การศึกษาเปรียบเทียบกฎหมายเกษตรพันธสัญญาของประเทศไทยและสาธารณรัฐประชาธิปไตยประชาชนลาวเพื่อรองรับการค้าสินค้าเกษตรภายใต้ ประชาคมเศรษฐกิจอาเซียน

Abstract

            The purpose of this research is to study and analyze the contract farming laws of Thailand and Laos. The Legal Guide for Contract Farming created by UNIDROIT was used as a recourse in identifying the proper rules or laws applying to Thailand under the ASEAN Economic Community.

        The research method was documentary, including the study of books, Thai laws, journals, and cases from both Thai and international sources. This study presents an analysis of the laws and a description of the issues identified by the author regarding contract farming between these two countries pursuant to the law of UNIDROIT.

        This study found that contract farming in Thai and Laos is done by agreement between entrepreneurs and agriculturists, and that these agreements often display an inequality of bargaining power. It appears that under the ASEAN Economic Community, Thailand and Laos seem to be experiencing the same problems in contract farming. In addition, the study found that Thailand and Laos have no laws or measures in place that address the issue of bargaining power. The problems include a lack of specialized agriculture organizations that would serve to control and monitor agricultural contracts. By way of comparison, the Legal Guide for Contract Farming from UNIDROIT may be used to solve the problems of inequality or exploitation in contract farming. As a result of this, the author proposes the promulgation of a Contract Farming Act, with provisions for a Contract Farming Committee and a Contract Farming Department as parts of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. This committee and department would have the main duty to monitor and solve the problems of contract farming and support contract farming as a tool to push agricultural policies from the government, in cooperation with entrepreneurs and agriculturists within the ASEAN Economic Community. Moreover, the government should provide a legal guide for contract farming in ASEAN, for use by other ASEAN members as well.