(introductory text...)

Thailand has taken considerable steps in national development since the country's first Social and Economic Development Plan in 1961. However, the country depended for this development upon imported production items and industrial technologies, which caused it to run up a high foreign- trade deficit. In agriculture, moreover, the increase in the use of modern technology did not in general compensate for the high cost of production, with the result that the country's farm population was drawn in to an economic vicious circle.

The government has consequently been criticized for this distorted development, and for its poor strategy in the use of science and technology (S&T) for national development. A call for the appropriate use of S&T has been widely made across the country.

The present study develops a concept of self-reliance in S&T for national development, adapted from the successful examples of other countries. The major objectives of the study are: (1) to formulate a desirable strategy for national S&T development, and (2) to get an indication of the country's level of self-reliance in science and technology.

On the basis of these two objectives, the scope of the present study is to define self-reliance in S&T appropriate to the country's present social and economic capacity; to develop a conceptual framework for analysing the country's status in S&T; to carry out case-studies at both macro and micro level to give confidence in the framework developed; and to formulate an appropriate strategy for the development of science and technology.

The term self-reliance means different things to different people, depending on the history of national development, and the social, economic, and cultural constraints of a country. For Thailand, self-reliance in S&T is defined as "the ability of the country to make autonomous rational decisions on science and technology in developing, selecting, implementing, managing, and operating technology and in replicating a useful technology in such a way that the country benefits. "

Fig. 1. Role of science and technology in national development

There are five discernible stages in the development of technology, namely operational, adaptive, replicative, innovative, and creative. The study team holds that the first three stages are achievable whilst the last two seem beyond the country's capacity, given existing constraints.

Science is the knowledge of natural phenomena. Technology, on the other hand, applies a knowledge of science to help meet human needs and solve problems. Technology has two major components, software and hardware. The former concerns knowledge, while the latter constitutes the equipment and material used in production. S&T influences societal development and its role is represented in diagrammatic form in figure 1.

The above functional component inputs are interdependent: a change in one component creates a change in others. Science and technology is only a part of the process of societal development.

Traditional path of development

Thailand has been perceived as a "soft culture" society. Thais are noted for being very tolerant of the cultural and other differences of other peoples, and have absorbed many external cultural influences, particularly religion -principally from India - building technology, and, more recently, high technology.

Religion may be thought of as "software" technology, although, in the form of religious buildings and images, it could also be considered as constituting technological hardware.

In building technology, Thais have adapted their indigenous timber technology to create a distinctive Thai building style. They have developed this technology to the point that they can now use it to prefabricate houses.

The transfer of higher industrial technology, for example in transportation (railways, automobiles, etc.), started during the reign of Rama V when trade with European countries increased and modernization began. Other technological practices, such as the use of farm machinery in rice production, also began during the same period. Agricultural and other forms of production also changed from ones aimed at meeting only household and local demands to ones targeted at the export market. Modern irrigation was developed to support this new drive, and other necessary technologies, such as post-harvesting techniques, rice mills, river transportation, and food processing, were introduced.

After the Second World War, more automobiles, trucks, and aeroplanes were used in transportation. These accelerated the transfer of related technologies in, for example, road, highway, and railway-building technology. These, in turn, changed the educational curricula as the nation responded to these new technologies.

The newly introduced technologies influenced the modernization of the country beyond agriculture. Statistics show that the country's economy has experienced a satisfactory level of growth in production. However, doubts about the system have persisted, as some economic indicators, such as the trade balance and benefit-cost ratios, have shown negative trends. It appears that the more the country invests in production inputs and technology, the less the proportional output.

Development of the country in the national plans (1961-1986)

The country has been developed by three decades of national development plans, the first of which began in 1961. External political pressure, as well as the need to rebuild the country after the Second World War, and the demand for the elimination of inequality in income between the urban and rural sectors, influenced the development effort.

The first National Plan resulted in tremendous changes in the country's infrastructure, including increased transportation, roads, and railways, and a rise in the number of educated people. Income generation was also a focus. The figures given in table 1 suggest, at first sight, that the country had developed positively with regard to education, the economy, and technology.

