Coffee Production of Hilltribe Farmers in Chiang Mai : Production Situation and Cultivation Technique

Abstract

This research studied on current situation of coffee cultivation and coffee production of hilltribe farmers, and the difference in farm practice from the suggestions of extensionist. The research methodology use both qualitative and quantitative methods in interviewing 115 hilltribe farmers.

From data analysis it was apparently shown that most of hilltribes were male, married, in the age range of 40-50 years old, good capable of reading and writing Thai language. Average member in family was 5, whereas only 3 of them were agricultural labour. They had experience in growing coffee for 9 years. Average trees per family were 634 but 540 trees had already given yield. Most of them were adviced to cultivate coffee by extensionist. They had never been trained in coffee cultivation, 57.39% of coffee yield on the farm were sold in fresh coffee berries. The minimum yield for each household was 1.5 kg and maximum was 3,000 kg with the average yield of 151 kg. The hilltribe farmers earned their income at the minimum of 21 baht to maximum of 60,000 baht with average income of 4,018 baht. Coffee productions were sold to merchants who come to purchase coffee in the village. Coffee seedling were provided by government agencies and highland development projects. Some of them produced seedling by themselves or received from their friends or relatives. Most of the farmers had no chance to select cultivating area due to land limitation. They mixed coffee with others trees and were not familiar with techniques in selecting area. They usually choosed flat area with fertile soil, near water source and semi-shaded area. The farmers grew coffee in the area of former opium poppy field at the average mean sea level of 827 metres. Most of them ignored extension advices in terrace cultivation, shading, pruning, mulching and irrigation. However they believed in extension advices in spacing, fertilizing, weed and pest control. Various problems the hilltribe farmers encountering were as follow: difficulty in harvesting and lack of adequate care, unpredictable coffee prices, diseases, inadequate knowledge in pests management and weeds control, lack of continuously extension advices and capital in growing coffee, and destruction of cherry coffee by rats and squirrels.