Farmer happiness late this year rose 2.37% year-on-year to 82.6%, a level considered very happy, with those living in the eastern region ranking the happiest, according to the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives' (BAAC) poll.
The higher happiness could be attributed to rising farm product prices and the state's recent measures to assist farmers, said BAAC president Apirom Sukprasert.
The state-backed farm bank conducted the happiness survey from Sept 24 to Oct 10, gathering 1,650 respondents across the country.
Prices for a number of crops including rice paddy, maize and fruit have improved, with the farm income index jumping 6.1% during the three months through June, compared with a 2.1% contraction in the previous quarter, he said.
Government assistance to farmers and low-income earners through several projects has boosted their income, helped them cut down costs and increased production efficiency.
The cabinet recently approved financial assistance measures for farmers to help shore up the agricultural sector. In the first of the two measures, 3.81 million BAAC borrowers are allowed to reschedule their principal repayment for three years from Aug 1, 2018 to July 31, 2021.
Farmers who want to take part in the project are required to submit applications to the BAAC by Dec 31, 2018. Participating farmers are required to repay interest at least once a year during the three-year grace period.
In the second measure, the government cut lending rates for small-scale farmers from Aug 1, 2018 to July 31, 2019, covering only the first 300,000 baht of debt.
The state covers 2.5% of the interest rate, while the BAAC shoulders 0.5%.
Mr Apirom said happiness among families, at 88.3%, was the highest of the six factors used to measure the index, followed by society at 86.6%, health at 84.5%, job at 82.2%, the quest for knowledge at 78.3% and financial position at 75.1%.
The scores for all six factors were in the "very happy" territory, he said.
Fruit growers were the happiest, followed by those who grow cassava and maize, respectively.
Employers in the farming sector felt the least happiness, said Mr Apirom.
According to a breakdown by region, farmers from the eastern region were the happiest at 85% because it is the main fruit region, he said.
The higher fruit prices were attributable to demand from both domestic and overseas markets, said Mr Apirom.
Those living in the lower Northeast were the second happiest at 84.4%, with the lower North rated 84.3%, as both are areas where cassava is grown. Farmers in the South rated as the least happy at 79.6%.