Table 1. Changes during national development plans (percentages)

Development sector	1961	1985	% change
Population
Urban (%)	12.5 (1960)a	18.2 (1982)	+5 7b
Rural (%)	87.5 (1960)	81.8 (1982)	-5.7
Education
People with basic education ( % )	51.3 (1960)	82.4 (1980)	+ 31.1
People with higher education (%)	0.6 (1960)	2.3 (1980)	+ 1.7
Economy
GNP at 1972 prices (millions of baht)		309,122 (1982)
Per capita GNP at 1972 prices (baht)		6,375 (1982)
GINI coefficient	0.5627 (1963)	0.6079 (1981)	4.52
Trade balance (market prices, in millions of baht)	-290 (1961)	- 69,984 (1984)
Infrastructure
Roads (km) (1983)		33,148
Railways (km) (1983)		3,735
Airways in distance flown (km) (1983)		54,644,936
Schools (no. per capita) (%)	0.1(1961)	0.15(1981)	+0.1
Land resources
Agricultural area (%)	21.29 (1961)	45.83 (1984)	+24.54
Forest area (%)	53 33 (1959)	30.55 (1982)	- 22.78

a Figure in parentheses refers to year the data were obtained.
b. + means a quantitative increment only, not an improved quality.

However, in discussing these development indicators attention should be paid to the input, the process, the output, and the linkages of the entire system, rather than to the direct output of the sectors alone. Furthermore, planning tends to focus on the measurement of a tangible outcome, but there are many aspects of development that cannot be captured in this way, notably the social and human aspects. All the national development plans neglected these aspects.

At the initial stage of national development, agriculture was emphasized with a view to meeting both domestic and export needs. As early as the sixteenth century, the export of agricultural commodities was the result of foreign influences, which changed the economic and production structures of the country. The increased demands of the external market expanded the area under cultivation. But this extensive growth resulted in a great loss of forest resources (table 1). One should note that in 1985 the majority of the population was still living in rural areas; the increase in production in the country occurred essentially through the exploitation of traditional technologies.

While primary and secondary education disseminated basic science and technology from Western countries, the need to combat foreign domination and the realization by national leaders that a static knowledge of S&T could no longer help the country adapt itself to a changing world opened the country to innovative ideas and concepts. Students were sent abroad for training in order to facilitate the introduction of innovations and accelerate the country's modernization. Yet, though the country was seriously pursuing innovative technology, little attention was given to the development of mechanisms to select, control, and adapt the imported items to match the country's resources.

The first National Economic Development Plan (1961--1966) focused primarily on developing agriculture to meet world market demands. The import substitution industry was also highlighted. During this transformation period, the government helped to provide the necessary infrastructure and to develop technical skills, and the private sector was urged to participate in production under the close guidance of the government.

The government introduced science and technology in two ways first, by sending students abroad, and second by the purchase of technology goods. These two channels helped accelerate the acquisition of a technological capacity, yet it created a social cleavage: those in the urban sector benefited through educational opportunities and the utilization of imported technologies, while those in the rural sector had less opportunity to do so. Furthermore, the items acquired for industrial development were used mainly to produce goods for the local market.

Replicating or buying appropriate technology was not considered. In agriculture, though foreign technologies had some influence, the majority of farmers still used indigenous technologies. However, the output of agricultural products increased satisfactorily as a result of extensive cultivation.

In the second National Economic and Social Development Plan (1967-1971), the basic roles of government and private sector remained unchanged. The government continued to construct physical infrastructures, such as roads, railways, and irrigation dams, as well as providing the rural community with important health services. The private sector, on the other hand, was being continuously urged to put more effort into the production of industrial goods. The government continued sending students abroad, and the purchase of technological items continued. There was a continued neglect of mechanisms for selecting and controlling foreign technology.

Within the agricultural sector, an increased use of modern production technologies, in the form of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and small farm machinery, was pursued. Most of these, however, were imported. Although agricultural production increased tremendously, it did not keep pace with the increased production costs.

