Incentives for mechanized cane harvesting in Thailand: A choice experiment

Sugarcane burning is a significant problem in Thailand. Cane burning is undertaken before harvest mostly due to labor shortages. A cane harvester has been promoted to counter labor shortages and increase cane productivity; however, its adoption has been slow. This paper examines incentive schemes for harvester adoption using a choice experiment. Forty large-scale farmers with the capacity to buy their own harvesters and 400 small-scale farmers who could potentially use harvesters on a fee basis were surveyed. The results suggest a variety of economic incentives for harvester adoption. Most important among these is subsidizing of interest rates for purchase. Also of merit at the milling stage are priority queuing, and subsidies for unburned cane to a lesser extent.