The agricultural landscape around Bangkok, Thailand, is clearly visible in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite image, acquired on 9 February 2025. At the center of the scene lies the Thai capital, one of Southeast Asia’s largest and most densely populated urban hubs. To the north and west, patterns of farmland dominate the view, shaped by centuries of cultivation fed by the Chao Phraya River and its tributaries.
With more than 66 million inhabitants, Thailand’s economy relies heavily on its agriculture and food sector. Roughly 46% of the country’s workforce is employed in this sector, which contributes 10–15% of national income and accounts for a similar share of exports. Key crops include rice, cassava, maize, and banana – staples both for domestic consumption and trade.
The contrast between urban and rural zones around Bangkok also reflects the dual role of the Chao Phraya River, which supports both modern infrastructure and traditional farming systems. Copernicus satellites provide vital data to this sector, helping monitor crop health, assess land use, and improve yield forecasts, especially in low-lying and flood-prone regions like central Thailand.
According to the Crop Trust, over 13-26% of the food energy consumed in Thailand originates from crops not native to the region. Though the country maintains 68,495 documented crop varieties in local collections, this number is far smaller than the over 700,000 stored globally in international genebanks.
In 2002, Thailand joined the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, aligning with over 130 other countries in a shared effort to conserve and share crop diversity essential to global food security.
Featured image credit: European Union, Copernicus Sentinel-2 imagery
