Title: Risk perceptions of coffee growers in northern Thailand: a case study of Chiang Rai province
Author: Miss Melody Sie
Year: 2024
Keywords: Thai coffee agriculture risk perception agricultural livelihoods Thai farmers climate risks
Theme: Innovation for Inclusive Development
Advisor(s): Jakkrit Sangkhamanee
The full thesis available here.
Abstract: Thailand's coffee sector faces numerous risks, impacting coffee farmers' livelihoods. This study explores risk perception and management strategies through in-depth interviews with coffee farmers based in Chiang Rai province. Drawing from Joy Harwood’s categorization of agricultural risk, the risks assessed in this study fell under the domains of production, market, and institutional risks. Farmers' perceptions of these risks were analyzed by considering the mental strategies and biases (heuristics) that shaped their perceptions, as well as how farmers measured risk according to their risk attributes (frequency, severity, adaptation ability). The values, emotions, and experiences of farmers shape the foreground of farmers' mentality and priorities in judging risk, which in turn, affects how farmers respond when determining a risk's attributes. Such values included community engagement, quality, innovation, and sustainability. Farmers' responses to risk also demonstrated emotions of frustration, resilience, and happiness, reflecting the drivers for farmers in their approaches to farming and informing the amount of risk each farmer would take on based on the level of emotional attachment. Inconsistent rainfall was perceived to be the most anticipated risk regarding future occurrence and was also perceived as the risk with the most severe impact. On the other hand, farmers perceived barriers to market access as the risk with the greatest ability to adapt. Other risks such as knowledge barriers and limited agricultural expansion were also ranked among the risks with the most severe impact, revealing that the magnitude of risks span across risk domains, outside of just production risks. The findings of the study reveal the intricate relationship between emotional responses, personal experiences, initial exposures, and cultural values in shaping farmers' risk perceptions, and bring attention to the need for comprehensive support from government agencies to partner directly with farmers in order to secure the long-term sustainability for Thailand's coffee sector and the livelihoods of the farmers involved.