1. Surname Mungmoon
Forename Songkran
Project Title Pesticides use and pest management of vegetables farming under contract in
Northern Thailand
Journal Name The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension,
Biodiversity and Conservation and Crop Protection
Supervisor Name Phil Jordan
Research Context
The population in Thailand has increased enormously throughout the last 50 years (Praneetvatakul et
al. 2001). The impact has clearly been seen on deforestation at Highland in Northern Thailand. The
rapid growth of the population, including indigenous and exogenous citizens, increased pressure on
natural resources particularly the land-use change in swidden agriculture (Tungittiplakorn and Dearden,
2001). Over the recent decades, land-use in agriculture has been raised from approximately 1.35 x 105
ha to approximately 2.2 x 105 ha as well as the appeared expansion from farmland into forests in the
mountains areas (Jiang et al. 2007).The effort of the Thai government to decline rate of deforestation
has been seen since 1964 in the National Forest Reserve Act, which defines the protected areas in three
different zones including the conservation, the utilisation and the agricultural zone (Bila et al. 2007).
Another major issue related to the expanding population is the declining areas of swiddening and the
increasing demand of food (Bila et al. 2007; Tungittiplakorn and Dearden, 2001). The traditional form
of agriculture is replaced by the permanently intensive form of land use (Tipraqsa and Schreinemachers,
2009).
Unavoidably, marginalised mountainous communities have been forced to use more intensive
cultivation method (Tungittiplakorn and Dearden, 2001) which high concentrations and dosages of
chemical fertilisers and pesticides were applied in order to sustain high crop yield. Eventually, this
method became the necessary tools in agricultural modernisation (Jiang et al. 2007; HSRI, 2005).
Within the rapidly economic development penetrating into the Northern Thailand, the main income
source of rural Thai people is heavily dependent on agriculture (Panuwat, et al. 2012). The cash
cropping in Highland has been raised and become the dominant type of land use in particular for
growing vegetables, fruits and flowers (Tungittiplakorn and Dearden, 2001; Schreinemachers et al.
2011). Accordingly, contract farming of the known companies has also become an essential practice
which spreads risks among producers and commercialization chain in market orientation (Ornberg,
2003).

2. In Thailand, contract farming has been largely enforced in various of crops or commodities such as
baby corn, ginger and fragrant rice since the 1990s (Singh, 2005). Currently, these practices are also
happened at Ban Kong Khak Luang in Chiang Mai province in which this study is carried out.
Currently, highland agriculture is far more diverse than traditional agriculture because of its
intensification, commercialization and well- development. However, this advanced agriculture method
has aroused sustainability concerns such as the more intensive use of pesticides (Schreinemachers et al.
2011) and biodiversity loss (Tungittiplakorn and Dearden, 2001).
Because of the intensive pesticides use, the Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE) and the Office of
Agriculture Regulation (OAR) reported that Thailand imported agricultural pesticide exceeding
100,000 tons in the last decade (OAE, 2010; OAR, 2011). As the consequences of long-term pesticide
importation, Thailand ranks the fourth in annual pesticide consumption and the third in pesticide applied
per unit area among fifteen Asian countries (Walter-Echols and Yongfan, 2005). Praneetvatakul et al.
(2011) pointed out that the average quantity of active ingredients per hectare of farmland has been raised
up from 1.2 kg/ha in 1997 to 3.7 kg/ha in 2010which increased on average by 11% per year. The
restricted pesticide use in several countries such as Atrazine, Chlorpyrifos and Paraquat, however,
Thailand is permitted to use its manufactured pesticides (Schreinemachers et al. 2011).
Although pesticide consumption has a potential to ensure numerous and plentiful supply of food, it
might evoke some harmful effects on human health (Punuwet et al. 2008). Pesticides can cause
metabolic diseases, cancers, infertility and mutations as they can target some receptors related to the
endocrine system in human and animals (IPM Thailand, 2016;). Importantly, pesticide remains in the
environment after discontinuation of its use and converts to pesticide residue which has long-term
effects on human and environment (IPM Thailand, 2016). In 2005, pesticide poisoning was found over
1,300 cases in Thailand in which over two poisoning incidents per 100,000 Thai persons. 61% of these
incidents are happened to farm labour workers (Bureau of Epidemiology, 2016) and these occupational
exposures to pesticides might increase the risks of bladder cancer and respiratory symptoms.
Interestingly, most of the pesticide poisoning cases occurred in Northern Thailand and peak season in
May and June as this is the period of the rainy season and crop cultivation (Bureau of Epidemiology,
2016). Public health problems have aroused deep concerns in Chiang Mai where is remarkable of high
pesticides consumption region in the north of Thailand. The research from Stuetz et al. (2001) and
Zimmerman et al. (2005) showed that Organochlorine (DDT) was detected in human milk from Chiang
Mai mothers. Moreover, the components of urinary metabolites in male farmers from Pong Yank district
in Chiang Mai have also contained the insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides (Panuwet et al. 2008).

