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โครงการหนังสืออิเล็กทรอนิกส์ด้านการเกษตร เฉลิมพระเกียรติพระบาทสมเด็จพระเจ้าอยู่หัว

government policies, notably the 30-Baht Healthcare, the 15-Year Free Education, and

the Village Fund, have had significant impacts on the inequalities.

The results from this study firmly indicate that aging society was associated

with a decrease in technical efficiency and higher income inequality. The promotion
of education and healthcare to farm households at low cost is expected to reduce the

inequality. Higher education and technical skills will enable household members to

better manage their farm production and possibly more diversification which leads to
sustainable income and higher technical efficiency. Better access to healthcare services

will lower chances of farmers, especially the elderly, losing their land and other
productive assets. This is consistent with our findings that aging farmers tend to reduce

their land size and number of plots. Such adjustment through land rental market or

land abandonment allow farmers to retain their ownerships of the land. In contrast,
distressed sale of land due to urgent need for medical cares can place farmers into

poverty and endless debt cycle. There is a need to encourage more farm investments
in order to increase farm productivity and efficiency. Lastly, the government should be

cautious with the implementation of agricultural policies that distort farmers’ price

incentive. Because such policies not only were incapable of narrowing inequality gaps
but also reduced technical efficiency while increasing its variability overtime.

KEYWORDS: Aging society, land fragmentation, livelihood diversification, land

abandonment, technical efficiency, inequality, income decomposition

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