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Agricultural Information

Environmental Information

Inst'l Profiles (NGOs, GOs, & Acad.)

Other Useful Information

Regional Information

Crops

Ecology and Soil

Techniques and Tools

Overview:

An idiosyncratic history of abnormal farming- by Central Thai standards- has burst the Northern Region into a cornucopia of produce not found anywhere else in the nation, or often, anywhere in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region. Chiang Rai markets fill each morning with local strawberries, Nan cabbage, longan and lychee. In the furthest corner of Mae Hong Son, Taiwanese visitors sit back to savor local green teas and world class peaberry coffee. In Loei and Tak, adventurous- or misguided- vintners press another tropical grape hybrid.

And driving through the countryside, the gentleness of patties are replaced by endless cash-cropped hills of corn, sugarcane, teakwood plantations, and cassava- the limited rice production tucked close to low-lying remnants of streams and gullies.

With farms separated from markets by hours- if not days- of washed out mountain roads and farmers with no less risk aversion than those in the South or Isaan, the range of crop diversity and the viability of exporting Northern crops beyond their local surroundings is often contingent upon governmental interventions throughout the farming process. The North- more than any other region- is sprinkled with Royal Projects, subsidized storehouses, academic research institutions, model farms, "agro-tourism regions" and minimum price guarantees.

An optional quiz for understanding the back story of Northern farming.


From CIMMYT Country Profile:

The North is a mountainous region characterized by natural forests, ridges, and deep, narrow, alluvial valleys. Steep river valleys and upland areas that border the Central Plain incise these high mountains, which extend along the Burmese border down through the Malay Peninsula. A series of rivers, including the Ping, Wang, Yom, and Nan, unite in the lowlands to form the Chao Phraya watershed. Traditionally, these natural features have made possible several different types of agriculture, including wet-rice farming in the valleys and shifting cultivation in the uplands. In this region, winter temperatures are cool enough to allow the cultivation of temperate fruits such as apples, strawberries, and peaches.
The Northern region comprises three physiographic zones (Topark-Ngarm and Gutteridge, 1986): (1) the lowlands, which make up 15% of the area, and are relatively flat with fertile alluvial basins that produce paddy rice; (2) the uplands, which make up 45% of the area in undulating to hilly terrain to 500 meters above sea level (masl), and are principally planted to upland rice, maize, grain legumes and other field crops; and (3) the highlands, which make up 40% of the area with an altitude range of 500-2,500 masl, comprised of rugged, steep-sided mountains, which are dissected by high valleys and planted to upland rice, maize, and hidden cultivated areas of opium (Topark-Ngarm and Gutteridge, 1986). In this region, rainfall varies from 900 to 2000 mm, and temperatures vary from 29oC/ 13oF in January to 36oC/21oF in April. Temperatures decrease approximately 0.5oC per 100 m altitude, and frosts occur in sheltered highland locations. The Northern region produces the most maize in Thailand, with the majority of maize coming from the lowlands and uplands, with scattered plots in the highlands

Major Crops:
Corn
Rice

Cassava
Coffee and Tea
Eucalyptus
Temperate Fruits
Garlic
Potatoes
Soybean
Sugarcane
Teakwood

Known NGOs or Institutions:
BGET- Border Green Energy Team
Chiangsaen International Institute for Skill Development
COERR- Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees
Khom Loy Development Foundation
The Life Skills Development Foundation

PATT- Plant a Tree Today Foundation
PLAN International- Thailand
Population and Community Development Association
Pun Pun Sustainable Learning and Seed Center
Raks Thai
Solidarites Thailand
Thai Craft
Water Charity
WEAVE- Women Education for Advancement and Empowerment
World Vision International Asia-Pacific
YMCA Chiang Rai
ZOA Refugee Care

Volunteer Write-ups:
Tak
Photos from the Chiang Mai Sufficiency Economy Museum (Sufficiency Economy Website - http://www.porpeanglife.com/)