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Chang River cuts through the middle of the district. Administratively, the district
is divided into eight tambons (subdistricts). The experimental plots were in
tambon Don Sri Chum and tambon San Koang.
All of Don Sri Chum is essentially ricefields; whereas, San Koang has
about 16% upland area. Don Sri Chum is largely lowland with a reasonably
stable rice production (Patanothai 1983), except for areas near the Mae Ing and
Rong Chang Rivers, which flood in some years. The rice area in San Koang is a
mixture of both uplands and lowlands and has a higher percentage of upland
rice. Its rice production is less stable. Tambons Ban Tham, Ban Pin, and Huey
Lan are ricefields. They have relatively less rice area (63-71%) than tambons
Dok Kham Tai and Don Sri Chum (97%).
The estimated population of Dok Kham Tai in 1990 was 77,297. The
majority are involved in rainfed farming. Rainfall averaged 1,052 mm from 1981
to 1989 alld had a bimodal pattern with a lapse in June. Rainfall variability is a
common problem in this district. Farms experience either floods or drought
every 2 yr and, as a result, the district is well-known for poverty and out-
migration.
Transpl;lnted rice is the main crop in the lowlands during the wet season
(WS). In some years, farmers experience delayed or inadequate rainfall. In some
tambon, it is possible to grow field crops (e.g., garlic and soybean) in the
ricefields during the dry season (DS). Most of the land, however, is left fallow in
the DS until August. In the uplands, maize - mungbean is the most popular
cropping pattern. Since 1984, when mungbean before rice was introduced, it has
been widely practiced in the uplands. The cropping intensity in Jun is higher
than in Dok Kham Tai. However, double cropping is possible in Dok Kham Tai.
The district has a reputation for migration of young girls seeking off-farm
jobs in the cities. They are usually employed in bars, massage parlors, night
clubs, and brothels. Remittances from these migrants result in ma:erial
prosperity in the district in terms of big new houses, cars, and electrical
appliances. Young men migrate to the cities or even overseas as construction
workers.
Exchange labor for farm work is uncommon in Dok Kham Tai.
Additional labor is usually provided by nearby areas or districts. The wage rate
increases during transplanting and harvesting when the demand for labor is high.
Expansion of area planted to mungbean
The research stages and the expansion of the area planted to mungbean before
rice from 1982-83 to 1985-56 are shown in Table 3. Mungbean before rice was
widely adopted during the pilot-production stage. Mungbean covered 62.4 ha in
Phayao Province in 1985-86. In the same year, information collected by the
impact team suggested there were 13.8 ha planted to mungbean in Dok Kham