As a consequence of the second National Plan, certain undesirable phenomena emerged. These included a higher unemployment rate, a higher migration rate, and water pollution resulting from the drainage into waterways of chemical residues and waste materials from manufacturing. The government responded in the third National Economic and Social Development Plan (1972-1976) by the imposition of regulations and codes. Other measures were the expansion of compulsory education to neglected rural areas and an improvement in the quality of, and opportunities for, higher education. It was expected that the demand for higher technical skills would increase. Local physical structures, such as roads and local health care and rural development projects, were also emphasized during the third Plan.

Because of the package of policy measures adopted by the state during this period, industrial production was increasing at a high rate. Many of these products, particularly textiles, were mainly for local consumption. However, the industrialization of Thailand still had a number of barriers to breach.

The first of these was the continuous import both of foreign technologies for local manufacture and of materials - particularly iron-based materials - for industrial products (table 2). This led not only to a serious trade deficit, but also to a reliance on foreign support for industrial development. The government increased the number of S&T degree-holders, but most of these were mainly engaged in industrial management, process operation and maintenance, and product control sections. Another problem was the lack of selection in technology, which denied technologists the chance to improve their capabilities in order to progress to the replication and innovation stages of technological development.

During the 15-year period 1966-1980, rice output increased by 19 per cent, but the area under rice cultivation increased by 47 per cent.

Table 2. Expenses for imported steel and steel-based products (millions of baht)

Year	Non-electrical items for industry	Machinery and parts for agriculture	Tractors	Iron/steel	Other metals
1957	567	12	54	467	86
1962	1,232	19	133	479	147
1967	2,875	33	655	1,231	422
1972	4,706	36	345	2,046	1,043
1977	10,424	106	2,062	6,352	3,454
1982	19,329	164	1,679	11,323	5,811
1984	32,979	192	1,821	14,035	7,339

Similarly, during the six-year period 1974-1979, the gross amount of maize produced increased by 50 per cent, while the cultivated area increased by 61 per cent. This undesirable trend occurred at a time when the government was promoting the extensive use of modern production technologies, such as chemical fertilizers, pesticides, improved seed varieties, and improved techniques. The more the government emphasized the use of such technologies, the higher the cost of production became for the farmers.

By the fourth National Economic and Social Development Plan (1977-1981), industry was able to produce enough to meet domestic consumption needs. The government had invested considerably in the construction of the basic physical infrastructure for future industrialization. In a policy shift, it now established a policy of exporting industrial products. This also implied a shift of emphasis from agricultural exports to the industrial sector.

The policy, which gave effective economic incentives to entrepreneurs, was successful in terms of higher GDP rates. Yet the government had no concrete policy for developing technology on a self-reliant basis. The country continued importing foreign hardware technologies and iron-based materials for industrial purposes, increasing the trade deficit. S&T-trained manpower was still engaged primarily in machine operation and maintenance. But for the government, technology screening was not important as long as the country benefited from the exported products. And in the agricultural sector, although production rose the problem of the high cost of production was not addressed and farmers suffered.

During the fifth National Economic and Social Development Plan (1982-1986), the government continued its policy of industrial pro motion for exports. This policy was reinforced by the discovery of petroleum. The policy for agricultural development also remained the same as in the preceding Plan. Experience with the Plan indicates that the poor structure of S&T development had not been sufficiently remedied.

Since the first National Economic Development Plan initiated in 1961, the country has followed a constant policy of purchasing foreign technologies, particularly hard industrial technologies and iron-based materials. The agriculture sector, in contrast, has been able to generate its own indigenous techniques for agriculture. But some modern production inputs in agriculture have been imported on a continuous basis. These indicate not only a heavy trade deficit, but also a lack of interest in developing one's own technology.

An evaluation of thailand's present S&T situation: a macro-level study

The question of whether Thailand can achieve self-reliance in science and technology will be discussed by means of a techno-system model.

