Many rural households in North East Thailand grow cassava and other food crops on sandy upland soil and rice on lowland clayey soil. These crops provide only a small income and the simple farming system leads to land degradation. In the 1990s, some farmers initiated management changes and developed integrated farming. Farmer networks emerged to counteract recent social and physical degradation. Successful methods include use of water for multiple productive purposes and integrated farming. The new way of farming is appreciated by the national government. It gives support through subsidies and a new water law that will give responsibility for rural water management to new local Water Resources Committees.