Feasibility of system of rice intensification practices in natural and socioeconomic contexts in Thailand

The system of rice intensification (SRI) is a set of practices in rice cultivation known for higher yields, lower water consumption, and environmentally friendly effects. However, few Thai farmers have adopted SRI even though Thailand is one of the largest rice producing nations. In this study, rice farmers in the northeastern, central, and southern regions of Thailand provided open-ended responses to descriptions of SRI prepared by the Thai government. Of the 66 rice farmers sampled, 11 positive comments were made, while 93 critical comments were directed at the time-critical and labor intensive practices necessary for SRI. Comments were especially critical of the labor intensiveness of the whole system, the slow response by rice to organic matter application, and the necessity of manual transplanting. Based on these results, it was concluded that changing the water regime would be the most feasible among the SRI practices for the farmers. The research incorporates a discussion of the natural and socioeconomic contexts in which the labor-intensive and time-consuming practices are criticized by the rice farmers.