Towards Sustainable Land use through Land Evaluation :
A Case Study of Muaklek, Thailand
Rajendra Prasad Shrestha and Apisit Eiumnoh
STAR/SERD. Asian Institute of Technology
G.P.O. Box 2754, Bangkok 10501, Thailand
Abstract
The suitability of land for four major crops, viz., maize, cassava, fruit orchards and pasture was assessed in the Muaklek area of Thailand. The procedure followed was in accordance with Food and Agriculture Organization (FAG) Framework for Land Evaluation. Field surveys were also conducted to supplement with the socio-economic information and ground truthing. Vector based GIS (ARC/INFO) was used to analyze the spatial data. Simple benefit/ cost ratio analysis was performed to appraise the , economic returns of the selected crops. The study exhibited that the present land uses are not in accordance with the land :- qualities. i. e. land are put under cultivation despite its unsuitability. The study demonstrates the need of conducting land .evaluation in which socio-economic elements are to be considered in particular and also the application of Remote Sensing and GIS as useful planning tools.
1.0 Introduction
Thai agricultural production has been experienced to have fast growth in the past. But in the recent past (1983-93), it has been reported that the annual growth of paddy and .maize production is negative, -.0.2 and -2 .1% , respectively, however , annual growth of cassava and total milk production has increasedby 1 and 15% respectively (FAG, 1994). Share of agriculture in GDP has fall down from 26% in 1970 to 12% in 1992. The increase in agricultural imports (16.5%) is more than double of the export increase (7%) between 1982 and 1992. Despite this declining situation of agricultural production, total agricultural land in the country is reported to increase from 37.4% in 1982 to 39.4% in 1992. This articulates the situation of lower land ~ utilization. Subsistence crop farming dominates agriculture in Thailand. Since the cropping system utilized by the people reflects ,. short term economic goals, such systems are not necessarily environmentally sound (McGregor and Barker, 1991).33.7 percent ~ of the total agriculture land in Thailand are degraded due to improper utilization of marginal land and poor management I: practices (Dent, 1989).
Emphasis on "sustainability" has arisen because of increasing worldwide concern about environmental degradation and "
various related processes, such as, soil erosion and degradation, and loss in genetic biodiversity , which are known to have adverse effects on agricultural productivity .Land, being the scarce resource and basis of production, raising land productivity in stock terms is more important than flow terms for the fuller utilization of land. Land be best conserved if utilized it based on its ,supporting capacity for cultivation. Hence, there is the need of agronomically sensible and technically appropriate solutions to revitalize these degraded pieces of land and the eventual environmental conservation. It is on this premise that this study was carried out to determine the potentials of the land for cultivation of four. important crops assessing land qualities, social and economic parameters With the purposes of both rehabilitation the land quality and conserve the environment.
2.0 The Study Area
The study area, Muaklek, situated in the central highlands of Thailand, is characterized by a rolling and sloppy terrain. The climate of the area is tropical Savannah with an annual mean maximum temperature of32.7° C, mean minimum of 20.4° C, average humidity of 79.45% and an annual rainfall of 1,050 mm. There is a sharp decline in the crop area since 1992 for all major crops (Figure 1). The study area is the largest production area of modern dairy farming in the country (Hirunruk, 1973), but shortage of livestock fodder is the most pressing problem.
Figure 1. Change in Area Coverage for Different Crops in Muaklek.
Population density accounts to 48.4 and 93.3 persons/ sq. kIn. of the total and cultivated area, respectively. A .) significant majority (88.5%) of the working population are engaged in agriculture. On the basis of land holding, the proportion . ( of marginal farmers (land holding < 4 ha), small (4-8 ha), medium (8-16 ha) and large ( >16ha) were 35.2,24.1, 16.6 and 24.1%, respectively (Shrestha, 1993). The majority of the area is under crop farming and maize is the principle crop (Figure 2). : Orchard and livestock production are important farming businesses which are gradually replacing the crop farming. Water is a.; scarce resource in the area. The major sources of water for drinking and household uses are underground water and collected rain water. Dipterocarpus sp. is the dominant forest species. Besides, Leucaena leucocephala as fodder species, it has also been -M, extensively used in the new forest plantation area.
Figure 2. Land Use of Muaklek , Thailand.
