Insight Focus
- In this series, we’re following farmers around the world.
- We’ll look at what they’re up to on the farm, hear their concerns, and celebrate their triumphs.
- Here’s the link to the farmer bios in case you missed them.
What have you been up to?
I’m now harvesting my cassava. I’m able to sell the crop at a very high price because the market has become tighter now as supply is running out.
For this year, cassava has been very lucrative indeed, given favourable weather and market conditions. I’ve also achieved a high agricultural yield of 50–75 tonnes a hectare compared with the average of 31.25–37.5 tonnes/ha.
For sugarcane, the tasks to be tackled include applying fertiliser, weed and pest management as well as preparing the land for planting for the 2022/23 season.
Applying Fertiliser
Weed Management
In my role as a farmers’ representative, I’ve also had a lot of meetings with representatives of the government and private sector.
At what stage is your crop?
Both the cane and cassava crops are very healthy because there was abnormally high rainfall in Thailand during the first quarter.
What’s your greatest concern?
My biggest concern is still the shortage of labour. The older workers do not work very efficiency and younger people prefer other jobs to being a farm labourer.
For the upcoming season, very high rainfall is forecast for Thailand. This means there is a risk my cassava crop will have a lower starch content and might rot if there is flooding, especially in low-lying areas.
