| Author | Kwannate Tantirithisak |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no. AE-95-40 |
| Subject(s) | Water chestnut
|
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
Master of Science, School of Environment, Resources, and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | This study aims to investigate the farming system of Chinese water chestnut
farmers in Si Prachan district in Suphanburi province, which is the major producer in
Thailand. Chinese water chestnut is a crop of high returns that can be grown under the
same conditions as rice crop. Farmers are interested in Chinese water chestnut cultivation
and tried to extend the planting area because of high return. However, farmers still face
problems of high cost of production and uncertain prices.
The study indicated that the scarcity of labor affects the cost of production.
However, the over use of chemical inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides
cause the excessive of input costs. The results of gross margin analysis showed that the
Chinese water chestnut farmers received higher returns than rice farmers.
Certain important problems related to Chinese water chestnut production in the
study are : inadequate knowledge of pest control which results in low quality of
products, loss of productivity and high costs due to increasing harvest labor costs and
material costs. Income is consequently reduced while the problems of low selling price
and lack of investment exist.
Some recommendations for solving the farmers' problems could be summarized
as follows: The agricultural extension should provide the farmers with adequate
knowledge concerning the care of Chinese water chestnut, especially the use of pesticides
and provide good seeds to improve the quality of products. For the problem of low selling
price, the farmers should form a cooperative group in order to create more power in
bargaining for reasonable price of their products. As for the shortage of capital, the
government should provide financial resources for production of Chinese water chestnut
in the form of low-interest loan and sufficient fund on a longer term |
| Year | 1995 |
| Type | Thesis |
| 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 Food Engineering (AE) |
| Chairperson(s) | Upasena, S. H.;Boonjit Titapiwatanakun |
| Examination Committee(s) | Sunantar Setboonsarng |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | DANIDA |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1995 |