Factors supporting diversity and conditions for reducing the burden of agricultural activities for elderly farmers in the highland areas of Thailand

Abstract

In the context of an aging society where agricultural labor in highland areas is declining and facing a shortage of replacement workers due to environmental and economic constraints, elderly farmers inevitably continue to shoulder the burden of agricultural work. This study aims to examine the characteristics of agricultural activities and the supporting factors and conditions influencing the reduction of work burdens among elderly farmers. Data were collected from 402 elderly farmers in areas under the Highland Research and Development Institute (Public Organization) using systematic sampling and a structured questionnaire and were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. The results revealed that elderly farmers engaged in an average of 4.15 agricultural activities, with key roles in providing agricultural consultation (72.89%), land preparation and planting (64.18%), crop maintenance (55.72%), harvesting (53.23%), and labor recruitment (51.00%). Statistically significant factors (p<0.05) supporting diversification of agricultural activities included access to agricultural information (β=0.314), ownership of agricultural machinery (β=0.170), entitlement to land use rights (β=0.152), and household agricultural income (β=0.088), whereas workload reduction was negatively influenced by the availability of younger labor aged 15–44 (β=–0.163) and access to welfare financial support (β=–0.094). These findings highlight the importance of enhancing access to agricultural technologies and information, strengthening land tenure security and income stability, and promoting welfare and youth employment programs as key strategies to sustain agricultural productivity and resilience in aging highland communities.