The general techno-system model shown in figure 2 has three major components, namely, the input, the techno-system, and the output. The input component is made up of a number of systems, functional subcomponents such as the infrastructure, manpower, and management. The techno-system component consists of subcomponents like the R&D system, the diffusion system, and the knowledge stock system. The techno-system used has both a direct and an indirect output.

Unlike the direct output, which is measurable, the indirect output seems to be complicated, requiring a knowledge of several disciplines - economic, social, and environmental - and resources to measure it. The economic impacts are primarily concerned with, for example, the proportion of the R&D cost to the product cost, and the proportion of the trade deficit to the production cost. The social impacts are concerned with the social capability of the country to absorb the relevant technologies being developed or introduced. The environmental impacts reflect pollution problems, particularly in terms of the capability of the country to control them. Finally, the resource impacts focus upon the capability of the country to control and utilize local resources.

There are seven possible levels of ability to use technology. Table 3 summarizes the level of technology use and the desirable education of users.

Fig. 2. Techno-system model

Table 3. Level of technology use and desirable education of users

Level	Description	Desirable education
1. Benefit from use	User does not have to concern himself with the operation of technology	Any level only
2. Copy/operate/maintain	User can copy or operate, implement or maintain	Primary
3. Judiciously select	User can make decision to select appropriate technology for his own use	Secondary
4. Replicate	User can copy but able to produce a better output	Vocational or engineering degree
5. Adapt/modify	User can adapt/modify technology to suit his own working conditions	Advanced degree in engineering or long experience
6. Innovate	User able to come up with new product using same concept	Advanced degree with research experience
7. Create	New product based on new concept	As (6) above

In Thailand, 91 per cent of the population has primary education, 8 per cent secondary, and 1 per cent university or vocational. The optimum level of technology use would involve the ability to select technology appropriate to given working conditions. For Thailand to achieve self-reliance and the ability to select technology, she must also be able to implement, manage, operate, and maintain the system.

Five concepts are used to describe the capability of the country to develop the technology suitable to its physical, economic, social, and cultural environments, which constitutes the essence of self-reliance. These capabilities are those of selecting, implementing, managing, operating, and adapting (fig. 3).

The system characteristics are primarily qualitative, namely feedback, diffusion, and memory. Each characteristic is further subdivided into variables which express further details. Each of these is given a value based upon the observations that appear in reports and individual interviews: 1 = absent or low; 2= partly or medium; and 3 = present or high.

