Current evolution of smallholder rubber-based farming systems in Southern Thailand

Thailand is moving away from rice-based agriculture to high-value-crop agriculture, especially rubber production in southern regions. The present study reviews the five main rubber- based production systems in Phatthalung and Songkhla provinces. The investment capacity of most farms is limited and depends on fluctuations in market prices. Consequently, diversification through agroforestry practices is an adapted alternative to overcome such constraint. Conversely, smallholders who cultivate rice and rubber only receive a subsistence-level income for the family. Hence there is a clear trend among smallholders in southern Thailand to convert their farms to rubber monoculture but also strong evidence for the need for diversification in a region that is already too specialized in rubber. (Résumé d'auteur