CLIMATE CHANGE THREATENS TRADITIONAL HARVESTS

Chom Thong Province, Thailand - June 2025

In the rural district of Chom Thong, in northwestern Thailand at the edge of Doi Inthanon National Park—known as the “roof of Thailand”—small groups of farmers climb tall sugar palms each day to harvest luktan, a coconut-like fruit with a gelatinous pulp consumed fresh or in syrup throughout Southeast Asia. The harvesting is still done using traditional methods: climbing up to 20 meters with bare hands and a knife at the waist to cut the clusters before the rains damage the fruit.

The rainy season began nearly a month earlier than usual, bringing intense rainfall to northern Thailand and shortening the harvesting window. This shift in the monsoon pattern, unusual for the region, reflects the extreme weather fluctuations increasingly linked to climate change in Southeast Asia. The rains alter the pulp’s texture, dilute the sap, and accelerate fruit spoilage. Unseasonal heat in the preceding weeks also affected both the quantity and quality of the fruit.

“We harvest until it rains. Once it starts, we stop—it's too dangerous to climb,” says Khun Yak, a farmer in charge of a small plot in the village. “We sell the fruit in Chiang Mai markets, but also in other provinces. This year we lost several weeks of work due to sudden rainfall.” In many communities, it is now mainly older farmers who continue this work. “Young people prefer to seek jobs in the city. Climbing tall palms every day under the sun for a fruit that earns less and less just isn’t worth it.”

These recent climatic shifts, combined with changing lifestyles among the younger generations, could jeopardize the livelihood of thousands of families who have long depended on this form of agriculture.

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