THERE is a big improvement in agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) in this year’s first quarter with this expanding by 4.2% compared to a 2% contraction in the same quarter last year due to increased production of some crops, Thai News Agency said today (March 26).
Ms Jariya Suthichaiya, secretary of the Office of Agricultural Economics, mentioned that farmers’ average annual income from agriculture is now 157,373 baht a household a year.
The jump in agricultural GDP is due to increased production of some agricultural goods including rice, sugarcane, pineapple and palm oil plus farmed chicken, pork and white shrimp.
The expansion in the Northeast is 2.4-3.4%, North 1.6-2.6%, South 3.7-4.7%, East 2.3-3.3%, West 2-3% and Central region 1.8-2.8%.
Factors boosting agricultural GDP higher include good climate, global economy reviving and the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives’ policy to raise the standard and sustainability of agriculture here this year. Moreover there are 1,512 large farms covering 2.5 to 3 million rai of land and the outlook is for increased export of farm goods in 2017.
While the average annual agricultural income of a farming family today is 157,373 baht a household, this is higher in three provinces namely Petchabun with 254,098 baht average income a farming family, Nakhon Ratchasima 197,967 baht and Chacheongsao 410,712 baht.
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Top: A rice farm in southern Thailand. Photo: Aziz J.Hayat (CC-BY-2.0)
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