Thailand is one of the world's important agricultural and rice-producing countries, but its farming systems are increasingly exposed to climatic variability, including drought, floods, heat stress, irregular rainfall and changing water availability. These pressures interact with soil constraints, crop water requirements, greenhouse-gas emissions, salinity and the socioeconomic vulnerability of smallholder farmers. This review synthesizes evidence on climate-related risks and adaptation opportunities in Thailand, with particular emphasis on rice-based systems, water management, soil health and climate-smart agronomy. Evidence from Thailand indicates that climate effects are spatially heterogeneous. In northeast Thailand, where a large proportion of rice is rain-fed, temperature trends and drought indices have been associated with variation in rice productivity, while drought and soil salinity can interact with nutrient limitations. Crop-modelling studies indicate that future warming and changing rainfall may increase irrigation requirements and reduce water productivity in some rain-fed systems, although projected effects differ by basin, crop, management practice and climate scenario. Recent research also indicates that management practices such as water-saving irrigation, crop diversification, improved soil management, organic amendments and better matching of crop calendars to climatic conditions can increase resilience. Rice remains central to the analysis, but cassava, maize, soybean and mung bean are also relevant to diversification strategies. The review argues that Thailand's agricultural adaptation should move from isolated farm-level responses toward integrated climate-smart systems combining water governance, crop and varietal diversification, soil-carbon management, improved weather information, precision agriculture and locally appropriate farmer support. The paper concludes that resilient agriculture in Thailand will depend on combining productivity objectives with efficient water use, soil conservation, greenhouse-gas mitigation and adaptive capacity at farm, watershed and policy levels.
Keywords:Thailand; agricultural science; climate change; rice; drought; flood; water management; soil health; climate-smart agriculture; crop diversification; irrigation; resilience