The COVID-19 Pandemic's lasting consequences for tropical crop cultivation in Eastern Thailand

The global COVID-19 pandemic disrupted supply chains, altered market dynamics, and reshaped labor availability in agricultural communities worldwide. Today, we can begin to see some of the lasting consequences of these disruptions and farmer responses to them. This article reports on the lasting consequences of farmer adaptations to pandemic disruptions identified via in-depth interviews and farm visits in Eastern Thailand. The research team completed structured interviews with 52 farmers and 10 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders in June–July 2024. Farmers indicated using more heavy machinery (33 % before the pandemic grew to 44 % of farmers after the pandemic) and adopting new distribution channels like e-commerce (33 % before the pandemic grew to 54 % of farmers after the pandemic). Qualitative interviews revealed further shifts including participating in cooperatives to reduce costs and maximize profits, attending more to health and hygiene practices, and pursuing crop diversification due to self-sufficiency concerns. Many of these shifts continue to be in place post-pandemic in ways that produce lasting consequences for environmental systems associated with utilizing heavy machinery, changing inputs, and diversifying crop types; social systems by shifting relations between consumers and producers and between farmers; and economic systems in the expansion of online markets and value-added goods. These findings have important implications for agricultural policy and resiliency planning, informing other regions with similar agricultural systems, and contributing to understanding of agricultural resilience, sustainable food systems, and adaptation in the face of global challenges.