Discourse that makes farmers to adapt under conditions of climate change in the Tha Chin River Basin Nakhonpathom Province

Abstract

This research article is part of the doctoral dissertation on “Farmers’ Adaptation to Climate Change: From Discourse to Farmers’ Response in the Tha Chin River Basin”. The objectives are to study the impacts and adaptation to climate change of farmers in the Tha Chin River Basin, Nakhon Pathom Province, and to study the discourse that forces farmers to adapt. The analysis reveals the dominance of discourses and found that climate change has negative impacts on farmers in the Tha Chin River Basin, namely 1) physical impacts, 2) environmental impacts, and 3) economic impacts. In addition, the impacts that occur lead to farmers’ adaptation, namely 1) occupational adaptation, 2) adaptation to specific situations, which depend on each person’s financial readiness and knowledge. The discourse that forces farmers to adapt, which is the mainstream discourse that is talked about in the study area by state academics, consists of 5 discourses: 1) discourse to solve global warming problems by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from sources of production in the agricultural sector, 2) discourse of self-reliance first, when a disaster occurs, farmers should think of ways to rely on themselves and survive by themselves first, 3) discourse of sacrifice for the common good. The government has a concept to prevent flooding in inner Bangkok, using Nakhon Pathom as a floodway. The government tells the people of Nakhon Pathom to sacrifice their homes to be flood retention areas. 4) The rhetoric of production for trade: The government has a policy to encourage orchid farmers to grow for export in large quantities. Farmers therefore have to use chemical fertilizers and pesticides to make the orchids beautiful, which contradicts the policy of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 5) The rhetoric of agriculture driven by innovation or smart agriculture is the new hope for farmers, causing farmers to invest in technology, but not everyone can do it.