Traditional Thai Farming Alternative

CHEN:
The put-put sound of diesel-driven ploughs used to be common throughout rural Thailand. But now, with soaring fuel prices, more and more Thai farmers are putting away their modern machinery and trading it in for water buffaloes.

STORY:
In the past, the number of water buffalo a farmer had was an indication of wealth and the water buffalo was considered a farmer's best friend. Large numbers of them could be seen wallowing in the mud at the edge of paddy fields. But with the invention of diesel plows and tractors, uses for the animal have been on the decline -- until now.

Water buffaloes cost about $400-$500 each, and are a cheap alternative to diesel ploughs. But both farmers and water buffaloes are out of practice.

Young farmers like Supat Langboon have little experience using farm animals in the fields and the farm animals themselves are confused as to why they are in a rice field attached to a plough.

But even though water buffalo are more difficult to control than tractors, Supat is not giving up.

[Supat Langboon, Farmer]:
"I would like to try to use a water buffalo to pull the plough because petrol is very expensive."

Supat's uncle, 73-year-old farmer Tawan Panyaharn, is teaching both man and beast to work together and progress is slow.

[Tawan Panyaharn, Farmer]:
"My relatives do not know how to train a buffalo how to plough. Sometimes, I have to step in and train them myself. I can get the buffalo to pull the plough within a few days."

Rice production is the main source of income for rural families in the northeast. Thailand is one of the world's biggest rice producers and exporters. Some 10 million hectares of rice is grown in the country. Half of that is located in the country's northeast.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• ntd
• ntdtv
• news
• thai
• buffalo
• traditional
• water
• alternative
• farming
• supat
• plough
• farmers
• langboon
• buffaloes
• farmer
• rice

[vilamasranch]

Lovely buffaloes!

[GooglFascists]

YES! This is fantastic! Not only do the Water Buffalo "work for food", they

also fertilize the fields while they plow.

I remember when my grandfathers worked the land with mules up in

the mountains of West Virginia. No tractor can watch its step pulling

logs on a steep hillside, but mules can!

Once trained, mules seem to enjoy work. Humans need to get back

to that concept too. Enjoy healthy work without mechanized TOYS.

Its slower, but there's a trade-off of not needing $6 per gallon gas!

[lraesmith]

While the water buffalo is making a comeback in Thailand, it is becoming very viable in the agricultural industry (especially dairy) in North America. Perhaps with the fuel prices here, we may have to revert to the old ways of working our fields as well. Look out, John Deere!