Ethnic Minorities and Food Security in Northern Thailand

The issue of food security is complex. By analyzing the relationship between international, national and local society, one can better contextualize food security issues. Using an embedded research design (with a qualitative leaning) supported by quantitative data, research is conducted via surveys, interviews and focus groups. This research design was chosen to offset limited sample sizes with quantitative data to strengthen findings. Research findings were cross analyzed to identify three emergent themes. The three cross-cutting themes identified and analyzed are: Thai citizenship, employment and chemical pesticide use (chemical pesticide use did not arise among Burmese refugees and is only applicable to hill tribe, Thai and NGO workers). Research indicates lack of access to Thai citizenship has led to high unemployment rates and increased participation in high-risk informal job sectors. Lastly, hill tribe, Thai and NGO workers report an increase in chemical pesticide use negatively affecting the natural world and household abilities to secure local food sources. Thailand‘s economic shift away from small-scale family farms to commercial production has increased pesticide usage negatively impacting households. This shift away from small scale farming has particularly affected women as it is their cultural role to prepare food for the family. Statistics show an increase in female labor participation in informal sectors as women are working more to secure food sources. Policy recommendations include increasing access to Thai citizenship and employment opportunities (especially for women) to create household food security for non-Thai nationals.