Drought Risk Management of Rice Growers in Tha Tako District, Nakhon Sawan Province

Abstract

The objectives of this research was to determine drought risk management of rice growers in Tha Tako district, Nakhon Sawan province. The sample size of 390 was calculated using the Taro Yamane formula. Data were collected using a structured interviews that was validated for content validity by experts, with an Index of item objective congruence of 0.827. Data were collected in December 2024. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The results revealed that most farmers were female (51.54%), with an average age of 51.63 years, and had an average of 24 years of rice farming experience. The main source of information on drought risk management came from community leaders (88.21%). More than 80% of the farmers were aware of drought risks. The overall impact of drought on farmers were at a medium level (x̄= 3.27), with the following rankings: 1) environmental impact (x̄= 3.52), 2) rice cultivation impact (x̄= 3.32), 3) economic impact (x̄= 3.24), and 4) social impact (x̄= 2.98). Farmers’ drought risk management practices were categorized into three phase. Before the disaster occurred, the most common practice was monitoring the outbreak of insect pests (94.62%). During the disaster, monitoring water situations from various sources was the most prevalent (98.72%). After the disaster, farmers registered was the most common action (98.97%). Hypothesis testing revealed that farmers with different impact levels had significantly different drought disaster risk management at the 0.05 significance level. Therefore, it is recommended to implement area-specific policies to support farmer, as well as promote drought management skills and awareness of climate change.