Thailand is among the world’s biggest rice producers and exporters. Around 13% of its GDP comprises agriculture, and the sector alone employs 40.7% of the country’s labor force. Aside from being the most important export crop, rice is both a staple in the diet and an important part of the culture of the Thai people. 

More than one-half of Thailand’s rice area can be found in its northeast region but it accounts for only 37% of the total rice production. The average rice farm size here is smaller than in other regions, and soil erosion and drought during the dry season are acute problems. 

A total of 397,830 hectares of rice are affected by drought in Thailand.

Up to 31% of the total production comes from the central region, where about one-fifth of Thailand’s total cultivated rice land is located. An intensively cultivated alluvial area, the average farm size here is large. Most farms also have irrigation facilities, which allow farmers to plant two rice crops per year. Almost 75% of the dry-season rice grown under irrigated conditions is also located in this region. Farm operations are almost entirely mechanized and farmers use the direct-seeding method of crop establishment to save labor.

A third of Thailand’s land area is in the northern region, where upland rice is grown in the lower altitudes of high hills and in upland areas and lowland rice in lower valleys and on some terraced fields where water is available. Thailand’s northern region accounts for 28% of its total rice production.

The map below shows the salt-affected areas in Thailand.

Thailand’s total rice crop area affected by submergence is estimated at 489,840 hectares.