Future of Food: Journal on Food

Thailand’s maize seed market structure, conduct, performance

Orachos Napasintuwong
Kasetsart University

Seed is one of the fastest-growing industries in agricultural sector, and maize seed industry in Thailand is one of the most developed and most advanced industries compared to other developing countries. The success of maize seed industry in Thailand is due to public and international organizations’ contributions in building infrastructure for research and promoting the role of the private sector in the industry during the early years, and a long-term commitment of investment in research and development by private companies added to the expansion of the industry. Building on this success, this paper aims at analysing the industry structure, conduct and performance of the maize seed industry in Thailand to provide recommendations for seed business development, and policy recommendations for Thailand to become a leader of seed industry in the region. The results from this study suggest that maize seed industry in Thailand is oligopolistic and moderately concentrated. The business conduct of maize seed firms are differentiation of prices and products, principally varieties suitable to segmented markets. The business performance of the maize seed firms suggested that large multination companies have larger market power from product innovation, but local small business can still profitably participate in the oligopolistic competition environment if they effectively generate sales revenue using public varieties. It is suggested that policies towards building research capacity of local companies will be needed to elevate the competitiveness of local business which will encourage future sustainable development of Thailand’s seed industry.

Keywords : maize, seed, market structure, business conduct, performance .

Myanmar High School Students’ Perceptions of College and International Readiness in Western Society

Mark Speckien
Louisiana Tech University
Mark Speckien
Louisiana Tech University
International students are more likely to experience mental health issues and increased stress. Mental health is often surrounded by negative societal stigmas that act as barriers to seeking support and tend to lead to greater mental health concerns. International students tend to seek socioemotional support from other international student peers rather than seeking out counseling services. However, this study shows that LGBTQIA+ international students were less likely to seek socioemotional support from other international student peers due to fear of their sexual orientation being discovered and their families finding out about their identity. This study examines how LGBTQIA+ international students talk about their experiences on and off campus in relations to their socioemotional well-being. Specifically, this study sought to better understand the complexities of LGBTQIA+ students’ identities, and the challenges they faced in terms of their socioemotional well-being. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.
Keywords : international students, socioemotional well-being, mental health, identity development, intersectionality, LGBTQIA