In order to see how structural adjustment has affected farms of various sizes – including
smallholders – the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) conducted a telephone
survey of broiler and layer farms that had been selected as a sample in a previous TDRI–IFPRI–FAO study in late 2002 and early 2003.Among the broiler farms, after repeated tries, we were able to contact about half (49 percent) of the sample of 170 from the previous study. Among the respondents, 71 percent continue to operate their broiler farms (see Table 11 below). Over half operate on the samescale as they did in 2003, with about 7 percent having expanded, and another 7 percent having decreased, their farm size. Among the 29 percent who have discontinued their
broiler farms, 6 (out of 24) have switched to another type of poultry farm (duck or layer) and 2 have rented their broiler farms out, presumably to other broiler operators. As such, the great majority of the farms are still in the poultry business. Among the minority who left the poultry business, 4 are still in the livestock business. Seven have switched to crop
farming. Only a few have moved out of agriculture (into retail business). It should be noted
that large broiler farms in our samples appeared to have been more affected, as about half
of them (4 out of 9) have left the poultry industry altogether.
It is plausible that, among the half of the old sample that we were unable to contact,
a greater percentage may have left the poultry business or even left the area altogether.
However, one should not draw too strong an inference regarding this section of the sample,
as the major cause of the low response rate is that the vast majority of the phone numbers
in our record (about 85 percent) are mobile phone numbers. In the past few years, it
is not unusual for an average Thai to have changed their mobile phone numbers/providers
as a result of fierce competition among the mobile phone service providers.
In the case of the layer farms, we were slightly less successful in reaching our old sample
– we managed to contact only 40 percent of our 2003 study sample. About two-thirds
of the respondents continue in the layer business. However, most farms reportedly have
fewer layers than in 2003, especially among the smaller farms. As in the case of the broiler
farm sample, most respondents who have discontinued their layer business moved to into
another type of livestock keeping or agriculture.
Even though most respondents are still in the poultry business, this does not mean that
they have not been affected by HPAI and the government measures that have been implemented
in the wake of the outbreaks. Several farmers who moved to non-broiler activities
indicated that after substantial losses resulting from the HPAI outbreaks they were unable
to comply with the demands of the DLD or their patron companies for further investment
in upgrading their farms.
Poultry in the 21st 26