Sustainable rice consumption index in Thailand

Land use planning in agriculture development is vital to sustainable production and consumption. In Thailand, rice is the most important staple crop for domestic consumption. Rice by-products, including rice husk and rice straw, are also used as livestock feeds. While the national rice production capacity is much greater than domestic consumption, many provinces still have an insufficient local or regional supply of rice. The imbalance in supply and demand comes at a cost of unnecessary transportation and inventory and the possibility of rice stock’s quality decline. Such issues have been overlooked, partly due to the lack of a sustainable land use index that can be used to evaluate and select the agricultural development plan for sustainable production and consumption. This study develops a provincial supply-to-demand ratio for rice and by-products. The up-to-date national rice demand and rice productivity data are used to create the supply-to-demand maps for rice and by-products. The supply-to-demand map can be used for develop rice production strategies. The findings of this study also contribute to the improved public awareness of carrying capacity and sustainable development.