Thailand is an agrarian country. Almost half of labour force is in agricultural sector. Despite accounting for nearly half the workforce, agriculture made up only 10 percent of Thailand’s GDP in 2012.
The agricultural sector comprises small-farmers or 4.7 million farm households with an average land holding of 3.59 ha per farm household and a family size of 4.06 persons per household (OAE, 2010). Their average annual income in 2009 was 196,389 baht (5,692 US$) per household or about 49,719 baht (1,441 US$) per capita. This level of income is a half that of the self-employed non-farm workers and three times lower than that of blue collar workers. The low income of farm and rural households has inevitably led to poor living conditions. Moreover, many suffer from household food insecurity and face the risk of malnutrition.