane farmers under CF system was found in the topics of price value and insurance arrangement.The highest expectation of sugarcane farmers under CF system was found in the topics of access to creditfollowed by increased income. |
| Year | 2015 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Dissertation ; no. AS-15-02 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (Former title: Department of Food Agriculture, and BioResources (DFAB)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Agricultural and Aquatic Systems(AS) |
| Chairperson(s) | Shivakoti, Ganesh P. ;Datta, Avishek (Co-Chairperson); |
| Examination Committee(s) | Jourdain, Damien ;Anal, Anil K.; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Asian Institute of Technology Fellowship; |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2015 |