The environmental and socio-economic impacts of sugarcane
cultivation were analyzed in selected sites in north-eastern
Thailand. It is found that the sugarcane cultivation generates the
highest impact on freshwater ecotoxicity, freshwater eutrophication
and marine ecotoxicity. The self-employed workers (sugarcane
farm owners) generally have a higher income than the employed
workers. Employment generation in land preparation and planting
is generally low because these are mostly mechanized. Maintenance
and harvesting stages play a significant role in employment
generation as these stages are labor intensive. It was found that
wages and working conditions of jobs in sugarcane farming are
poorer compared to rice farming. This may lead to a lack in laborers
for sugarcane farming in the future. The main factors influencing
the environmental and socio-economic impacts caused by the
sugarcane cultivation are yields, cultivation practices (such as
choices of inputs, numbers of tillage, weeding, fertilization, and
pesticide application) and distance to sugar mill. In addition, the
results suggest that over use of fertilizers and pesticides may not
always assist in increasing yields and may in fact even generate
more environmental impacts. However, there may be other factors
influencing yields such as choices of fertilizers, soil conditioners
and pesticides, species of sugarcane grown, timing of weeding and