3. Thai farmers have the high risks of pesticide poisoning due to the constant pesticide application such
as calendar spray program without any protection and environmental considerations (Ngowi et al.
2007). Common misuses of pesticides in Thai farming includes: apply a high dosage or concentrations
of pesticides than instructions (Grandstaff, 1992; Health Systems Research Institute, 2005), create a
“more effective” custom pesticide for single use by mixing two or more pesticides together based on
the common belief of farmers (Songsakul, 1991; Health Systems Research Institute, 2005), lack of
awareness on protective clothing during mixing and applying pesticides (DANIDA, 2005; Health
Systems Research Institute, 2005; Pingali and Roger, 1995), less concerned with proper management
and disposal of pesticides and lack of awareness on pre-harvest intervals following application (Health
Systems Research Institute, 2005).
Chiang Mai has aroused deep concerns from crop intensification and the loss of biodiversity in tropical
forest (Tungittiplakorn and Dearden, 2001). Laurance (1999) demonstrated that biodiversity loss in
Asian tropical forests due to the relative rate between increasing on deforestation and decreasing the
amount of forest compared with other tropical regions. Moreover, the research from Tungittiplakorn
and Dearden (2001) also emphasised that cash cropping is not necessarily good for biodiversity. The
traditional swidden system has found more variety of plants than the current system which corresponds
with the research from Phothiart (1989) and Sutthi (1989) who reported that the most of the original
plants could not be found nowadays.
Aims and Objectives of the project
The main purpose of the research is to assess the pesticide use, practice and pest management to the
small holder farmers of the vegetables farm at Ban Kong Khak Luang in the Samoeng districts, Chiang
Mai City, Northern Thailand. The specific objectives of this study are as follows; (1) to assess pesticide
application and information acquisition of vegetable farming in Ban Kong Khak Luang, (2) to
investigate the relationship between the pesticide use and contract farming in terms of the input supply
namely fertilizer and chemicals, (3) to discover the relationship between safe pesticide use practices
and environmental and health issues, and (4) to evaluate the environmental effects caused by pesticide
use specifically in biodiversity loss.

4. Methodology and Research Design
1. Study area and selection
To achieve the above objectives, the pesticide use was studied at the Ban Kong Khak Luang in the
Samoeng districts which located about 50 km west-northwest of Chiang-Mai city in the north of
Thailand shown in Figure 1. There were three seasons in this area; the rainy season which
experiences from June to November, the dry season which lasts from December to February
and the hot season which continues from March to May. There is a highland agriculture within
an intensively cultivated, the majority of cash cropping including Japanese soybeans, rice, feed
maize, and eggplant.
Figure 1. Thailand and study area

5. 2. Data collection
2.1 Questionnaire
Gillham (2000) states that the questionnaires is a good tool to collect certain types of
information in certain situation. The method is appropriate to the large respondents and if the
interviewers need some factual information, the closed-ended questions can be used to collect
the data. Moreover, the questionnaire is a suitable method to the case that preserves anonymity
and insensitive material. To collect the data in breadth and representativeness, the questionnaire
can also be useful method (Gillham, 2000).
2.2 Interview
According to Gillham (2000) interview is the useful method which provides qualitative
information in a situation that interviewer generally asks open-ended questions to the
interviewee. Interviews not only benefit when an interviewer required information from
respondent in a key information with special knowledge but also from ‘normal’ person in the
research area. There is a sample method which can apply for the low distance between the
interviewer and interviewee (Gillham, 2000).
The 23 participants from 70 farm households (approximately 16 percent of the village) were
selected to do the structured face-to-face interviews. The interviews with the farmers were
carried out in the farmer’s home, in his/her field or the community hall at a time arranged in
advance (Appendix 1).
In this study the aim was to assess the pesticide use, practice and pest management to the small
holder farmer of vegetable farms. The researcher intended to ask enough people to be able to
generalize the data and make sure it is representative of the whole village. The majority of the
data that she needed could be obtained by asking open-ended questions and closed-ended
questions and was more factual than explanatory. The farmers chosen to answer the questions
were selected by random and his/her was a small holder of vegetables farms.
The survey was conducted from June to August 2016. The questionnaire was designed in
English, and then it was translated and conducted Thai. Each interview took about half an hour
to complete. Overall, the interviews were productive, because she was familiar with the village,
so the arrangement for appointment was easy and the interviews went smoothly according to

6. her plan and gained some insight from them. Unavoidably, less relevant questions were asked
in order to keep participants ‘high attention during the interview.
A standardised questionnaire was administered in order to obtain raw data on general
information of the farm household, formal contractual arrangements, pesticides use, pest
management and environmental effects.

