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Rice versus Shrimp Production in Thailand: Is There Really a Conflict?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2015

Thamrong Mekhora  and
Laura M.J. McCann
Thamrong Mekhora
Affiliation:
Faculty of Agricultural Technology, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok, Thailand
Laura M.J. McCann
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
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Abstract

Shrimp farming in Thailand has had disastrous effects on the environment in the past, which has prompted a government ban on shrimp production in inland areas. However, a new low-salinity shrimp farming system has developed that seems to have fewer disease and environmental problems than previous systems but competes with rice production for land and water resources. The present study found that shrimp farming exhibits increasing returns to scale and is much more profitable than rice farming, which offers opportunities for rice farmers to improve their incomes through diversification. No evidence was found for external environmental effects of shrimp production on rice production or vice versa. A total ban on shrimp production in rice farming areas does not seem justified, although further analysis on the environmental effects of this farming system is warranted.

Keywords

environmentriceshrimptechnical changeThailandQ12Q16Q24Q28
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics , Volume 35 , Issue 1 , April 2003 , pp. 143 - 157
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 2003

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