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Science
and Technology for Rural Development
Science
and technology are not only involved with advanced computer-integrated
manufacturing, aerospace research, and genetic engineering. They
also play an important role in rural development. Poverty in some
remote villages of Thailand is caused by a lack of energy
resources, improper soil conditions, lack of knowledge about
suitable crops, health, and sanitation, and marketing and
financial problems. Thanks to a good transportation system and
stable financial institutions, the latter problems are less severe
than before, but it is now time to use science and technology to
help solve the others.
Through
various departments, the Thai government has initiated a number of
projects to apply science and technology to the development of
rural areas. One of these is a project to improve soil conditions
in Samut Songkram, a small province west of Bangkok. This province
is close to the Gulf of Thailand and has suffered from salt water
intrusion to such an extent that it is no longer possible for
farmers to grow rice. The Science and Technology Research
Institute of Thailand and the Land Development Department have
cooperated in using scientific and technological knowledge to
prevent salt water intrusion and introduce suitable chemicals to
recondition the soil.
Another
project at Chumporn, a coastal province in the south of Thailand,
aims at developing agricultural products on the sandy soil. This
includes experimenting with different types of crops which can not
only survive but give high yields in the coastal areas, The
project has been very successful and has become a demonstration
site where other villagers can come to study and learn to use the
same techniques on their own farms.
In
Narathiwas Province, close to the border of Thailand and Malaysia,
yet another large project involves a swamp area where the people
have much difficult in growing crops because of the acid soil. His
Majesty the King is very interested in using modern technology to
improve this land and through the project was
initiated in the mid-80's . It involves the use of new technology
such as remote sensing to map the area, locate water resources,
study the swamp area, and classify the land. A computerized
geographic information system has been developed to record the
pertinent data for monitoring land use and crops. Chemists and
environmental engineers work closely together to improve the soil
conditions through reduction of acidity, while at the same time
the Irrigation Department has constructed a dam to reserve water
for agriculture and household consumption.
A
major effort in rural development is called the Green Isan Project,
the word isan referring to the northeastern part of Thailand. This
part of the country was once rich with thick forests and wild
animals, but in recent decades many roads have been built to
enable the farmers to transport their crops to Bangkok and other
areas. Unfortunately, the roads also brought in a serious problem
of illegal deforestation and without the forests soil conditions
became steadily worse. The Thai government has therefore launched
a national project which brings in the best brains from all
sectors to help solve the problems.
Experience
in many rural development projects has shown that while science
and technology may not be sufficient in themselves to solve the
varied problems, they can be valuable components in the over-all
development process. |