7. Table 1
Type of information collected during survey
Type of information Specific data collected in the
questionnaire
General information on the farm
household
Personal detail (gender, age, material status
and contract address)
Family members
Crops and Land farm
Other occupation
Formal contractual arrangements Current buyer/processor
Experience with contract farming
Duration of current contract farming
The charge of input supply (seed, fertiliser,
chemicals)
The management of Rejection of products
Pesticides use and pest
management
Types of pesticides
Resources of pesticides
Purposes of use pesticides application
Season/month for apply pesticide
Safe pesticide use practices (e.g. mixtures
and doses, application techniques, disposal
of pesticides containers)
Environmental Effects Changing in animals, wild life and insects in
last two years (increased, decreased or
constant)
Changing in aquatic life and water quality
in last two years (increased, decreased or
constant)
Environmental incident

8. For the types of pesticides using, respondents were asked to give the common name of the
pesticide. If respondents could not remember the common name, they were asked to show the
bottle (if possible), or to describe its appearance or usage.
As the section of the pesticides use and pest management, 28 questions in the questionnaire
test about safe pesticide use followed by the instructions of Department of Agricultural
Extension pesticide use handbook and the WHO guidelines (Henry and Wiseman, 1997). The
safe pesticide use tests were divided into three groups: (1) before using pesticides (12
questions); (2) during using of pesticides (8 questions); and (3) after using pesticides (8
questions). The farmers were asked to answer ‘true’ or ‘false’ on each question. The right
answer was represented by number one and wrong by zero. Then the averaged results were
allocated to three levels of safe pesticide use knowledge: ‘Low’, ‘Moderate’ and ‘High’ level
(Chalermphol and Shivakoti, 2009).
Data collected from the questionnaire were encoded, entered in Microsoft Excel 2016
spreadsheet and checked prior to analysis. Some farmers were provided multiple options to the
same question, so the sum of percentage may not be 100. As the pesticides use and pest
management section, the qualitative data was changed into quantitative parameters and
combined with other quantitative data. Then the rating scale was created by the values of a
range of parameters.

9. Work activity assessed Faculty/School/Department reference _______
Face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire in Northern Thailand Life and Health Science
Person(s) affected Staff  Students  Others 
Numbers affected ___2______
Activity frequency Daily  Weekly  Other 
Campus (please tick) J  C  M  B 
Room ref (if relevant)
Review due 6th
November 2016
Individual Tasks Hazards Controls required In place
Yes √
No ×
Risk
rating
(use matrix) Action by
whom
Action by
when
Interviews as local
village in Northern
Thailand
Risk of physical threat
or abuse
 Planning of research to minimise risks
 Effective means of communication
 If the visits are deemed to be high risk,
then researchers must not work alone
 Dress appropriately
 Emergency plan in place
Low Researc
her
June -
August
2016
Interviews as local
village in Northern
Thailand
Risk of physiological
trauma
 Planning of research to minimise risks
 Effective means of communication
 Use of consent forms
Low Researc
her
June -
August
2016
L
I
K
E
L
I
H
O
O
D
frequently MEDIUM HIGH HIGH
sometimes LOW MEDIUM HIGH
rarely LOW LOW MEDIUM
SEVERITY trivial significant severe
IMPLEMENTING THE
CONTROLS

10. This risk assessment will be reviewed at least annually where any significant changes are made, new equipment introduced or if there is any
reason to suspect it is no longer valid.
Faculty/School/Department/Research Institute _____ Life and Health Science ______________________________________
Signature of assessor ____Songkran Mungmoon__________ Print name __Songkran Mungmoon__ Designation __ Researcher ________
Manager/supervisor ______________________ Print name ____________________ Designation _____________________
Risk assessment communicated to: Technicians □ Academic/supervisor □ Students □ PRD □ Others ___________________
Management Comments
Assessors Comments
Overall, researcher can say that interviews were carried out productively and to arrange the appointment when smoothly.
It had been found good cooperation from farmers and it had a low risk rating of physical threat or abuse and risk of physiological trauma.

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14. Gantt chart