Thai Ministry Launches New Project To Boost Rural Incomes

[webfact]

Ministry launches new project to boost rural incomes

By Digital Media

BANGKOK, Nov 22 – Thailand’s Ministry of Agriculture has launched a programme to boost Thailand’s agricultural productivity and improve farming efficiency with the objective of increasing farmer’s income to at least Bt180,000 a year.

Agriculture Minister Yukol Limlaemthong on Wednesday signed an agreement with Kasetsart University (KU) and the Bangkok of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) to conduct the so-called Smart Farmer project to upgrade farmers’ quality of life and attract younger people to farming.

The Agriculture Ministry, he said, will provide knowledge, innovation and technology for agriculture while business and marketing plans will also be developed to assist farmers.

He said the university will provide knowledge, technology and research data for agricultural development while the bank will provide support in the form of loans, marketing and financial management.

Luck Vajananawat, BAAC manager, said loans under the Smart Farmer project is aimed at assisting the younger generation to use agricultural innovation to boost production capability.

The BAAC will allocate at least Bt10 billion as loans, subject to interest, for farmers, he said. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2012-11-22

[rkidlad]

No need. They already have rice pledging in place.

[noitom]

Farmers are encouraged to bring their own vaseline to all meetings.

[Thaddeus]

The BAAC will allocate at least Bt10 billion as loans, subject to interest, for farmers, he said. (MCOT online news)

Because the best thing you can do to people already in debt is loan them some more money.

[hellodolly]

Is there a certain IQ level you have to be under to be a Government official?

[Pimay1]

The BAAC will allocate at least Bt10 billion as loans, subject to interest, for farmers, he said. (MCOT online news)

Because the best thing you can do to people already in debt is loan them some more money.

Just another vote buying scheme. These guys know the farmers are maxed out on loans that they can never pay back but to the farmers it sounds like a great opportunity so thy say wow this TRT is really helping us.

[lizardtongue]

They should be ashamed of themselves, this is simply taking advantage of the uneducated, and to what end?

He said the university will provide knowledge, technology and research data for agricultural development while the bank will provide support in the form of loans, marketing and financial management.

Really, I can see Somchai from Issan really grasping the research data and marketing strategies!

[scorecard]

The reality is that small scale farming is no longer a way to generate a good quality of life.

Can it / should it continue like this? Well that's a many faceted question:

- For many folks farming is in their blood.

- Many farmers would see that they are too old to change and in any case they are ill equipped to do somthing different.

- Younger farmers also are in great numbers ill equipped to do something different and in large numbers don't have the resources or the education to do somthing different / to get into different work.

- Some farmers have no land, and those who do have land, in most cases it's very small.

- An open & very relevant question: Is it true that small scale farming just cannot survive in terms of generating enough income to bring families into the modern world, support a good qaulity of life, have some money in the bank, pay for better quality of education, etc? Probably yes.

So, perhaps it is time for youngers farmers (those that are interested to gain up to date agricultural knowledge, some business and some marketing knowledge. Perhaps some of these younger folks with additional knowledge can set-up bigger farms which combined with efficiencies and modern equipment can generate and build change and generate a better qaulity of life?

Always in the picture of course is the ruthless landlord and the businessmen who have no hesitation to buy land with tricks and paying less than fair prices.

It really is canundrum.

[GazR]

The reality is that small scale farming is no longer a way to generate a good quality of life.

Can it / should it continue like this? Well that's a many faceted question:

- For many folks farming is in their blood.

- Many farmers would see that they are too old to change and in any case they are ill equipped to do somthing different.

- Younger farmers also are in great numbers ill equipped to do something different and in large numbers don't have the resources or the education to do somthing different / to get into different work.

- Some farmers have no land, and those who do have land, in most cases it's very small.

- An open & very relevant question: Is it true that small scale farming just cannot survive in terms of generating enough income to bring families into the modern world, support a good qaulity of life, have some money in the bank, pay for better quality of education, etc? Probably yes.

So, perhaps it is time for youngers farmers (those that are interested to gain up to date agricultural knowledge, some business and some marketing knowledge. Perhaps some of these younger folks with additional knowledge can set-up bigger farms which combined with efficiencies and modern equipment can generate and build change and generate a better qaulity of life?

Always in the picture of course is the ruthless landlord and the businessmen who have no hesitation to buy land with tricks and paying less than fair prices.

It really is canundrum.

Conundrum aside - at least it wasn't the usual knee-jerk reaction by armchair experts.

Not that I would expect anything involving Thaksin to be free from corruption, nor do I forget his completely asinine and insulting 'expert' analysis & advice to a poor farming couple during his week in Esarn while PM: "You've got two income streams, rice and fish, and you're poor: You need three - get some ducks. Next!"

PS: Or was it ducks then fish?

Edited November 22, 2012 by GazR

[Songhua]

For the sake of generating a little confidence and faith in the project it might be a good idea to show the farmers there's some sort of plan at hand to get rid of the rice first.

The Hub of Projects.

[Ricardo]

Forgive me for being a little bit cynical, but weren't all Thais promised that they'd be rich, just six months after Thaksin's latest government had been elected ?

So how come there's still so much rural poverty, which needs further poverty-alleviation scams schemes, to be reduced ?

Can the 'Big Boss' himself have caught the 'white-lie disease', or is it his local minions who are to blame, for failing to carry-out his instructions-from-afar correctly ?

