Suphan Buri
Chao Phraya rice bowl (30% of Thailand output) ranked among 10 most climate-vulnerable provinces—sugar cane swings from 105M to 80M tons on drought cycles.
Suphan Buri feeds Bangkok from Thailand's rice bowl but ranks among the ten provinces most adversely affected by climate change. The Chao Phraya River Basin—encompassing Suphan Buri, Ayutthaya, and Ang Thong—produces approximately 30% of national rice output through extensive irrigation and fertile alluvial soil. The same hydrology that enables production also exposes the province to flooding and drought cycles intensifying under climate stress.
Q1 2025 brought relief: crop production expanded 4.2% year-on-year as La Niña conditions increased water availability. Sugar cane and rice yields improved; the 2024/25 cane harvest projects 92 million tons yielding 10.1 million tons of sugar. But drought years devastate: 2023-24 cane output dropped to 80 million tons from 105 million projected. The province oscillates between abundance and scarcity based on monsoon patterns increasingly difficult to predict.
Don Chedi monument marks where King Naresuan defeated the Burmese crown prince in 1593—a victory commemorated with annual elephant parades. Thai-Danish Dairy Farm operates one of the largest dairy operations in Southeast Asia. By 2026, Suphan Buri faces the agricultural question climate change poses everywhere: can irrigation and breeding adapt faster than rainfall patterns destabilize?