Farm labour availability, labour costs, and soil conservation possibilities in northern Thailand

Direct or opportunity labour costs often play an important role in farmers' decision making when it comes to the adoption of new agricultural practice s. Too often, however, the dissemination of what are believed to be improve d practices is unsuccessful because, among other parameters, the availabili ty of labour within households and its cost have not been considered. This is particularly true for practices that aim at reducing soil erosion proble ms since they generally require a fair amount of work to implement and main tain, and they tend to yield benefits at best in the medium term. In a stud y area of northern Thailand experiencing socioeconomic changes, it is argue d that labour costs are a major constraint for the adoption of conservation practices generally considered for dissemination by many projects. The mai n reason for that are the potentially high opportunity costs induced by the increasing importance of off farm employment, and the high direct costs in duced by practices that need to be implemented at periods of time when labo ur already peaks for normal agricultural activities.