Rice production in Thailand represents a significant portion of the Thai economy and labor force.
Thailand has a strong tradition of rice production. It has the fifth-largest amount of land under rice cultivation in the world and is the world's second largest exporter of rice.
Rice is central to Thai society.[8] Rice uses over half of the arable land and labor force in Thailand. It is one of the main foods and sources of nutrition for most Thai Rice is also a major Thai export.
Farmers who already had large scale operations or could afford all the new chemicals, rice strains, and tractors benefited greatly while the average peasant was turned from a land-owning rice producer to a manual laborer on the farms of others.[7]