Women’s involvement in Organic (Vegetables) Farming System Activities (OFSA) in Samsung district of North-East Thailand

This study was designed to determine the extent of involvement that women have in regards to OFSA, as well as explore the relationships between women involved with OFSA and the characteristics they possess. The study was conducted in two villages, Ban Samoang and Ban Sawang in the Samsung District of Northeast of Thailand. One hundred women were randomly selected as a sample from a population of 300. The findings reveal that about three-quarters (70%) of the women have medium to high level of involvement in OFSA, while 30% have low level involvement. The co-relation indicates that age, annual family income, family size, education, training exposure, farming experience and knowledge of farming system of the respondents are positively co-related with their involvement of OFSA. The co-relation also indicates that farm size is negatively co-related with their involvement. The study suggests that problems of women’s involvement in organic vegetables cultivation include lack of knowledge on organic farming system, scarcity of money, limited cooperation, shortage of skilled labor, price of organic vegetables, lack of suitable agricultural machinery for women, and insufficient training. This study recommends women involved in cultivation also face barriers including-sufficient training on production systems, available financial support to the farmers, suitable agricultural instruments and ensuring satisfactory price of organic vegetables will be helpful for organic vegetables cultivation.