Determinants of creative agriculture among farmers in main urban areas of northern Thailand

The agricultural sector is a cornerstone of the northern Thai economy, contributing substantially to income and employment, but it is beset by various challenges. Creative agriculture is an approach farming whereby agriculturists must rely on initiative, application of knowledge and technology, social networks and valuing effective farming. This article aims to explore determinants of creative agriculture amongst farmers in the main urban areas of northern Thailand. A set of questionnaires was used for data collection from 400 farmers obtained by systematic sampling. Data were analyzed by using descriptives statistics and multiple regression. Results of the study revealed that most of the respondents were male, 44 years old on average, married and elementary school graduates. They lived in extended families and engaged in various agricultural occupations in their own area. They had not less than 5 years of experience in farming and were group members established in their respective communities. Some of the respondents were extended knowledge about farming. Determinants of creative agriculture of the respondents included age, educational attainment, agricultural group/ organization membership, debt burden, occasional participation in social activities, self-adaptation/appropriate implementation method, and production management. All variables could explain variance of the determinants for 68.3 percent (R2 = 0683). Thus, the provincial government agencies responsible for agricultural extension or public sector should put the importance the extension of knowledge about agricultural production management to farmers. This also includes production technology processing and standard agricultural products which are safe for consumers to address the challenges faced by farmers and provide them with viable solutions.