PM satisfied with farm debt solutions

 

 

BANGKOK, 13th August 2018 (NNT) – Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha is content with the government’s farm debt settlement program which has so far helped 36,000 indebted farmers. 

Government Spokesperson Lt Gen Sansern Kaewkamnerd said the prime minister is satisfied with the work of the government-appointed debt relief committee tasked with assisting members of the Farmer's Reconstruction and Development Fund. 

Since May 2017, 36,000 indebted farmers have been reached out to. Many of them have seen their debts cut in half. 

Lt Gen Sansern noted that the Office of Farmer's Reconstruction and Development Fund, the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, and the Department of Agricultural Extension have been assigned to restructure the debt system and increase farmers’ ability to meet their monthly payments through career development and income generation. 

The next round of applications for the Farmer's Reconstruction and Development Fund will open for 60 days starting this August 15th. This time, farmers with debts of higher 2.5 million baht are eligible to apply.

 

-- nnt 2018-08-13

 

2 hours ago, webfact said:

PM satisfied with farm debt solutions

Those farmers in debt will be so pleased to hear his sentiments. And this is coming from the famous micro-manager himself. From deckchairs to pavement to twerking; he is the go-to man.

Not saying that farmers debt is not important to them but he has a Department and Ministers to attend to these matters.

As a Prime Minister he should be concerning himself more with the national debt and the wastage of money by himself and his government on populist policies and programmes.

The PROPOSED solution has not helped one farmer yet, but he is satisfied.   This buffoon is just a cheerleader for his fractured government. 

29 minutes ago, yellowboat said:

The PROPOSED solution has not helped one farmer yet, but he is satisfied.   This buffoon is just a cheerleader for his fractured government. 

I'm no way a Prayut fan. I see you added 'proposed'. Reading the article, it states:

4 hours ago, webfact said:

"Since May 2017, 36,000 indebted farmers have been reached out to. Many of them have seen their debts cut in half."

I take it this is continuing the quote from Government Spokesperson Lt Gen Sansern Kaewkamnerd. If so, is this a lie? Are there no farmers who have been 'seen their debts cut in half'?

It's a straight question, based solely on the above article.

 

So now does this open more doors to Troubling businesses and Other problem Areas Seeking Money ?

36,000 in the last 15 months !!

How many farmers in Thailand are in debt ?? I'll take a guess that it is a lot more than 36,000, a lot more....

24 minutes ago, cornishcarlos said:

36,000 in the last 15 months !!

How many farmers in Thailand are in debt ?? I'll take a guess that it is a lot more than 36,000, a lot more....

http://immf-thailand.org/articles/thaifarmers.html

 

This news put things in the right perspective. The number of farmers in debt was 88% of 25 million in August this year. Pittance what the junta has done and nothing for blubbermouth Sansern to gloat. 

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Many of them have seen their debts cut in half. 

Up to 34% of the current household debt is still managed by the informal sector.

May 10, 2018 updated survey by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) based on 1,194 respondents whose income is lower than 15,000 baht per month:

• 96% of them were in debt
• average debt per household at 137,988 baht, the highest level in 10 years, up by almost 5% from 2017
• 85.4% of respondents have defaulted on debt repayments in the past 12 months

The cause: lower income, higher expenses, rising product prices, and a higher debt burden and interest rates.

https://www.thailand-business-news.com/economics/68930-thai-workers-debt-hits-10-years-high.html

Hardly a success story for the Prayut administration.

Just indirectly subsidizing the farmers 

13 hours ago, webfact said:

Many of them have seen their debts cut in half.

How many is "many"? What is the percentage? What has been done to prevent the problem from growing? Not sure who is doing less....the reporter or the PM? How the reporter bowed properly before taking this picture and burned incense to the PM's picture before going to the event!

He doesn't realise that there is no solution to this problem other than debt cancellation and then the banning of farmers borrowing money...which would be politically welcome to start with and then counterproductive later as the farmers would just want to rush back into debt again and get the hump if the government won't 'play ball'. Doesn't look like there is a reasonable solution to this and what he's doing now is nothing other than the tax payer bailing out the foolish farmers...whether rice/fruit or rubber ones. Not sustainable in the long run imo. Subsidies for farming get you two things (if you don't allow them to get into too much debt), firstly it gives you food security...and secondly, it stops the peasants turning up at government offices waving pitchforks. I guess, in Europe, that means no French farmers driving their tractors to block the ports.

PM satisfied with farm debt solutions

 

At least one is satisfied with farm debt solutions, but not the farmers. 

 

Just looking at the photo makes my blood boil. Perhaps he's talking about other farmers, not the ones I know? 

It is also a 2 edged sword,  how many farmers do you know that have a new pick ,that they probably do not need, and are building, or have built a house, too big for them, all on the knock, sending kids  to university  for 4 years, so when they come home they will be just working on the farm .

 

But, it would help the farmers if the crop they sell was a more realistic price.

Farmers are now harvesting they maize crop, around here they are selling the crop for 5.50 baht/ kg, which does not leave a much of a profit margin if any, it will be the middlemen again that will make the money when they sell they crop on.

Cassava was the same last year a low price, and do not ask about rubber prices , or Blar-Dok, Catfish.

 

Farmers just nee,d a good price for they crops, not subsidies ,but with the likes of CPF and Betagrow,  big agriculture companies, dominating the markets, they are all right buying cheap commodities, and are quite happy to let the government/taxpayer subsidise the farmers, and  they are probably in cohorts with the higher arckey of government.