Breaching the black box: The role of ramps in Thai sustainable palm oil certification

Certification of sustainable palm oil as organised through the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil is based on a simplified understanding of the global palm oil value chain – according to which instructions about production practices can be directly translated from the palm oil mill to the primary producer. The reality of palm oil provision is much more complex than this as is shown in the case of Thailand. On the basis of qualitative field study in Southern Thailand this paper clarifies that intermediary stages, such as the collection of oil palm fruit bunches at the ramp, play a key role in the organisation of the chain. The fluidity and complexity of the palm oil flow at the local level complicates the promotion of sustainability through certification. Global and national stakeholders, such as processing and trading firms, non‐governmental organisations and national governments, should therefore open this black box of local dynamics to more effectively contribute to sustainability in palm oil supply.     

Commuting distances to local non‐farm workplaces and out‐migration: The case of Northeast Thailand

The relationship between commuting distances and where people work has been studied for urban contexts in both developed countries and developing countries. However, few studies have examined the situation in rural areas, and none look at commuting distances to non‐farm workplaces in rural areas of developing countries. This paper investigates how commuting distance, and thus accessibility, to local non‐farm work influences non‐farm employment and out‐migration from rural villages in Northeast Thailand. The main issues examined are: (i) the distance that rural residents travel to work in local non‐farm jobs; and (ii) the influence that local non‐farm employment has on the number of outmigrants from rural villages. The study finds: (i) distance between villages and non‐farm work sites impact the number of villagers who are employed in regular wage work; (ii) beyond 20 km villagers are less likely to travel to non‐farm employment using their own means of transportation; and (iii) employment in regular wage work decreases outmigration. The findings from this study contribute to the debates over the drivers of rural out‐migration, rural livelihood changes, and agrarian changes that are taking place in Southeast Asia.     

Economics of Sustainable Intensification of Aquaculture: Evidence from Shrimp Farms in Vietnam and Thailand

There is growing interest in sustainable intensification of aquaculture production. Yet little economic analysis has been done on farm‐level effects of the economic sustainability of production intensification. Data from 83 shrimp farms (43 in Vietnam and 40 in Thailand) were used to identify (through principal component and cluster analyses) 13 clusters of management practices that reflected various scales of production intensity that ranged from 0–1999 kg/ha/crop to 10,000 kg/ha/crop and above, for both Penaeus monodon and Litopenaeus vannamei in Vietnam and Thailand. The clusters identified reflected sets of management practices that resulted in differing yields despite similarities in stocking densities among some clusters. The enterprise budget analysis developed showed that the more intensively managed clusters outperformed the less intensively managed clusters in economic terms. More intensively managed farm clusters had lower costs per metric ton of shrimp produced and were more profitable. The greater yields of shrimp produced per hectare of land and water resources in more intensively managed shrimp farms spread annual fixed costs across a greater volume of shrimp produced and reduced the cost per metric ton of shrimp. Costs per metric ton of shrimp produced decreased from the lowest to the highest intensity level (from US$10,245 at lowest intensity to US$3484 at highest for P. monodon and from US$24,301 to US$5387 for L. vannamei in Vietnam and from US$8184 at the lowest intensity level to US$3817 at the highest intensity level per metric ton for L. vannamei in Thailand). Costs of pond amendments used in shrimp production were particularly high in Vietnam and largely unwarranted, whereas fixed costs associated with the value of land, production facilities, equipment, and labor were sufficiently high in Thailand so that net returns were negative in the long run. Nevertheless, economic losses in Thailand were less at greater levels of intensification. The study demonstrated a clear value proposition for shrimp farmers to use natural resources (such as land) and other inputs in an efficient manner and supports findings from corresponding research on farm‐level natural resource use efficiency. Additional research that incorporates economic analysis into on‐farm studies of sustainable intensification of aquaculture is needed to provide ongoing guidance related to sustainable management practices for aquaculture.     

Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of Streptococcus spp. isolated from tilapia (Oreochromis spp.) cultured in river-based cage and earthen ponds in Northern Thailand

Streptococcus spp. are major pathogenic bacteria associated with massive mortality in tilapia. This study investigated the phenotypic and genotypic characterization of Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS) and Streptococcus iniae (S. iniae) isolated from tilapia in river-based floating cage and earthen pond farms in northern Thailand. Isolates were identified by biochemical and molecular analyses. Capsular typing, enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus polymerase chain reaction and multilocus sequence typing were performed to investigate the genetic relatedness. Six and one isolates were confirmed as GBS and S. iniae, respectively. All Streptococcus spp. isolates were obtained from 4 river-based cage farms (4/33), while samples collected from earthen pond farms (N = 28) were negative for streptococcosis. All GBS with serotype Ⅲ and sequence type (ST) 283 was observed. The β-haemolytic GBS isolates were resistant to five antimicrobials, while the S. iniae was susceptible to all antimicrobials. This study indicates both GBS and S. iniae are the major bacterial pathogens responsible for streptococcosis infection in farmed tilapia of northern Thailand with GBS as dominant species. This survey highlights that the river-based cage farms seriously impact on the healthy development of the tilapia industry.     

