Research & Article

The Greater Chao Phya project is the largest water control project in Thailand, covering a total of 910,000 hectares (5 .7 million rai) in the Central Plain. Although the project was originally designed to improve production conditions in the wet season, attention in recent years has been focused on dry season production. Disappointment with the rate of growth of dry season cropping has led to criticisms of the project and to proposals for further investment to improve the capability of the system to support dry season production. In a recent study I have attempted to identify and measure the effects of this project on crop production (Small 1972). As a part of that study I investigated certain aspects of the historical development of the project, as recorded in published materials available in English. The information and conclusions resulting from this investigation are presented in this article.