Grounded Conditions Towards Farming as an Occupation by Farmers and Their Descendants

Abstract

Agriculture is the major occupation of Thai people. Yet, the initial study showed that there proportion of farmers was decreased. However, there were increase of proportion in some provinces. Si Sa Ket province was the one of six provinces in the northeast Thailand where the proportion of farmers were increased, so the question is what are the conditions for entrance into farming as an occupation of farmers and their descendants. This study were using rural appraisal and grounded theory as research methodology; selected from 4 groups of the districts in Si Sa Ket province as study site, where are the difference of economic levels which include: poor, fairly poor, fairly good and good economic districts. Then areas were explored and chosen one village of each district groups for study site. Conducted sub-topics as the tool which was used for collecting data from the headquarters of village, farm households such as adult farmers and their descendants from April 2012 to July 2013. The results of study found that; grounded conditions for entrance into farming careers by farmers and their descendants = (contributing conditions + compulsory conditions) - (caveat or constraint conditions - caveat or constraint conditions only descendants) by: (1) the essential conditions as a contributing or tendency into farming career were that the sufficient farmland for farming, favorable water resources for farming, could increase income from farming and money as found for farming, (2) the important conditions, which was forced or compulsory to farming were that they need to living close to their family members or making happiness and the warmth for family and some of them were received arable farmland inherited from parents.  Another condition was parents had aged or elderly, they cannot work farming or stopped the occupation at all and (3) the essential conditions, which was a caveat or constraint or tendency route out the farming, included; surplus of labor from household’s agricultural activities, the degree of compulsory education and the farmland inherited from their parents or a few area of farmland per household or cannot buy it more; that conditions above had effects on their route out the farming of both farmers and their descendants. Moreover, especially their descendants found that to receive obtaining social acceptance, the needs of beautiful body and the hardships of earning a living; that conditions above had effects on their route out the farming. Therefore, in the extension of farming as an occupation should consider based on grounded conditions for entrance into farming by farmers and their descendants followed the study as an important issue.