BAAC unveils loan schemes to lift standard of living of farmers

[rooster59]

BAAC unveils loan schemes to lift standard of living of farmers

By The Nation

 

 

The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) has come up with a series of measures to raise the standard of living of farmers.

 

 

The bank has formulated a policy to increase the incomes of lower-income farmers by more than 10 per cent a year and ensure their savings are not less than 10 per cent of income. The BAAC will also provide knowledge to farmers on how to increase their agricultural output by more than 20 per cent from the current levels, the bank’s president, Apirom Sukprasert, said at a seminar entitled “Join forces to drive sustainable economic development; Pracharat creates Thailand”, at Impact Muang Thong Thani in Nonthaburi province on Saturday.

 

Under the new policy, the BAAC will provide new loans to smart farmers of up to Bt10 billion in 2019 targeting about 100,000 smart farmers and Bt20 billion in 2020 for 200,000 smart farmers at the minimum retail rate. The bank aims to loan Bt30 billion to 300,000 smart farmers in 2021.

 

The bank also will offer loans to small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises (SMAEs) with an interest rate of 4 per cent per annum in 2019. The target is to disburse some Bt10 billion to 10,000 SMAEs, increasing the amount to Bt20 billion to 20,000 SMAEs in 2020, and loans worth Bt30 billion to 30,000 SMAEs in 2021.

 

The bank is also offering an interest rate of only 0.01 per cent for Thai communities enterprises and agricultural cooperative, aiming to provide loans worth Bt10 billion to 10,000 communities enterprises, and another Bt10 billion to 1,000 agricultural cooperatives this year.

 

In 2020, Bt20 billion loans will be provided to 20,000 community enterprises, and Bt20 billion to 1,200 agricultural cooperatives.

 

In 2021, loans worth Bt40 billion will be on offer to 40,000 community enterprises, and Bt30 billion for 1,500 agricultural cooperatives.

 

“All these loans are expected to improve the quality of living and increase the incomes of farmers in order to achieve our target,” Apirom said.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/business/30376539

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-09-22

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[Lungstib]

What farmers need is scientific, technical and practical agricultural help. Experts to consult and show how to farm sustainably, how and what to grow in a way that doesn't deplete their soil or cause erosion. A teacher who comes to offer advice and guidance, but someone with proper hands on experience who is respected by the locals. Banks will not solve their problems.

[scorecard]

4 hours ago, Lungstib said:

What farmers need is scientific, technical and practical agricultural help. Experts to consult and show how to farm sustainably, how and what to grow in a way that doesn't deplete their soil or cause erosion. A teacher who comes to offer advice and guidance, but someone with proper hands on experience who is respected by the locals. Banks will not solve their problems.

 Very true however IMHO there's another point, I just can't see how, in modern times, very small scale / small scale farmers can ever get past survival mode. Therefore a need to form well managed cooperatives to try to booth incomes through size, more modern / more scientific actual farming methods, etc.

 

But perhaps ultimately small scale farmers within a good well managed cooperative will never get to the point of a very good quality of life. One comparison could be a semi- professional / professional employee in a company who, by own decision only works 2 hours per week and only works one job. Ultimately his/her income is not enough to have a solid good quality of life.

 

Ultimately I suspect the only way that small scale farmers can have a good quality of life is subsidies (and this is happening in Europe, and in some countries for many decades). But in terms of a  whole economy is this balanced? unfortunately no.

 

If a country want to become an industrialized country, and that probably is the aim of many countries because they see 'industrialization' as the key to more money / quality of life, does this mean that there is a need to very carefully move small scale farmers away from farming and push for very big cooperatives / farming companies (but perhaps with old style small scale farmers still owning their land).

 

Bottom line - it seems to me that here in Thailand (and other countries) government for decades, and still today keep putting band aids on the same

problems again and again but it's not a cure and unfortunately never will be. 

[Scot123]

As soon as I read "Smart Farmers" and "Loans" I just thought more debt, more lost farms = more poor people. The "Rice Pledging Scheme" was the answer like it or not. This just can't help themselves so thieving was the name of the game and those thieves were not the farmers. So far these idiots have handed out free money, caused more suffering with bigger debt. Its unbelievable some westerners on here who should be educated still support the Green Mafia (they are not soldiers and being ex military I refuse to soil the name soldiers).