Rice farming constitutes the largest portion of agriculture in Thailand, with rice farmers accounting for a significant majority of the country’s agricultural workforce. Of the 5.6 million farming households nationwide, 3.7 million, or 66%, are involved in rice cultivation. Annually, Thai rice farmers harvest rice across 8.96 to 9.28 million hectares, producing roughly 28 to 30 million tons of paddy to meet both domestic needs and export demands.

For more than ten years, Thailand has remained the world’s leading exporter of rice, with yearly shipments of milled rice ranging from 7 to 8 million tons. These exports generate an income of 80 to 100 billion baht annually for the country.

Thai rice production is categorized into four distinct ecosystems: irrigated, rainfed lowland, deep water, and upland. The rainfed lowland system is the most common, followed by irrigated, deep water, and upland ecosystems.