Fig. 3. Conceptual framework of S&T self-reliance indicators

Table 4. Indicators of Thailand's self-reliance in science and technology

System characteristic	Variables	Indicators	Empirical references	Value
Indicators of techno system
Goal-setting	Local autonomy	Foreign influence in policy formulation	A certain degree of foreign influence	2
		Existence of plan for local autonomy	- Little interference from government in the production process	3
			- Encouragement of more private participation in macro management
		Vertical integration	- Very weak vertical linkages at all levels	1
	Articulation of techno-system policies	Role of nation in policy for- mutation	- Policy formulation is mostly top-down	1
Control	Role of nation in corporate decision-making	Existence of corporate programme in setting up of national plan	Not clear	1
	S&T selection	Existence of S&T selection	No	1
	Output control	Existence of evaluation programme in the national plan	Not clear	1
	System control	Role of private sector in the system's operation	Some mention	2
		Existence of system evaluation in the national plan	Not clear	1
Dynamics	Adaptations and innovations in the relevant technologies	Number of adaptations and innovations in the relevant technologies	Very few innovations. some adaptations	1
		Quality of technological adaptation and innovation	Specific applications only	1
	Patterns of R&D outputs	Structural feature of R&D outputs	Mostly basic and some applied research	1
	Application of R&D output	Percentage of applicable R&D output to total	About 70% applicable with limited users	2
		Percentage of local R&D products to imports	Very low	1
	Change in manpower with relative know-how	Rate of change of amount of S&T manpower	Increasing at high rate during last decade	3
System memory	Documentation	Existence of local technical library	Subregional distribution	2
		Existence of historical technical statistics	Very few	1
	Quantity and quality of document
System feedbacks	Linkage of process with local R&D	Support of local R&D by the production process	About 50%	2
	Linkage of production process with training and education	Utilization of locally trained technicians and engineers programme	Yes	3
		Utilization of local resource persons	Some foreign influences in policy formulation only	3
System maintenance	Adequacy of local technological educational system	Relevance of curriculum to country´s development needs	Fairly independent, without proper linkage to country's development	2
		Quantity of graduates	Sufficient for local use	3
		Quality of graduates	Thai standard	2
	Adequacy of local supply of industry hardware and maintenance	Local supply of hardware	High percentage of imports	2
Interdependence/ integration	Network of the system	Existence of various components of the techno-system	Yes. but the performance is not impressive	2
		Interdependence/linkage of the subsystem	Rather poor	1
Indicators of outputs
Direct output	Quantity of product	Adequacy for local consumption	Weighted average of production / consumption =1	3
		Percentage of export	Weighted average of export / production = 0 012 - 0 37	2
	Quality of product	Standard	Local standard controls (comparable to ISO)	2
Indicator output	Economic impacts	Individual B/C ratio	Agricultural production = 1; industrial production = ?	2
		National B/C ratio	?	?
		Percentage of S/D cost to production cost	Agricultural production =10.05%: others = 87.8% (1980)	2
		Percentage of trade deficit to production cost	-5.5% (1980)	1
	Social impacts	Social capability in absorbing	Operative capability only	1
		the relevant technologies
		Unemployment	Increasing rate, partly due to improper use of S&T	2
	Environmental impacts	Pollution	Pollution in some main rivers and estuaries in the Gulf of Thailand	2
			Pollution in the food chain
		Pollution-control capability	Industrial law but rather loose control in many ways	1
			No deficit control in the agricultural sector
	Resource impacts	Local resource utilization	Use of local human resources	2
			Use of most available resources
		Resource control capability	No practical control of proper	1
		Output indicator	resource utilization	1.75
		Techno-system indicator		1.74
		Self-reliance indicator		1.745

The result of the analysis of the techno-system in question appears in table 4. Knowledge stock indicators are:

1. Number of research institutions and laboratories.
2. Number of higher education institutions engaged in development of S&T.
3. Number of S&T degree-holders.
4. Number of scientific journals.
5. R&D expenditure.
6. Foreign technological collaboration.
7. Payment for imported technologies.

The analysis gives the self-reliance value of the techno-system as 1.74, which is rather low.

Self-reliance is thought to be weak in the following areas, where the average score is 1.0:

1. The structure of S&T organization reflecting a top-down approach.

2. No mechanism to select imported ideas, concepts, and tangible technologies so that they fit the country's environment.

3. Inadequate efforts to evaluate the progress of both the R&D programmes and the National Development Plan.

4. Insufficient adaptation and innovation, both in quantity and quality.

5. Low proportion of local technologies to imported ones.

6. Doubt about official statistics on R&D development.

7. Lack of linkages in the R&D subsystems.

Case-studies in agriculture

Eight micro-level case-studies were carried out in the agriculture sector to examine the self-reliance strategies. These were on crops (rice, sugar cane, and pineapple), livestock (dairy, cattle, pigs, and poultry), and fisheries (fish and shrimp). Details from the case-studies indicate that the use of technology is uneven, except in a remote farming community. Farmers in all parts of the country are now practicing commercial rather than subsistence agriculture. Thai farmers' behaviour, it was found, is a rational response to social and economic conditions. Poor farmers are unwilling to cooperate in technology-oriented development programmes because they correctly perceive that the programmes often introduce uncertainties, largely because of the higher costs of production. However, once they perceive that assimilation of modern technology is beneficial, they adopt it. The use of technology for agricultural production is, however, uneven because of the technology costs as well as of farm prices. All case-studies at the micro level indicate that, in order to respond to an unstable environment, farmers practice a combination of traditional and modern technologies.

