Farmers' Needs on Automation for Vegetable Cultivation in Bangkok

Abstract

     The objectives of this research were to study 1) personal basic information 2) vegetable growing information 3) the need for automatic systems in vegetable cultivation and 4) the correlation between personal basic information and farmers' needs for automation of vegetable cultivation in Bangkok. The sample group was 235 farmers registered as vegetable farmers with the Bangkok Agricultural Extension Office. Data were collected by using questionnaires. Confidence value of the questionnaire was equal to 0.941. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics including frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, maximum, minimum, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient.

The research results found that most farmers were female at average age of 44 years, with a bachelor's degree, living in a 4-person household which included 2 workers and had an average household income of 21,643 baht/month. The average vegetable production cost per round was 1,382 baht. Average vegetable production capacity per round was 85 kilograms. The average vegetable price was 128 Baht/kilogram. Farmers preferred to grow Green Oak Lettuce. The average vegetable growing area was 167 square meters. The average vegetable growing experience was 10 years. From data collected in 2023, vegetable cultivation was divided into 3 forms: safe cultivation, hydroponics cultivation, and organic cultivation. Most farmers grew vegetables as safely as possible. An overview on the demand for automation in vegetables growing was at the highest level (=4.23). In terms of perceived ease of use, it was rated at the highest level (=4.28) and perceived benefits was at a high level (=4.19). The results of the hypothesis testing found that the number of laborers in cultivation had a negative relationship with the demand for automation in vegetable cultivation at a statistically significant level of 0.01.