Changes in Agriculture in Areas of Minor Irrigation Works Resulting from the Development of Delta Regions in Southeast Asia

在开始开垦三角洲时，缅甸中部平原的东德丁义地区还没有以旱地种植为中心的开发，但小型灌溉系统最初导致了稻田的发展，只有当这些系统不能进一步开发时，才推进种植诸如芝麻和花生等高利润作物的旱地田地。到20世纪初，小规模灌溉系统已经发展到了最大容量。灌溉系统的有效管理和水的分配由农民雇用的Sedain和/或Myaungzaw等承包商指挥。这种维护堰和运河的承包商管理制度是由于先进而精细的旱地耕作对人力的需求增加而建立的。另一方面，在泰国东北部，由于1900年湄南河地区修建了一条铁路，稻米和其他商品的价格上涨，加快了稻米生产。水稻种植在当地农民在地区官员、村长或僧侣的领导下修建的Tham NOP(洪水分散堤坝)系统灌溉的田地里。自20世纪50年代S以来，泰国东北部一直在种植甘蔗和木薯等旱地经济作物。土壤只适合种植这些作物。20世纪80年代，S在盐碱地和沙地上引种种植茉莉花。这些水稻消费社会的农业不是通过将作物生产分成不同的地区来弥补每个地区的生态特点，而是努力在各自的地区建立自给自足的水稻生产体系。

There had been no development concentrating on upland cultivation in the Taungdwingyi region of the Myanmar Central plain when the reclamation of the delta was begun, but small scale irrigation systems led to the development of rice fields at first, and only when these systems could be exploited no further was the cultivation of upland fields for highly profitable crops such as sesame and groundnut advanced. Small scale irrigation systems had been developed to their maximum capacity by the early 20th century. The efficient management of the irrigation systems and the distribution of water were under the command of such contractors as Sedain and/or Myaungzaw who were hired by the peasants. This contractor management system for the maintenance of weirs and canals was established due to the increased demand for manpower of an advanced and elaborated upland cultivation.On the other hand, in Northeast Thailand rice production was accelerated owing to the rise in the price of rice and other commodities following the construction of a railway from the Chaophraya region in 1900. Rice was cultivated in fields irrigated by Tham Nop (embankment for the dispersal of flood water) system constructed by local peasants under the leadership of district officers, village headmen or Buddhist monks. Upland commercial crops such as sugarcane and cassava have been cultivated since the 1950's in Northeast Thailand. The soils are suitable only for these crops. During the 1980's jasmine rice was introduced and cultivated in the salty and sandy soil there.Agriculture in these rice-consuming societies did not compensate for the ecological characteristics of each region by dividing crop production into separate areas, but endeavoured to construct self-sufficient systems of rice production in the respective regions.