Policy-driven rubber plantation and its driving factors: a case of smallholders in northeast Thailand

Government-promoted rubber plantation has led to widespread land conversion to mono-culture rubber cultivation in northeast Thailand. To understand what household characteristics influence the decision for land conversion from traditional rice and upland crops cultivation and its impacts on sustainability, the study was conducted in Nong Khai and Bueng Kan provinces of northeast Thailand by analyzing land-use changes between 2002 and 2013. Majority of conversion to rubber took place in paddy-growing areas and the economic returns from rubber along with institutional support from the government played a key role in encouraging farmers to convert to rubber. Other household characteristics, such as farmers' experiences, age of household head, land security, size of paddy area owned, and off-farm income were important factors influencing the conversion. The reduction of paddy fields may be associated with an increased risk of food insecurity of smallholders. Spatial analysis showed that 76% of new rubber plantations currently are in environmentally unsuitable marginal areas, which are otherwise important for biodiversity conservation, watershed function, and environmental protection. The study findings will help to clarify the influencing factors on land conversion to rubber plantation and to highlight some of the environmental issues for developing sustainable extension strategies to ensure food security, reduce poverty and protect the environment from rubber plantation.