Stabilization of Upland Agriculture under El Nino-Induced Climate Risk: Impact Assessment and Mitigation Measures in Thailand

Abstract

This study focused on the impacts on vulnerable areas in five provinces and five regions in Thailand. The findings indicated that events caused by El Nino induced weather changes had some impacts on the stabilization of upland agriculture in those vulnerable areas. Broadly speaking, severe drought and a long period of water shortages were experienced by some of the vulnerable areas in Northeast and Central Thailand. Some areas experienced a decrease of corn yield while others experienced complete failure of field corn, sorghum, sugarcane, peanut and mungbean. The impacts of El Nino on the social and economic conditions of Thailand's vulnerable areas were an occurrence of labour mobilization, and weaknesses in purchasing power and loan repayment abilities of the farmers. Although Thailand has no policies and measures for coping directly with events caused by El Nino, there have been existing policies and measures of effectively coping with normal droughts and floods that frequently occur. These effective policies and measures are national risk awareness and warning, reforestation and afforestation, water resource management, crop diversification, mixed farm systems, integrated farming and self-sufficient farming. For the future, policies and mitigation measures should be generated based on the following characteristics. They should be favorable to the increase in the participation rate of any community and communal administrative organization concerned as all for each and each for all. Moreover, they should be favorable to the stability and sustainability of on-farm productivity and the increase of the use of agricultural and forest by-products instead of fossil fuels. In addition, the policies should be favorable to the reinforcement of the national food security and the betterment of physical, biological, economic, and social environments. The stability of bio-diversity, prevention of soil erosion and shallowness of water sources are also focused upon.