The results contribute insights and data to the debate on the
need to further develop irrigation in the context of North-eastern
Thailand, with necessary precautions due to limited data. Rainfed
systems are reasonable alternatives and compete well against
irrigation during the wet season. Proponents of irrigation development
in North-east Thailand advocate that rain-fed systems only
provide cropping opportunity during the wet season and force
farmers to resort to alternative livelihoods in the dry season. In any
case, the Isaan region has a long tradition of rural seasonal outmigration
during the dry season and of off-farm and on-farm
diversification of livelihood systems. It seems that irrigation during
the dry season is not very profitable or environmentally
friendly; in addition, this cropping system requires significant
amounts of bluewater, which must be tapped from existing limited
resources at the expense of other users or the environment. In
North-eastern regions, water supply is a problem for urban areas
for instance, since surface water is the only resource, with no major
reservoir for storage; further irrigation development in dry season
will only make the water scarcity issue more acute.