With a well-developed infrastructure, a free-enterprise economy, and pro-investment policies, Thailand appears to have fully recovered after the economic setback of the 1997-1998 Asian Financial Crisis. The country was one of East Asia's best performers from 2002-04. Driven by increased consumption and strong export growth, the Thai economy grew 6.9% in 2003 and 6.1% in 2004 despite a sluggish global economy. Exports have performed at record levels, rising nearly 17% in 2006. Export-oriented manufacturing, in particular automobile production and farm output, are driving these gains.

A survey conducted by the Office of Agricultural Economics from 1995 to 1999 indicated that the average farm size declined from 4.2 to 3.71 hectare/household. The farmers in the Central plain region were found to have the largest farm size, followed by farmers in the Northeast, the South, and the North. Farmers in the Northeast have the highest owner operated holding area per farm, followed by farmers in the Central Plain, the South, and the North. Farmers in the Central Plain have the highest rented holding area per farm. Thus, the problems facing each region are different.

Problems of land rent mostly occur in the Central Plain. Most farmers in the Northeast have their owned land, but, they face problems of poor soil conditions and high risks from climatic variations. Two crop harvests per year is a common practice in rice cultivation in the area under irrigation. Some areas in the central plain that utilized underground water can accomplish five crops in two years. In the past, water buffalo and cow were draft animals popularly used in the cultivation system for land preparation. Today they are very few and only in remote rural areas. Most cultivation systems are under-mechanized. Various kinds of tillage implementations are used differently in land preparation depending upon crop, tilling purpose and area. For a paddy field in an irrigated area, a disk plow attached to a two-wheel tractor or small four-wheel tractor is now generally used, followed by a rotary tiller.

Moldboard plows are also used, but in decline. For field crops, disk plows, disc harrows, spring-loaded cultivators, and rotary tillers are used, most commonly used on a large tractor. There are several methods of rice planting depending upon specific area and labor condition. The transplanting method is a common practice for seasonal crops, while broadcasting and direct seeding are generally practices in high land or rain-fed areas. Manual labor is still the most prevalent method.

The Agricultural Engineering Research Institute (AERI) survey of Thai crops from 1999-2000 shows that paddies were harvested manually using sickles (57.2%), combine harvesters (35.2%) and reapers (7.6%). Threshing is mostly done by using power threshers (88.3%). After harvest, farmers usually immediately sell their products with high moisture content. Sun drying is still a prevailing method for paddy drying. However, there were an increasing number of combine harvesters in the past few years. It is a burden for farmers to market a large number of high moisture paddies at a high price in a short period, especially with the second crop. This leads to increased number of dryer crops to solve the problem.

Area:
total: 514,000 sq km
land: 511,770 sq km
water: 2,230 sq km

Climate:
tropical; rainy, warm, cloudy southwest monsoon (mid-May to September); dry, cool northeast monsoon (November to mid-March); southern isthmus always hot and humid

Terrain:
central plain; Khorat Plateau in the east; mountains elsewhere

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
highest point: Doi Inthanon 2,576 m

Natural resources:
tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite, arable land

Land use:
arable land: 27.54%
permanent crops: 6.93%
other: 65.53% (2005)

Irrigated land:
49,860 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:
land subsidence in Bangkok area resulting from the depletion of the water table; droughts

Current environmental issues:
air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from organic and factory wastes; deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by illegal hunting