วารสารปี-40-ฉบับที่-3-resize

131 รองศาสตราจารย์ ดร.ชาย โพธิ สิ ตา วารสารราชบัณฑิตยสภา ปีที่ ๔๐ ฉบับที่ ๓ ก.ค.-ก.ย. ๒๕๕๘ Abstract Household Dynamics, Expansion of Capitalist Economy and Agricultural Transformation in Rural Thailand Chai Podhisita Associate Fellow of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, The Royal Society of Thailand. As agriculture is an important economic foundation of the rural people, knowledge in agricultural change is of great value for understanding social and cultural transformation in the rural setting. This paper uses existing data from different sources to address agricultural change taking place in rural Thailand over the past 50 years or so. The author proposes that household dynamics and expansion of capitalist economy into the rural areas are the key factors leading to significant agricultural transformation. Key aspects of agricultural transformation include: (a) a change from consumption-based to market-oriented production, (b) a shift from labor-intensive farming to technological- and capital-intensive farming, (c) an emergence of commercial farming of various scales, and (d) a change in the structure and pattern of landholding, leading to land concentration which in turn is affecting increasing number of the rural households. These changes are likely to alter not only agricultural profile but also the social and cultural life of the rural households. It is, therefore, important to have effective measures to deal with these changes. Policies and measures may focus on reforming structure and pattern of landholding and that of agriculture as a whole based on the principle of social justice. Keywords: household dynamics, capitalist economy, agricultural change, rural Thailand