Development of Community Constitution to Solve the Problems of Chemicals Use among Farmers in the Upper Lam Phataw River Basin, Chaiyaphum Province

Abstract

The purposes of this research article were 1) to study farmers' chemicals use behavior; and 2) to study the factors of success in preparation of community constitution. This was a mixed-methods research. For quantitative study, the sample was 5,743 household heads or household representatives in the Tha Hin Ngom Subdistrict Administrative Organization, Mueang Chaiyaphum District, Kao Ya Di Subdistrict Administrative Organization, Kaeng Khro District, and Tha Mafai Wan Subdistrict Administrative Organization, Kaeng Khro District, Chaiyaphum Province. The sample size was calculated using the Krejcie & Morgan formula, resulting in a representative sample of 360. A questionnaire with an alpha reliability of 0.80 was used to collect data. Data were collected using simple random sampling. Statistics used for data analysis included percentage, and the results were presented in tables. Qualitative research used semi-structured interviews with 80 key informants. Data were analyzed by generating conclusions. The research results found that 1) the chemicals use behavior of farmers in the upper Lam Pathao River Basin can be summarized as follows: 1.1) farmers' behavior in using chemicals and contact with agricultural chemicals showed that 84.40% of farmers used chemicals, and 70.28% of farmers preferred to use liquid chemicals; 1.2) the most common behavior of farmers in using pesticides was following the instructions on the chemicals container labels, 99.70 percent, 1.3) farmers chose chemicals because they found them convenient and time-saving, 1.4) farmers reduced chemicals use behavior by using natural and local ingredients, and 1.5) in terms of responsible behavior in using chemicals, farmers followed the instructions on the chemicals labels to prevent impacts on health and the environment; 2) success factors in preparation of community constitution to solve the problems of farmers' chemicals use included problems arising from chemicals use, changing the mindset of leaders, participation, acceptance and compliance with the democratic process, flexibility, networking, support from relevant agencies, and perceived ownership of the community constitution.