Our Challenges
Endeavoring to Solve the Problems of Dry-field Farmers in Thailand, Where a Shift from Rice Farming to Dry-field Farming is Underway
Kubota will work to help build the future of agriculture in Thailand through new initiatives.
Thailand has long been the world’s largest exporter of rice. Rice accounts for about 50% of the country’s total arable land, followed by dry-field crops such as natural rubber, sugarcane, cassava, and corn. In fact, in recent years, dry-field crops have become increasingly important as agricultural products for export that will support Thailand’s economy in the future. This was triggered by a series of poor rice harvests since 2013 due to drought and a shift in agricultural policy. As an exporter of agricultural products, Thailand is currently moving away from rice farming to dry-field farming while maintaining a balance between the two. As a result, there has been a need for agricultural machinery suited to dry-field farming in Thailand.
Kubota has enjoyed a long and deep relationship with Thailand, having exported general-purpose power tillers here since the 1970s, and built up trust in local communities by providing services covering every corner of the country. In 1978, we formed a joint venture with Siam Cement Group (now Siam Kubota Corporation Co., Ltd.*1), and have been promoting the introduction of additional agricultural machinery to Thailand through community-based development. This company’s strength lies in its nationwide dealer network and extensive service system. For example, Kubota has an overwhelming share of the market for tractors for rice farming. However, large agricultural machinery is needed for dry-field farming, and European and US manufacturers dominate this market. Our new challenge has begun.
We started by going out and listening to the voices of dry-field farmers in person, just as we do for rice farming. At the same time, we focus on the development of implements*2 that solve problems relating to dry-field farming. Taking sugarcane production as an example, biofuels have been attracting global attention in recent years, and the demand for sugarcane, the raw material for biofuels, has been increasing. Thailand is the second largest exporter of sugarcane in the world, and sugarcane has become an important agricultural product that supports the economy. Therefore, we visited sugarcane farmers and conducted various field surveys to understand their needs and working conditions, and to confirm soil quality. Kubota Research and Development ASIA Co., Ltd. was established in 2016 to analyze the information obtained and give shape to our endeavors. It is a research and development site focusing on the development of implements suited to local needs. For sugarcane production, we have developed an implement that can speed up the planting process, which was still being performed by hand, while making it more accurate. This implement can apply fertilizer simultaneously, thus greatly saving on time and lightening the workload of farmers, improving the efficiency of farming operations. The Thailand’s dry-field farming market is moving toward an era of high-powered tractors. Kubota aims to contribute to Thailand’s agriculture and economic growth by not only increasing the power of its tractors, but also by enhancing support for rice farmers and promoting manufacturing and services to meet the needs of dry-field farmers.
- *1A local company affiliated with the Thai royal family. In 1978, Kubota established Siam Kubota Diesel Corporation (SKDC), a joint venture with SCG. Having expanded its business operations, in 2010, the company started out anew as Siam Kubota Corporation Co., Ltd. through a merger of subsidiaries.
- *2Implements are dedicated pieces of equipment that are towed by a tractor and changed for each operation, such as mowing and fertilizing.
Return to the top of Our Challenges