Farmers in the North urged to change crop

[webfact]

Farmers urged to change crop

By Nisanart Kangwanwong 
The Nation 

 

Ban Laowu firefighters in Chiang Mai’s Wiang Haeng district call for backup to help fight a forest blaze.

 

Slash-and-burn technique must end, meeting told

 

FARMERS IN the North should be encouraged to grow konjac, avocado and persimmon instead of corn, which is blamed for fires used to clear farmlands, contributing to the haze crisis, a meeting in Chiang Mai heard yesterday.

 

Officials from the nine haze-hit provinces also suggested at the meeting that poachers of forest products should also be given other jobs, while funds should be earmarked to set up a village-level forest fire-monitoring network.

 

Chonkhet Boonyakhan, chair of the Mae Hong Son Chamber of Commerce, suggested that for the short term, officials should provide knowledge to villagers about what crops were suitable in which area, while the private sector could help market the villagers’ produce. 

 

A middle-term solution should ensure the prevention of forest fires, and their negative impacts should be included in school curriculum. The government should also set up a command centre to ensure work is integrated with a common goal and done with transparency, Chonket said. She also called on the authorities to take action against private companies that benefit from the slash-and-burn agricultural practice.

 

Chiang Mai environment office director Panyarat Rangsilpa concurred that alternative jobs must be created for poachers. He said Chiang Mai Governor Supachai Iamsuwan had set up a good model by allocating funds to create a village-level forest fire-monitoring network that hired former poachers. This way, they no longer have to make a living by setting forests alight. 

 

Panyarat said encouraging farmers to grow konjac, which has a high demand in Europe and China, could be a middle-term solution, while a long-term solution could see farmers growing fruit trees such as avocado and persimmon. 

 

Khomsan Wisitthisart, an environment official from Nan province, said several factors were responsible for the haze, including a high amount of accumulated flammable materials in forestland, low rainfall, the attractive price of corn and bad economy, which had driven many to poach forest products. He urged the authorities to educate local communities about the impacts of forest fires and strictly enforce the law against those responsible for causing the fires.

 

Chiang Rai environment office director Amnat Jermlae said the province was exposed to trans-border smog as well as those from its own forest fires, which increased since mid-March due to the high amount of accumulated flammable materials on the floor of the forests. He said the regulation of fires must be done all year round, not just during this period.

 

Meanwhile residents in the Upper North continued to suffer dangerous levels of air pollution yesterday, while officials and volunteers battled forest fires.

 

As of 2.42pm yesterday, the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency’s fire-monitoring system cited 275 hotspots in the region. The five worst-hit provinces were Mae Hong Son (114 hotspots), Chiang Mai (35), Lampang (35), Chiang Rai (33), and Phayao (20). 

 

Air quality remained poor in Chiang Mai, which was second in the airvisual.com list of the world’s most polluted cities as of 1pm with air quality index (AQI) of 280, after China’s Shenyang, with an AQI of 1,505. 

 

In a meeting on Wednesday with district chiefs in Mae Hong Son, Governor Sirirat Chamupakarn called for a total ban on all outdoor fires, full effort to put out forest fires, a hunt for those behind the fires and the establishment of a tambon-level taskforce. He also called for the setting up of a fact-finding committee to investigate the fires. 

 

Many village headmen noted that some forest fires, especially in Pang Mapha district, might have been politically motivated, as some people have conflicts with some kamnan or village headmen and may want them removed from their posts. 

 

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had announced earlier this week that kamnan or village headmen who failed to curb forest fires and haze may be fired. 

 

Meanwhile, the Pollution Control Department (PCD) at 9am estimated the 24-hour average of PM2.5 at between 38mcg and 151mcg in nine northern provinces. Tambon Jong Kham in Muang Mae Hong Son was the worst with 151mcg, followed by tambon Wiang Phang Kham in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district (121mcg) and tambon Chang Pheuk in Muang Chiang Mai (118mcg). 

 

The Chiang Mai Air Quality Health Index Centre at 9am showed the hourly results of PM2.5 levels to be dangerously high in neighbouring districts with tambon Yang Mern of Samoeng district being the worst at 461mcg followed by tambon Mae Pong in Doi Saket district at 425mcg.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30367175

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-04-05

 

[Lacessit]

Blaming the cornfields is only part of the problem. Rice fields do burning too.

When I had my car tested for registration recently, the Thai before me had a clapped-out, smoke belching, diesel Toyota pickup. He renewed his registration at the Phan office without a problem.

Until the rural populace is educated on cause and effect, smoke haze problems will continue.

What am I saying? An educated population is the last thing the ruling class would want.

 

[quandow]

Say what you will about the Thai, they ARE pragmatic and would have already figured out if raising other crops would be the most cost effective.

[Cadbury]

1 hour ago, quandow said:

Say what you will about the Thai, they ARE pragmatic and would have already figured out if raising other crops would be the most cost effective.

You generously describe Thais as being pragmatic and indeed they can be when it comes to money and some other things in life.

