Perceptions of Best Management Practices on Thai Citrus Farms and the Development of an Agri-Environmental Policy: A Case Study in the Ping River Basin, Thailand

The Ping river basin, one of the major tributaries in northern Thailand, is strategically interlinked with major waterways livening agricultural activities for centuries. The basin is considerably recognised as an area to be protected from potential water-consumption threats impacting downstream's agricultural and industrial activities and residential areas. Over decades, economic expansion has changed the pattern of land use putting pressures on natural resources. One of the main concerns in the Ping river basin is a deterioration of water quality. Emissions from point sources, exemplified by large industrial facilities and communities, are regulated under command and control strategies. However, diffuse discharges from agricultural activities pose pervasive difficulties in management and policy design. The recent government report highlights citrus cultivation as the activity with a high application rate of chemicals, coupled with forest encroachment. Recognition of the significant of nonpoint source pollution problems has stimulated policy makers to promote Best Management Practices (BMPs) to control farm emissions at the watershed level. A number of agricultural economics studies have made policy recommendation based on an assumption that farmers are homogenous and make decision to maximise their well-being. However, there is a lack of research around behavioural responses to agri-environmental policy. As such, this study is tailored to employ contemporary interests of economic and behavioural principles in order to tackle the problem by understanding farmers' perspective and serving correct requirements rather than traditionally campaigning policies without sound agreements. The main objective of this study is to consider psychological perspectives on farmer decision making in relation to BMP adoption. The study attempts to investigate beliefs that are associated with decision making, to understand subjectivity in conservation behaviour, to assess costs of various BMP, and to make relevant policy recommendations. Prior to the main analysis, a set of BMPs is defined. Twelve BMPs suitable for implementation in the Ping river basin are selected based on expert judgement. Two psychological theories, the Theory of Planned Behaviour and QMethodology, are proposed to investigate farmers' behavioural intentions and latent perceptions, respectively. Further, the economic analysis of BMP cost at farm level is conducted to investigate cost effects and adoption intention.