Public Participation in Farmer Development of Agriculture Land Reform Office, Thailand

Abstract

The objectives of this study were; 1) to study the level of people’s participation in farmer development work of the Land Reform Office; 2) to compare the level of people’s participation in farmer development work of the Land Reform Office, 3) to seek the ways to promote and develop the people’s participation in farmer development of the Land Reform Office. This study is a mixed method research, both qualitative research and quantitative research. The sample group consisted of 400 persons using a simple sampling method. In the qualitative research, the interview was conducted with 3 administrators of the Land Reform Office and the group discussion was conducted with 13 farmers. The research results revealed that the level of participation in farmer development of the Land Reform Office was entirely found to be at a moderate level. In comparing the participation in farmer development of the Land Reform Office classified by gender, age, education level, occupation, income, number of household workers, social position, and group membership, no difference was found. Problems and recommendations to promote and improve the level of participation revealed that the staffs lacked knowledge and understanding and lack of work skills. The promotion was without taking into account the needs of the people/farmers, the discontinued project implementation. There were rules, regulations, and work processes causing delays and not receiving information thoroughly. As for the suggestion of solutions, it was found that there were in 4 aspects; personnel, production, public relations, and knowledge development.