The primary objective of Land Settlement Cooperatives is to allocate land to farmers who having either no land or small holding to make use for their living earning. Its operational scope is the same as that of agricultural cooperatives. However, land settlement cooperatives put more emphasis on land development including familiarizing members with appropriate farming techniques and modern irrigation methods.             Allocation of land to farmers by cooperative method was first practiced in 1935 in Lumlookka district, Pathumthani province. Total farmland of 4,109 rai was purchased from the Ministry of Finance for allotment in the form of land hire-purchase cooperative. Later in 1938, by the government's issuance of the Royal Decree Determining the Forcible Area in Chiengmai province, the first Land Settlement Cooperative was established in Sansai district, Chiengmai province, covering the area of 8,913 rai, and was followed by the establishment of another Land Settlement Cooperative in the area of 54,798 rai in Muang district, Samutsakorn province. Another Land Settlement Cooperative type called Land-tenant Cooperative was established in 1975, in the deteriorated national forest reserve area in Bang-saparn district, Prachuab-Kirikhan province, covering the area of 46,974 rai with initial membership of 1,232 families.             As mentioned earlier, land settlement cooperative is organized to solve the problem of landless farmers or farmers with insufficient land holdings. It's also aimed to improve tenancy and squatting condition in public land or forest reserve area by allocation of land from which they could earn their living through cooperative system. The major task of the government in developing Land Settlement Cooperatives is covered two main aspects: arrangement of land and establishment of cooperative.   Home | About Us | Contact Us | Links | News 701/29-33 Wongsawang Road, Bangsue Sub-district Bangsue Area, Bangkok 10800, Thailand. Tel : (662) 910-8911 Fax : (662) 587-6637, 910-8920 E-mail contact@fsct.com