The commodities studied varied in commercial complexity. Rice, pineapple, and sugar cane serve as inputs into the agro-industry of the country. Rice is a primary product that is further processed in a rice mill, while pineapple and sugar cane are processed in a cannery and refinery respectively. Because of the small scale of dairy cattle enterprises, milk produced daily is supplied to small-scale processing plants operated by either the government or the private sector. Inland fish and shrimp production is also small compared to offshore fishery enterprises, and basically supplies the demand of local consumers. Keeping chicken and pigs, on the other hand, because of urban demands, can be a large-scale operation. Even here, however, operations are smaller in the countryside, and largely supply a slaughterhouse that supplies local market demand.

The analysis revealed moderate self-reliance values for rice, chicken, pig, dairy cattle, and shrimp and fish, and low values for pineapple and sugar cane (table 5). The values in all cases do not differ significantly, mainly because a large portion of the techno-system is controlled by a government-supported research organization. It is usually found that the goal settings for all research programmes are mostly determined by the government. Consequently, the number of projects carried out annually and of innovations in agricultural production, as well as the allocation of resources and the system's maintenance, is substantially controllable. A high self-reliance figure is therefore found in all cases for these characteristics. As a result of their freedom from control by the government sector and of other relevant factors, characteristics such as system feedbacks, interdependence, and part of systems maintenance have brought the self-reliance figure down.

The findings suggest a number of measures to remedy the weaknesses of the techno-system. These all concern the effective transfer of technology. The case-studies indicate that there is insufficient evidence to support the proposition that the more sophisticated the technology, the greater its application. Rather, the reverse effect is observed.

These micro-level case-studies have led the study team to put forward two propositions.

Proposition 1. Neither the level of modern S&T nor the extent of its use correlate with self-reliance. The appropriateness of the S&T level, however, correlates significantly with the user's ability.

Proposition 2. There is little correlation between the techno-system value and the techno-system output value. The real meaning of self-reliance in S&T is therefore a functional combination of these two values in accordance with the appropriateness of the S&T and the user's ability.

Table 5. The micro-level stage of self-reliance

	Rice	Pineapple	Sugar cane	Poultry	Pigs	Dairy	Inland shrimp/fish
Linkage with industry	Rice mill	Cannery	Refinery	Slaughterhouse	Slaughterhouse	Cooperative milk-processing plant	Market
S&T self-reliance value	2.16	1.80	1.67	2.15	2.04	2.17	2.00
				(situational)	(situational)
Level of technology usea	**	****	****	***	***	****	****
Strengths of the system	R&D dynamic	As for rice	As for rice	As for rice
	Goal-setting
	Control
	Maintenance
Weaknesses of the	Linkages between production process and sup porting system	As for rice	As for rice	As for rice system
Improvement suggested	Appropriate	As for rice	As for rice	As for rice
	R&D output
	Training
	Publication
	Market information
	Management skill

a. * = very traditional;
***** = very modern. Number of asterisks in one column reflects position between these extremes.

A desirable path

Thailand has attempted to develop technology as a springboard to industrialization. However, one could map out a more desirable path, given the country's limited resources.

Two different concepts, "supply push" and "demand pull," help decide the investment of resources in technology. The former is more applicable to a developed country where unlimited resources exist to be invested in a desired technology. In a resource-poor country like Thailand, demand pull is more relevant, since the limitation in national endowments has to be kept in mind so as not to direct resources to a low-priority sector.

We have used six significant factors to decide whether and where the country should invest: physical infrastructure, natural resources, S&T resources, economics, cultural heritage, and manpower resources and the S&T resource base.

Thailand is considered ready to pursue a path of industrialization and has invested considerable resources in building an infrastructure for industry. Those infrastructures available even at the village community level include, for example, transportation and electrical power. In contrast, the resources invested in agricultural infrastructure are inadequate: irrigation is one example. With limited national resources, the country chose to invest more in industry than in agriculture.

