ห่วงโซ่อุปทานการเลี้ยงจิ้งหรีดเชิงพาณิชย์ของเกษตรกรในจังหวัดขอนแก่น

Supply Chain of Commercial Cricket Farms in Khon Kaen Province

Abstract

This research is in the field of Social Sciences and is qualitative research.  The objective was to study the supply chain of commercial cricket farms in Khon Kaen province.  The study site was San Tor Village Moo.8 of Bua Yai Subdistrict, Nam Phong City of Khon Kaen Province.  Data were collected using methods of a focus group discussion, an In-depth Interview and observations.  Supply Chain was used as a conceptual framework to analyze the data.  Results found that 1) the upstream supply chain consisted of building cricket houses by constructing pillars of concrete or eucalyptus wood, covering them with a corrugated iron roof, building a low fence approximately 60 centimetres of bricks and concrete; selecting materials including cricket ponds, plastic bowls, small food and water plates, green shading netting and paper egg trays; selecting species of crickets to farm such as House Cricket – Acheta domesticus, Field or Common Cricket – Gryllus bimoculatus, and Teleogryllus mitratus); raising-relying on the life cycle of the crickets- and harvesting by hitting paper egg tray to make crickets falling down into a big bowl and picking them up from the cricket ponds.  2) The middle stream of the supply chain related to the farmers distributing and transporting crickets by making appointments with middlemen to come to the village to buy crickets when the crickets fully mature.  The middlemen set prices considering species and season.  3) The downstream supply chain revealed that there were three groups of customers including consumers (both local and from other provinces in the Northeast), other cricket farmers, and tourists.  The customers bought small quantities to eat or use as bait for fishing.  The farmers set retail price though a village meeting. 

Keywords:  Crickets, Supply Chain, Commercial Cricket Farm