But there are antonyms to the word pragmatic which can also be used to describe Thais under certain conditions. Particularly relative to high ranking bureaucrats, military generals and Chiang Mai City officials.

 

Impractical, Inefficient, Irrational, Unrealistic, Unreasonable

 

[bluesofa]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Officials from the nine haze-hit provinces also suggested at the meeting that poachers of forest products should also be given other jobs, while funds should be earmarked to set up a village-level forest fire-monitoring network.

Seems to me no different than putting the fox in charge of the hen-house.

 

[wgdanson]

Is there not another 'crop' farmers could soon be cultivating after changes to recent legislation. 

Edited April 5, 2019 by wgdanson

[bluesofa]

14 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

Is there not another 'crop' farmers could soon be cultivating after changes to recent legislation. 

Perhaps growing Generals could be the next cash crop.

They're a very common product to Thailand. Given the large amount of fertiliser available, it should be very popular - to grow anyway.

 

[rumak]

Talking about change is the easiest thing in the world.   Actually changing the way things are probably the hardest.   I am sure i would be very unpopular if I questioned how many people actually take responsibility for their OWN health.   What you put into your own body and how fit/healthy each person becomes is a personal choice.  Trying to "convince" anyone,  including the millions affected by an unhealthy environment,

to change their ways,  is about the same as leading a horse to water.   

[SuperTed]

Thai farmers need to be growing Hemp. Now that Western nations have legalized, it could become Thailand’s #1 export, bigger than rice. TH desperately needs to grow its exports, to hedge against loss of tourism.

The current medical marijuana laws are structured to only benefit the rich, not Thai farmers. Bumjaithai is running on a platform of full legalization, and that must include the right for farmers to grow.

[vivid]

 

Quote

Air quality remained poor in Chiang Mai, which was second in the airvisual.com list of the world’s most polluted cities as of 1pm with air quality index (AQI) of 280, after China’s Shenyang, with an AQI of 1,505. 

 

Looks like it's a sandstorm/dust storm in Northeastern China, typical at this time of the year.  Not photochemical smog air pollution or forest fires, peat fires etc. 

 

 

 

[johng]

1 hour ago, wgdanson said:

Is there not another 'crop'

Imagine the effects when they burn that

[cerox]

Maybe they have not started using the leafblower yet which they showed on Tuesday. I am sure they are preparing them now ????

[malibukid]

"urged"

[wombat]

weed's the need.

[meatpie]

Thai farmers need to be growing Hemp. Now that Western nations have legalized, it could become Thailand’s #1 export, bigger than rice. TH desperately needs to grow its exports, to hedge against loss of tourism.

The current medical marijuana laws are structured to only benefit the rich, not Thai farmers. Bumjaithai is running on a platform of full legalization, and that must include the right for farmers to grow.

When we were kid we planted some in the Banks garden, no one noticed for months.????


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[worgeordie]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

strictly enforce the law against those responsible for causing the fires.

The wife says ,Thai news reporting those caught burning are fined 500 Thb,

regards worgeordie

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Farmers urged to change crop

After being urged to grow sugar cane between crops !!!!

[HaleySabai]

2 hours ago, vivid said:

 

 

Looks like it's a sandstorm/dust storm in Northeastern China, typical at this time of the year.  Not photochemical smog air pollution or forest fires, peat fires etc. 

 

 

 

I was wondering if that 1505 in Shenyang was a misprint or just a 'Thai-denial fragment' to make CM seem not-so-bad...must of been a hell of a sandstorm blast!....the current reading for Shenyang is 81.

[Brunovski]

Before you want farmers to grow Avocados, better make some research about how much water they use to grow. Otherwise people will suffer from no water instead of extensive smog. Both is life threatening. ????

[SoonOh]

Yes, Hemp/Cannabis should be encouraged and subsidized ???? 

[Justgrazing]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

FARMERS IN the North should be encouraged to grow konjac, 

Is that a sort of dodgy brandy , and can it be grown .? 

[rickudon]

On 4/5/2019 at 11:02 AM, Brunovski said:

Before you want farmers to grow Avocados, better make some research about how much water they use to grow. Otherwise people will suffer from no water instead of extensive smog. Both is life threatening. ????

True. I have a couple of Avocado bushes, and now that hot season is here i have to water every week or the leaves start turning brown. Watering will be an issue halfway up a hillside .... 

[canuckamuck]

On 4/5/2019 at 11:02 AM, Brunovski said:

Before you want farmers to grow Avocados, better make some research about how much water they use to grow. Otherwise people will suffer from no water instead of extensive smog. Both is life threatening. ????

Yes, we have found that avocados are hard to keep alive around here. Maybe 5% survive.

[bluesofa]

1 hour ago, rickudon said:

True. I have a couple of Avocado bushes, and now that hot season is here i have to water every week or the leaves start turning brown. Watering will be an issue halfway up a hillside .... 

That stinks of forward planning.