Reconfiguring Farming Systems of Smallholders with Market-Led Approach: A Case Study in Northeast Thailand

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Dear Authors

Studies in the agricultural field are very valuable studies and their publication is of vital importance. It seems that you have carried out an important fieldwork and obtained important information. However, the process of turning this information into a manuscript is as important as the performance process in the field. For this reason, supporting the background of the study (introductory part) and its findings with the relevant reference publications in the literature (recent studies) and keeping the boundaries between the chapter titles more clearly will make the study more valuable.

Point 1	Line 11	In the abstract part, what is the background of the research, that is, what is the main problem that leads to this subject?
Point 2	Line 23-25	In the introduction part, the subject is introduced and references are made to the studies in the related literature. Therefore, references in the relevant literature should be cited for sentences containing claims or definitions. Another example line 29-31
Point 3	Line 36	According to the journal rules (unless the journal rules have changed), references should be shown as [1].
Point 4	Line 49-52	Add reference (lines 49-52)
Point 5	Line 54	Edit this reference.
Point 6	Line 83-87	At the end of the introduction, the purpose of the research is emphasized. This section should be presented in my material method section
Point 7	Line 88-91	This sentence should be presented in the introduction section
Point 8	Line 91-94	This sentence should be presented in the conclusion
Point 9	Line 103	Is this "Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)" method a newly produced method by the researchers for this study? If not, a reference should be added for this method.
Point 10	Line 111	Place the tables or figures that you use as references (research findings) in the text in the closest position to the sentence you first referenced.
Point 11	Line 114	If you are using an abbreviation for an expression in the text, after the first sentence you use, use the abbreviated form of the same expression in the rest of the text. (PRA)
Point 12	Line 170	In the conclusion and discussion section, you stated that you discussed the results in three sections. There is the first, but the second and third are not specified in the continuation.
Point 13	Line 173-175	It is better to give this reference (Sanginga et 174 al. (2004)) after explaining the results in steps 1-5.
Point 14	Line 409	This reference (UN, 2012) should be cited in the references section
Point 15	Line 362, 473	What is the explanation for this GAP (certificate and standards) abbreviation?
Point 16	Line 499-508	This section should be presented in the conclusions and discussions section
Point 17	Line 574	Please check. Table 1 is not used as a reference in the text.

Author Response

Dear reviewer,

              Thank you very much for your valuable comments to help improve the manuscript. Following is our revisions to each points of your suggestions.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

It is a descriptive article, which contemplates a set of initiatives that are important today. Initiatives that focus on organic cultivation, on seeking alternatives to obtain profitable food for the farmer and with less need for water, on diversifying, on intercropping horticultural crops with woody plants (on carrying out diverfarming practices, which with the help of the figure 6, which shows a monthly calendar of crops carried out during the investigation, would allow crop planning that could generate income for almost the entire year), as well as encourage the local market (thus cushioning the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere). Therefore, I consider that this work should be disseminated.

The authors have pointed out in their conclusions that many points remain to be addressed; among these pending points, the idea of constituting a cooperative stands out, which has been mentioned in the text. Concept that has not been oriented towards the action of the implantation of cooperatives in the study area. But I advise the researchers or authors of this work to consider the contents of the International Cooperative Alliance and propose the implementation based on some cooperative principles, which would possibly alleviate the problems presented during the investigation.

If the information collected by a group of researchers is to be disseminated internationally, since this publication is open, it must provide the units and measures according to an international agreement. For example: how much is a baht? Express it in euros or dollars which would be more appropriate. Also, the term Rai, as a measure of surface, how many hectares is it?

It would be convenient to make certain considerations, for example:

• Keywords are not very successful. Between agrarian and rural development, what differences have been raised?

• Present the SWOT Matrix synthetically, because of your research.

• Explain the meaning of "No Remittance" (case of type A exploitation type or of "Trust in remittance" (case of type D exploitation).

• Give a somewhat broader explanation, if it is possible, of the concept of co-innovation since it is a key element in the work.

• Check that all tables and figures have been mentioned in the text.

Author Response

Dear reviewer,

              Thank you very much for your valuable comments to help improve the manuscript. Following is our revisions to each points of your suggestions.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf