Abstract:
The objectives of this research are as follows. 1)To study the general views of the farmers in Tha Chang district. 2) To study the factors influencing the fermers acceptance of new advances in agricultural technology. 3) To study the effects of new advances in agricultural technology on farmers. From the research, it was found that educational level, frequency of obtaining informations and objectives of doing paddy farming have statistically significant relations with the acceptance of new advances in agricultural technology at level 0.05, which is consistent with the Development Potential-Diffusion and Diffusion of Innovation theories. Factors which were not statistically significant were family size, paddy field size, and income level. With regard to the effects of new advances in agricultural technology on farmers, both positive and negative effects were found after their application by the farmers. The positive effects are (1) farmers can sell their products at a belter price and at a higher quantity (2) less labor is needed, and (3) the new advance facilitate the work of the farmers. The negative effects are (1) the quality of the soil deteriorate and becomes unproductive, (2)more money is required for investment, and (3)the physical condition of the farmers decline.