No description available.

A field survey was conducted in eight villages in Northeastern Thailand to examine the impact of non-farm employment on rice production during the 1994-95 crop year. This study uses the human ecology approach based on the conceptual framework of Duncan's (1959) ecological complex. This study found that participation in non-farm employment directly affects whether the household will produce rice, but its impacts vary according to the extent of participation. Full-time employment, particularly with the yearlong absence of the male head of household, appears to inhibit rice production because it has the potential to cause a critical farm labor shortage. Part-time employment creates opportunities for farmers to integrate both farm and non-farm production to sustain their households. Women and elders have become the principal labor source for their own farms and waged labor for others. The traditional pattern of exchange labor can hardly be practiced when the demand for hired labor exceeds the supply. Waged laborers receive the same pay regardless of age and gender, and employers have no control over the wage rate. The use of machines is increasing. The supply of threshers exceeds demand, but there is a shortage of power-tillers. / However, non-farm employment does not lead to increased levels of farm investment as hypothesized, because a large proportion of waged income was used for other purposes, including daily consumption and debt repayment. Consequently, there is no significant difference in farm productivity (kg. of paddy/unit area) between households with and without participation in non-farm employment. Out-migration to participate in non-farm employment seems inevitable in the face of population growth and land scarcity, but its impacts on rice production vary according to how farmers adapt to the changing resource base and use of modern farm technology. If possible, farmers tend to continue farm and non-farm employment to distribute their risks. However, it is crucial to retain a balance between the types of employment so that the loss of labor does not lead to poor farm productivity nor to production costs that exceed the farm household's means.