On The Status And Role Of Agriculture In Modern Thailand

Industry and agriculture are the most two important sectors in the national economy. The modernization of a country is actually how to gradually realize industrialization on the base of developing agriculture. Agriculture not only is the dynamic and source to industry, but also plays a very important role in keeping the state stability during the course of modernization. So how to deal with and to coordinate the relation between industry and agriculture is the primary problem facing all the developing countries. Thailand is one example of developing countries with successful agriculture. This essay analyzes Thailand agriculture modernization, including its initiating background, characteristics, and its role in Thailand modernization. This essay also points out the existing problems of Thailand agriculture modernization.This thesis consists of three parts. The preface elaborates the research condition, significance and method. .The body is made up of four parts. The first part analyzes the historical background of Thailand agriculture modernization. The development of Thailand agriculture owes to its predominant condition of geography, climate and history tradition The modern reform leaded by Rama IV (King Mongkut) and Rama V (King Chulalongkorn) in the last of 19th and beginning of 20th century abolished Sakdina system and established the feudal land system, which cleared the way for rice -growing agriculture. The second part discusses three problems such as the application of post-war Thailand agriculture development strategy, the characteristics of modern agriculture and the reasons of success. Thailand agriculture made great progress in the transition from traditional agriculture to modern one because the government carried out flexible agriculture strategy and continually adjusted industrial structure. The rural economy appeared prosperous after three development stages such as simplex rice-grow agriculture, diversified agriculture and agriculture industrialization. Nowadays Thailand agriculture is stepping forward modern agriculture characterized by mechanization, specialization and socialization.The third part probes into the relationship hetween industry and agriculture during the process of Thailand modernization after the Second World War, with emphasis on the role of agriculture. The part analyzes the whole course of Thailand modernization and divided it into four stages: import substitution industrialization, export promotion industrialization, integrated development and strategy adjustment.Thailand made stride in economic and social development, which attributed to the government's attaching importance to agricultural development, making full use of the agricultural superiority of natural resources and adopting export-oriented economy depending on agriculture. So we call it a modernization way having Thailand characteristics. Its essential feature is that Thailand applied industrialization production and management strategy to reconstruct traditional agriculture. They took efforts to develop the exportation of processing industry of agricultural products and promote their exportation with the object to raising the survalue of its products, which laid a foundation for the industry and enlarged the market of industry products. When national economy developed to some scale, industry and agriculture would benefit each other, which would promote the harmonious development of economy and society.The fourth part analyzed the traits of Thailand agriculture modernization and the problems and prospects confronting the agriculture. Thailand agriculture is confronted by some urgent problems although it made great progress. Biological agriculture is the future direction of Thailand agriculture.In the end, on the basis of summary, such conclusions are drawn as following: the success of Thailand agriculture modernization tells us a basic truth that agriculture is the base of national economy and agriculture country should pay huge attention to develop agriculture and take a modernization way based on agri...