Since the first National Economic Development Plan, Thailand had continuously imported iron material and other industrial items, causing a trade imbalance in the country. This indicates that the heavy investment in industrial infrastructure and the government's incentives have not developed a strong industrial base for the country (table 4). The industrial sector is still at the operative stage of mastery of software technology. In agriculture, on the other hand, software capability (i.e. the farming system) has reached the replicative stage, although capability in hardware technology (i.e. farm machines) is at the operative stage. Because of its modest resource demands, Thailand should promote more development in the agricultural sector.

The rainfall pattern and the type of arable land indicate that all regions of the country except the North-east are suitable for general agricultural production. In some parts of the North-east, rainfall is sufficient for vegetable growing. By and large, Thailand's natural endowments favour agricultural production.

Proportionately, Thailand possesses more land for rice production than the Philippines, Japan, and the Republic of Korea. However, its yield per unit area is lower than that of all these countries, as well as of India and China (table 6). Government statistics also show that the longer the country continues its present production practices in agriculture, the less the productivity of the crops will be. Statistics indicate that increased crop production has in fact been obtained from the expansion of land under cultivation. A favourable policy for agricultural development, economic incentives, and suitable agricultural technologies at the farm level could change this.

In the Republic of Korea, the private sector has to share the cost burden in S&T development. A law was enacted to encourage, indeed force, the industrial community to train technicians by, for example, providing vocational schools. Since 1982, the Korean government has devised a mechanism to encourage the private sector to increase investment in R&D and in related technological activities. As a consequence, investment by the private sector in technological capability, including R&D, has increased sharply. A similar situation exists in Japan. Much constructive experience in technological self-reliance can be drawn from the Japanese and Korean examples. These experiences could be fruitfully used to direct S&T development in Thailand.

To increase "hardware" capability in Thailand, it is suggested that:

1. All involved in "hardware" work (e.g. skilled workers and producers)? regardless of the size of the factory, should be registered.

2. Skill development should be promoted through training programmes.

3. Academic institutions should be encouraged to achieve higher standards.

4. Professional associations should be established as centres of exchange of perspectives, skills, and production. Central institutions with responsibility for developing and replicating skills and production should also be established, and a network for communicating technological information among institutions should be set up to facilitate technology transfer.

To increase self-reliance, efforts should be made to carry out exploration for raw materials that are now imported as well as to develop alternative materials. R&D in agriculture and industry should ensure that research results are more accessible to users. All research programmes, moreover, should be continuously evaluated.

The study results indicate that the development of technical skills through an exchange training programme would be useful. Materials science, metal processing, and industrial process design are priority disciplines. An international network in S&T information, aimed at achieving self-reliance, should be another focus of cooperation.

Table 6. Relationship between the harvested area of rice and the yield per unit area

	Harvested area (millions of rai)a					Yield per rai (kg)
Country	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981
Thailand	55.68	55.84	54.08	56.86	56.90	225	312	291	305	312
India	251.76	243.62	243.58	253.12	250.00	314	331	261	328	328
Philippines	21.93	21.68	21.11	21.56	21.85	314	332	345	345	353
China	231.73	210.95	216.19	213.63	215.50	559	655	680	666	678
USA	5.68	7.51	7.25	8.33	9.61	791	804	825	790	874
Japan	17.23	15.92	15.60	14.85	14.23	987	1.027	958	820	901
Republic of Korea	7.55	7.68	7.70	7.62	7.65	1,098	1,086	1,023	787	919

a. 1 rai = 0.16 hectare.

Human resources development for industry requires that the majority of the population possess a basic knowledge of science and technology. Education is investment capital. Yet the people in Thailand are holding back progress, since the majority do not possess sufficient technical skills and knowledge for national development, particularly in industry. Formal, informal, and non-formal education could be used to change this situation. Higher education opportunities for the rural population should be rapidly expanded.

Thailand would benefit from an educational exchange programme, which would increase the capability of its human resources. Mutual assistance in technology should be developed through training programmes. A country cannot develop in a vacuum - it needs to acquire the relevant essential information. Information from indigenous or exogenous sources has to be organized in networks, so that it can be widely accessed by institutions and used in an open-minded and cooperative manner.

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