Throughout much of the 20th century, the Golden Triangle region of Northern Thailand was known best for its illicit opium trade. By the end of the century, due to intense government campaigns, opium had been virtually eradicated and the region saw a rise of new cash crops such as tangerines. By 2006, tangerine farmers who had entered the market to produce a once-profitable, highly-demanded commodity experienced huge losses as the over-saturated market exceeded consumer demand, forcing small and medium farms out of business. Competition was high, resources were costly, and new trade agreements affected the flow of imports and exports, particularly with China. Once-fertile land was stripped of nutrients as a result of ecologically unsustainable farming practices, practices whose residual effects included human illness and environmental degradation. In 2011, our research group traveled to the Chiang Mai province of Northern Thailand to investigate the sources of the crash from macro, micro, ecological and cultural perspectives. Our final conclusion is that poor government guidance and regulation of the tangerine industry in Thailand tacitly encouraged a boom and bust cycle and undesirable economic, environmental, and local effects. Note: All students are 2011 C of I graduates. This poster is also being presented at the the 2012 AsiaNetwork Conference in Portland Oregon, On March 30-31. Morgan Bow Hansen will represent the student team at the C of I SRCs

Tangerine Dreams: Boom and Bust in Northern Thailand