Agricultural Practice Pattern and Cultural Change

Abstract

The purposes of this study are 1) to study the modern agricultural practice pattern of farmers, 2) to study the cultural practice of farmers, 3) to study the cultural change of farmers, 4) to study the relationship between the modern agricultural practice pattern and cultural change of farmers in San Sai district, Chiang Mai province, Thailand. This research applied mixed methods between quantitative survey and qualitative approach. Samples of 403 farmers, drawn through multi-stage sampling, were interviewed using questionnaire and 14 key informant farmers were also in-depth interviewed. Descriptive statistics, frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation, were applied to analyze demographic characteristics, agricultural, and cultural practice. Inferential statistics, paired sample t-test and multiple regression analysis, were utilized to test the hypotheses: 1) the former cultural practice is different from the present cultural practice, 2) there is a relationship between the modern agricultural practice pattern and the cultural change. Quantitative results suggested the statistical differences between former and current cultural practice. Furthermore, the relationship between agricultural practice pattern and cultural change was statistically significant as well. Therefore, both hypotheses were accepted. Qualitative data showed that the transformation of agricultural practice pattern from traditional to modern brought the changes in the cultural practice, community, family, and traditionalism, but did not lead to entropy. The changing of cultural practice was the adaptive mechanism to respond, negotiate, and adjust to maintain  individualism, community, and family.