Humidtropics researchers and partners from Chiang Mai University (CMU) and Chulalongkorn University (CU) in Northern Thailand are testing a more environmentally-friendly method to process maize residue. Driven by the Humidtropics Research for Development (R4D) Platform in Nan, Thailand, this initiative is part of a project aiming to improve natural resource management. Towards the end of the dry season, Northern Thailand was covered with thick smoke originating from fires all over the area and the neighbouring countries. The smoke is partially from forest fires, but also originates from … [Read more...]
Thailand R4D Platform Launched
Annual burning of vegetation and monoculture of maize on sloping lands characterize agriculture in Northern Thailand, as in many other upland areas of the Central Mekong. Farmers know the practice rapidly degrades their soil, but it generates cash and requires minimal effort. The maize is produced for the burgeoning livestock sector in Central Thailand; the farmers spend their cash to buy food. “Maize growing does not make people more food secure,†says Chao Adhikarn Somkid Charanadhammo, the abbot of Pong Kum Temple in Nan. The abbot started a local crop diversification program that … [Read more...]
Can Home Gardens be a Catalyst for Market-Based Integrated Systems?
At the start of the rainy season, some upland areas in Thailand and Vietnam offer a depressing sight of bare red-colored hill slopes, deep erosion gullies and the occasional charred tree trunk. Maize monocropping on sloping lands is the main direct culprit. The practice is destructive, yet profitable for farmers, at least in the short-run. The practice is stimulated by a high demand for maize from the rapidly growing livestock sector in other parts of the country, which is in turn related to rising urban incomes and associated changes in food habits. Hill slopes are difficult to cultivate, let … [Read more...]