Spatial distribution of roadside stalls selling agricultural products in northeast Thailand

Abstract

In the northeast Thailand, the number of roadside stalls carrying mainly agricultural products has been increasing. The stall sellers are rice-based farmers. However, only a limited number of studies have been carried out to cover stall distribution and its implications on the local agricultural product market. The reserch finding presented the spatial distribution of roadside stalls and identifies the types of products being sold in different parts of northeast Thailand. It expected that stall distribution may be related to more or less direct marketing of local agricultural products. There were 47 clusters with a total of approximately 1,100 stalls along the surveyed routes. The density of the roadside stalls was highest on roads in the mountainous zones, which lead to popular tourist attraction sites, and on heavily traveled roads that connected to most of the provinces. Almost all of the products sold in each roadside stall cluster are locally produced. Farmers in the mountainous zone have potential to produce a variety of high-value products. In the lowland zone where there were many stalls, most carried only a few primary agricultural products. However, it was found that roadside stalls had the potential to help farmers to sell their products in direct and indirect market systems. It can be served as a strategy for smallholders to gain access to agricultural direct markets.