Drought Hits Thailand’s North And Northeast

[george]

Drought hits Thailand’s North and Northeast

BANGKOK: -- Drought has hit many areas of Thailand's North and Northeast, causing severe damage to crops, especially rice, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.

More than 31 provinces in the two regions are facing a critical water shortage because of the lack of rain during this year’s monsoon season, the

ministry's Deputy Permanent Secretary, Bancha Sattasathuchana, told TNA.

Farming areas without irrigation systems have been badly affected by the lack of water.

The drought has, probably, already ruined more than 630,000 rai of rice fields (2.5 rai = 1 acre), valued at nearly two billion baht, and another 7.5 milllion rai of farmland, Mr. Bancha said.

According to government estimates, the drought may have already reduced the country’s rice production by at least ten percent.

However the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry is still trying to prepare precise figures, said Mr. Bancha.

As part of the government’s schemes to alleviate the crisis, the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry plans to urge farmers to shift from cultivating second or off-season rice to growing plants which need less water, like beans, he

added.

The government also plans to construct more dams and reservoirs, and to increase the forested areas in the region in order to provide long-term sources of water.

Plans to make artificial rain to help the farmers are also being stepped up, Mr. Bancha said.

-- TNA 2004-11-09

[Totster]

Plans to make artificial rain to help the farmers are also being stepped up, Mr. Bancha said.

Eh.... ???

totster

[RDN]

Plans to make artificial rain to help the farmers are also being stepped up, Mr. Bancha said.

Eh.... ???

totster

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think something got lost in the translation there! I think they mean they will try to make it rain using artificial methods - like 'seeding' the clouds, or maybe voodoo Of course, they could truck it up there from Phuket where it's been chucking it down every day. But Phuket, like England, lets the excess rain water flow down the drains and after a couple of weeks without rain, there'll be a water shortage here, too. Just like England.

[mbkudu]

Drought hits Thailand’s North and Northeast[/b

The government also plans to construct more dams and reservoirs, and to increase the forested areas in the region in order to provide long-term sources of water.

-- TNA 2004-11-09

[/quote)

Planting trees and not cutting down the few left to conserve water; what a novel

idea.

[stumonster]

I though this was the wettest monsoon season in recorded history?

maybe if some capital public works were constructed with public money, rather than....

several places in the north and north east were flooded last month?

when are the news reporters in this country going to point out some of the glaring ineptitude of the government ministers and beauracracy?

[plachon]

I though this was the wettest monsoon season in recorded history?

maybe if some capital public works were constructed with public money, rather than....

several places in the north and north east were flooded last month?

when are the news reporters in this country going to point out some of the glaring ineptitude of the government ministers and beauracracy?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Good question Stu. If only a few of the reporters could think on their feet, instead of into their mobile phones, they would be able to fire back pertinent questions immediately after some minister has opened his (they're mostly he's after all) mouth, which would expose the ridiculousness of the original comment.

In this case, the 2004 monsoon was a wet one with plentiful rain, until it stopped in its tracks in mid-Sept., instead of finishing around now, like it normally would. The floods were in July and August, but were nothing too serious, compared to 2002 for instance. However, there's big money and budgets in declaring "disasters" these days, so it's in local and national politicians and officials interests to cry wolf and try and get a bigger slice of the pie than their rivals. Of course, more dams, irrigation schemes and river embankment projects are nice little earners, even though in 90 % of the cases, they end up doing more harm than good. Thailand has never had so many dams as it does today, but it still has yearly floods and droughts, purely because of bad water management and inappropriate development. In fact, in many cases the dams increase the problems of flooding and drought downstream, but unfortunately, the journos haven't cottoned on to this home truth beyond a few hardworking staff on the B. Post (e.g. Khun Sanitsuda) and Nation.

The upcoming elections are going to see all sorts of promises for water projects to line the pockets of the Assembly of the Rich.

[RamdomChances]

I don’t know what the statistics were on rainfall this year, but doing the scientific "looking out the window" test, it’s been pretty dry, as plachon said plenty of early rain but it stopped a month early.

Fortunately up here there was quite a lot of early rain, so the corn crops were good and harvested fairly early, most people had time to get a second crop in, but a lot of these are failing or just not doing so well.

My neighbour has about 40 rai of "khow fang" (sohgram) in and he's going to get next to nothing for it as there isn’t enough water for it to produce seeds (grain). I'll prob end up buying it off him as food for the cows.

[mouse]

Plans to make artificial rain to help the farmers are also being stepped up, Mr. Bancha said.

Not again. Last time it rained mercury for days. They seem to want to seed clouds but do so when there are no lcouds in the sky.

[astral]

Drought hits Thailand’s North and Northeast

The government also plans to construct more dams and reservoirs, and to increase the forested areas in the region in order to provide long-term sources of water.

-- TNA 2004-11-09

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There has been talk of plans for 20 years, to my knowledge, but little apparent action.

I was in Buri Ram a month ago and they look set for a bumper rice harvest,

but the water storage ponds did look low.

Not quite the picture painted in this article!!

[billd766]

I live near Khampaeng Phet and the last ime it rained her was mid September and my wife has been talking to the local people and they reckon that it won't rain again this year.

This year we finished the house and we get our water from the main supply and the water just stopped flowing in mid March and started again in May. We didn't have much in the way of water storage last year but this year we have more than doubled it and I hope that will be enough.

[terdsak_12]

I doubt anywhere north of Bangkok will see a drop of rain until April next year.

[billd766]

I doubt anywhere north of Bangkok will see a drop of rain until April next year.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oh thank you very much for that gem.

No showers for the next 5 months. At least people will know I am coming down the road.

I will probably end up looking like Pig Pen from Charlie Brown at 60 years old.

Has anybody got a web address for a rain god?

[RDN]

I doubt anywhere north of Bangkok will see a drop of rain until April next year.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oh thank you very much for that gem.

No showers for the next 5 months. At least people will know I am coming down the road.

I will probably end up looking like Pig Pen from Charlie Brown at 60 years old.

Has anybody got a web address for a rain god?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

OK - try this one Click here!

[billd766]

I doubt anywhere north of Bangkok will see a drop of rain until April next year.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oh thank you very much for that gem.

No showers for the next 5 months. At least people will know I am coming down the road.

I will probably end up looking like Pig Pen from Charlie Brown at 60 years old.

Has anybody got a web address for a rain god?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

OK - try this one Click here!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

RDN

I liked that a lot.

If you changed the title from the Rain God to something else might it apply to our grevious leader in this country?

Come to think of it, many leaders in many countries.