Comparative Phenotypic and Genotypic Analyses of Salmonella Rissen that Originated from Food Animals in Thailand and United States

Salmonella enterica serovar Rissen has been recognized as one of the most common serovar among humans and pork production systems in different parts of the world, especially Asia. In the United States, this serovar caused outbreaks but its epidemiologic significance remains unknown. The objectives of this study were to compare the phenotypic (antimicrobial susceptibility) and genotypic attributes of Salmonella Rissen isolated in Thailand (Thai) and the United States (US). All the Thai isolates (n = 30) were recovered from swine faecal samples. The US isolates (n = 35) were recovered from swine faecal samples (n = 29), cattle (n = 2), chicken (n = 2), dog (n = 1) and a ready‐to‐eat product (n = 1). The antimicrobial susceptibility of isolates was determined using the Kirby‐Bauer disk diffusion method with a panel of 12 antimicrobials. Pulse‐field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was used to determine the genotypic diversity of isolates. All Thai isolates showed multidrug resistance (MDR) with the most frequent antibiotic resistance shown against ampicillin (100%), sulfisoxazole (96.7%), tetracycline (93.3%), streptomycin (90%) and chloramphenicol (30%). About half of the isolates of USA origin were pan‐susceptible and roughly 30% were resistant to only tetracycline (R‐type: Te). Salmonella Rissen isolated from Thailand and the USA in this study were found to be clonally unrelated. Genotypic analyses indicated that isolates were clustered primarily based on the geographic origin implying the limited clonality among the strains. Clonal relatedness among different host species within the same geography (USA) was found. We found genotypic similarity in Thai and US isolates in few instances but with no epidemiological link. Further studies to assess propensity for increased inter‐regional transmission and dissemination is warranted.     

泰国农业发展现状及展望

泰国作为"一带一路"的重要国家,拥有丰富的农业资源和独特的社会经济资源,掌握泰国农业发展现状和发展趋势对于中泰两国农业贸易发展具有重要的理论价值和实际意义。笔者从种植业、畜牧业和渔业3个角度详细分析了泰国农业的生产现状,介绍了泰国农业的产业布局以及贸易现状,研究了泰国农业的科研和管理机构组织情况,最后对泰国农业未来的发展方向进行了展望。本研究结果可为"一带一路"背景下中泰两国农业进一步合作提供有力参考。     

泰国输华真柏中一种隐皮孢囊线虫的鉴定

深圳口岸从来自泰国真柏苗木中截获一种隐皮孢囊线虫。序列分析显示截获的孢囊线虫28S r DNA-D2/D3区基因序列与Gen Bank中布林克曼隐皮孢囊线虫(Cryphodera brinkmani)(登录号为JQ965677和DQ328705)的序列相似性为99%。系统进化树中截获的孢囊线虫和布林克曼隐皮孢囊线虫聚为一个分支。结合形态学特征比较和分子特征分析,将截获的孢囊线虫鉴定为布林克曼隐皮孢囊线虫。这是我国口岸首次报道截获该线虫。     

泰国北部山区有机蔬菜栽培技术及模式初探

利用生物农药和有机肥料,初步探讨泰国北部山区有机蔬菜栽培技术及模式。围绕豇豆—速生叶菜—生菜—豇豆轮作栽培模式,重点介绍3种蔬菜有机栽培过程中土壤消毒、水肥管理、病虫害防治等关键技术环节,形成一套适应泰国北部山区的蔬菜有机栽培技术,为东南亚国家有机蔬菜栽培提供技术参考。     

Energy crops,livelihoods, and legal deforestation: A case study at Phu Wiang National Park,Thailand

Thailand aims to increase the use of renewable and alternative energy by 25% of total consumption under the Alternative Energy Development Plan (AEDP 2012–2021) by 2021, which include outputs from energy crops. This initiative is likely to put pressure on land resources, especially near parks and protected areas. Our study examined energy crop plantations, farmer responses to the AEDP, and community roles in forest protection in four villages adjacent to Phu Wiang National Park, Thailand in 2014. The majority of respondents (80%, n = 50) used their land for rice cultivation, but many villagers increased plantings of sugarcane (54%) and cassava (20%) because of high market demand for energy crops. Only a few examples of agricultural expansion into the national park were observed. Nevertheless, encroachment is likely to occur at this and other national parks as a result of government incentives to plant energy crops and the limited availability of agricultural land. Reliance on community-based management strategies may not be powerful enough for villagers to withstand the pressures of modernization, materialism, and other socioeconomic influences, possibly negating the effect of sustainability. Striking an equitable balance between government policies, community development, and forest protection will be a challenge for resource managers.     

泰国榴莲出口潜力研究

水果是泰国重要的农产品经济结构系统的支柱产业,其中榴莲是泰国第二大出口水果。目前在泰国的几乎所有地区都有扩大生产和增加种植面积的发展趋势。虽然榴莲的出口率有所上升,但还没有满足生产市场的需求,特别是在旱季中期的榴莲集中上市季节,通常会发生由于产量过多造成滞销或使榴莲市场价格持续下降的问题。因此,本研究通过采用SWOT分析法,对目前泰国榴莲出口进行研究分析,希望有助于提高泰国榴莲的出口潜力。研究发现,泰国榴莲出口的特色或优势在于:拥有适合的土壤和适宜的气候条件进行榴莲种植,并且有足够的面积扩大榴莲种植,榴莲的单位面积产量高等等;而劣势在于:受到技术知识不足的限制,种植过程中经常受到植物病虫害的影响,并且农民通常使用传统农作方式,生产效率较低等等。