Role of the State in Contract Farming in Thailand: Experience and Lessons

The nation-states have been attempting large number of policy measures to institutionalize contract farming as a solution to the problems of agricultural development. This paper examines the role of the Thai state in the promotion of contract farming for agricultural development. After a review of the literature on the role of contract farming, it analyses the role of the Thai state in contract farming and finds that although the state intervened intensively in contract situations, and contracting is widespread across crops and regions, contracting has not led to desirable consequences and remains a predominantly farmer—company relationship with the intermediation of middlemen. The paper concludes with lessons for contract farming policy with focus on the nature and quality of the role of the state.