PM Prayut: Farmers should work in groups to achieve economy of scale

[Cake Monster]

If you farmers all work together, you will all still be piss poor, but on a larger scale.

[Billy Bloggs]

I cant  even get them to help with a road they all use, I tried the put in so much for materials, dropped that idea, so asked can they give some time to work on it, that didnt float either, at least we only use half of it, the other half is slowly becoming impassable.

 

As other have said they wont change unless they can see the benefit.

[rosst]

In Communist countries they are called cooperatives 

[Cadbury]

I am absolutely amazed at what farmers produce given the number of hammock swingers and family freeloaders that exist all over the country.

[chama]

13 hours ago, Cadbury said:

Nothing like a bit of good advice from agricultural experts like the PM. I hope the farmers are grateful.

Now that's leadership! No specific guidance, just deep, well thought out guidance, "do a good job, work together". What insight!

[Sir Dude]

13 hours ago, Cadbury said:

Nothing like a bit of good advice from agricultural experts like the PM. I hope the farmers are grateful.

That's spot on man. As if he or his advisers could even slightly comprehend the plight of such people and then nonchalantly gives out advise to the lower beings who find it difficult to get along with each other on this front, as it's all every man for himself in the villages...facepalm.

[xtrnuno41]

 

ok now you get it? source wikipedia

Governmental policy[edit]

 

Rice straw is gathered after the harvest in Mae Wang District, Chiang Mai Province

The government sought to promote urban growth. One of the ways it accomplished this was by taxing the rice industry and using the money in big cities.^[12] In 1953, tax on rice accounted for 32 percent of governmental revenue. The government set a monopoly price on exports, which increased tax revenues and kept domestic prices low in Thailand. The overall effect was income transfer from farmers to the government and to urban consumers (who purchased rice). These policies on rice were called the "rice premium", which was used until 1985 when the government finally gave into political pressure.^[12] The shift away from protecting the peasant rice farmers by the government moved the rice industry away from the egalitarian values that were enjoyed by farmers to more of a modern-day, commercial, profit-maximizing industry.^[12]

The Thai government had strong incentives to increase rice production and they were successful in most of their plans. The government invested in irrigation, infrastructure, and other pro-rice projects. The World Bank also provided financing for dams, canals, locks, ditches, and other infrastructure in the Greater Chao Phraya Project. Pro-small farm mechanization policies protected agro-machinery manufacturers from outside competition. They also stimulated small machinery research and development that resulted by the late-1990s in nearly two million locally produced two-wheel tractors, as well as one million axial flow pumps for irrigation, hundreds of thousands of small horsepower rice threshers, and 10,000 small horsepower caterpillar track-propelled combines that are able to harvest in small, fragmented, and still wet fields ^[17]

With the combination of improved access to water and machinery, these policies prompted rice farms to increase from 35 million to 59 million rai from the 1950s to the 1980s.^[12] Rice production has about tripled in terms of total paddy rice produced. While Thailand's rice production has not increased every year, the trend line shows significant increases since the 1960s.

Starting in 2010 the government went from encouraging rice production to discouraging it. It initiated a program to encourage rice farmers to switch to other crops. The government's policy offered a 2,000 baht per rai subsidy for paddy fields converted to other crops.^[18] At the time, Thailand's 54 sugarcane processing plants were short 100 million tonnes of raw cane to meet demand. A ready market for sugarcane and the falling price of rice made switching to sugarcane compelling and many farmers made the switch. The transition has not been without controversy: first, because rice is a food staple whereas sugar is not, and secondly, due to undesirable environmental impacts linked to sugarcane farmers' use of between 1.5–2 litres of paraquat per rai of sugarcane.^[18]

 

 

 

[faraday]

Why was Rice production discouraged in 2010?

[rickudon]

13 hours ago, meechai said:

Come On ! Surely he knows this is how it has always been done since generations in all villages. No farmer plants & harvests his own rice.

Instead they work together & when for instance it is time to plant Somchai's rai's the whole village helps. Somchai provides only lunch. Then Somchai also works on all the others plant job when it is their day. Same for harvest time...one owners rai's at a time they harvest each others crops

I will call bullshit on Somchai working for just lunch. Maybe happened 30 years ago, never happened in 7 years my F-in-law was growing rice while i was here. Only people who would work for lunch were me and my wife! Everybody else wanted lunch and 300 baht (or more) per day. If they were available. Want someone to do your plowing ..... Pay! Want them to combine harvest your field? No! your field too small, or too wet, or too far! Just like when he killed a pig to sell, everyone wants to pay next week .....  preferably never. You work one day for free, when it is your turn to get the free work, no-one turns up. He gave up growing rice because it was just too much hassle and no-one wants to help when you need them. There is a reason why half the rice fields in Isaan are derelict. If you do not have family labour, you need mechanical aids or just what one man can do himself.

 

The only way rice growing will get more efficient in Isaan and profitable is if the government helps the farmers, or they sell out to a rich guy.