The Need for Para Rubber Crop Insurance among Farmers in Trang Province (Thailand)
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Abstract
Para rubber is one of Thailand's principal economic products. Indeed, in terms of value, it is the country's leading export. Southern Thailand has the nation's largest cultivation area. However, various unexpected circumstances have resulted in losses for farmers. This investigation aims to study the need for para rubber crop insurance as a risk-management tool for farmers in Thailand's Trang province, focusing on a business called Wang Kee Ree Rubber Fund Cooperative Ltd, which complies with the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) guidelines and which will act as a pilot. The study applies a quantitative methodology involving descriptive and reference statistics, which were distilled using a statistical program. A questionnaire and convenience sampling were deployed to collect data. A sample of 180 farmers was selected from the population for this investigation, which consisted of the 300 farmers belonging to the above cooperative. The data analysis reveals that in 2019 most farmers were men, aged 51 or over and married and that they owned their farm and had an income of less than 20,000 baht per month. Fewer than two people in each household were able to tap rubber. Moreover, para rubber trees were mostly 1020 years of age, producing around 41-60 kilograms of latex per day. Normally, those tapping rubber worked three days in a row and then had a day's break. Price fluctuations were the main problem facing rubber farmers, who desperately needed to take out a para rubber insurance policy because this could involve sharing the cost per household, as well as requiring compensation for hospital costs if they were injured. It was found that farmers urgently needed the relevant organisations to disseminate information about the respective policy. In light of the relationships between the factors, farmer- and para rubber growing-related variables were a significant pointer to the need for this insurance type. Finally, this study could be utilised in future to introduce a suitable policy for growers of para rubber.
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