[timewilltell]

If you want to improve the lives of the poor farmers then control the price of rice - the price paid to the farmer, have a fixed price paid to the middleman with strict penalties if breached, have a fixed price for the processing of the rice - publish it and police it. Set the prices at market price so that the product can be sold and promote the growing of premium rice products to differentiate you in the market. Promote the sale of rice through tarrif agreements to purchasing countries - reduce the tarrifs on certain goods imported into Thailand from purchasing countries maybe.

The problem for the farmer is not that growing rice is unprofitable it is that the massive corruption in the industry goes to the middlemen and processors and nothing trickles down the guy doing all the work. There is the issue not another set of loans to the farmers which they will never pay thus indirectly using the countries money to pay for the corruption further along the cycle. A typical tactic used by Thais in every field. Just another scam by the traitors governing this country. They should hang their heads in shame.

[Pimay1]

If you want to improve the lives of the poor farmers then control the price of rice - the price paid to the farmer, have a fixed price paid to the middleman with strict penalties if breached, have a fixed price for the processing of the rice - publish it and police it. Set the prices at market price so that the product can be sold and promote the growing of premium rice products to differentiate you in the market. Promote the sale of rice through tarrif agreements to purchasing countries - reduce the tarrifs on certain goods imported into Thailand from purchasing countries maybe.

The problem for the farmer is not that growing rice is unprofitable it is that the massive corruption in the industry goes to the middlemen and processors and nothing trickles down the guy doing all the work. There is the issue not another set of loans to the farmers which they will never pay thus indirectly using the countries money to pay for the corruption further along the cycle. A typical tactic used by Thais in every field. Just another scam by the traitors governing this country. They should hang their heads in shame.

Yingluck, her big broher and all their cornies could not care less about the poor or farmers of Thailand because they don't care anything at all. Every few months they come up with another bone to throw out and shout from the roof tops "we are helpng the poor". Of course it works perfectly and we all know why. Sad, sad, sad.

[market trader]

Is there a certain IQ level you have to be under to be a Government official?

No. You only require a certain level of efficiency in the art of corruption.

[cup-O-coffee]

It's like the carrot on the stick.

I cannot count how many times Thai government has announced something that dangles in the faces of the people.

Have we any stories of the people actually getting that damned carrot?

I can't remember. Anyone?

[dighambara]

The BAAC will allocate at least Bt10 billion as loans, subject to interest, for farmers, he said. (MCOT online news)

Because the best thing you can do to people already in debt is loan them some more money.

Is there a certain IQ level you have to be under to be a Government official?

Such social reforms activly undermine the economy.

In the US, when Minimum wage laws were enacted, nearly 100,000 people lost their jobs. Logical, because to pay bills, an employer must make a certain minimum - raising the minimum wage means the employer now cannot keep as many employees and still pay the bills - only choice is to lay someone off. Many small businesses make a profit only on weekends and during holidays.

Likewise loans almost never help anyone. I never had a car loan. I did get a loan to buy a house, but the payment was less than renting an apartment, so at first I just considered it a loss. Eventually the house appreciated and when sold, I had a few dollars - lucky.

Edited November 22, 2012 by dighambara

[monkeycountry]

Translation of the article:

Bla bla bla knowledge, bla bla research, bla bla technology, bla bla ...

The government will give 10 billion baht to farmers, disguised as loans which both the government and the farmers know will never have to be paid back. In return the farmers will support the government.

[chiangmaikelly]

The BAAC will allocate at least Bt10 billion as loans, subject to interest, for farmers, he said. (MCOT online news)

Because the best thing you can do to people already in debt is loan them some more money.

Is there a certain IQ level you have to be under to be a Government official?

Such social reforms activly undermine the economy.

In the US, when Minimum wage laws were enacted, nearly 100,000 people lost their jobs. Logical, because to pay bills, an employer must make a certain minimum - raising the minimum wage means the employer now cannot keep as many employees and still pay the bills - only choice is to lay someone off. Many small businesses make a profit only on weekends and during holidays.

Likewise loans almost never help anyone. I never had a car loan. I did get a loan to buy a house, but the payment was less than renting an apartment, so at first I just considered it a loss. Eventually the house appreciated and when sold, I had a few dollars - lucky.

Who says 100,000 lost jobs? And do you mean State or Federal laws and in what year?

[rubl]

The BAAC will allocate at least Bt10 billion as loans, subject to interest, for farmers, Luck Vajananawat, BAAC manager said.

Did the BAAC already receive hundred or so billion Baht they spent on rice pledging as ordered by the government ?

[KuhnPaen]

Jing Jing??? You mean you can toil in the hot Isaan sun for 12 hours a day and make a whopping $6,000 USD per year? Where do I sign? Or rather, where does my lovely Isaan daughter sign? Oh, wait...You mean she can make that in 2 months on Soi Cowboy instead? Hmmm...let me think....

[Narratio]

Jing Jing??? You mean you can toil in the hot Isaan sun for 12 hours a day and make a whopping $6,000 USD per year? Where do I sign? Or rather, where does my lovely Isaan daughter sign? Oh, wait...You mean she can make that in 2 months on Soi Cowboy instead? Hmmm...let me think....

You may be underestimating the amount of floating money available for an evenings entertainment. In 2 months? If she's that lovely, and sticks to expats, then 4-5 weeks. If it's Cobra-Gold time, more likely 4 weeks but it'll be a lot more wearing on the poor lass.

[rubl]

The BAAC will allocate at least Bt10 billion as loans, subject to interest, for farmers, Luck Vajananawat, BAAC manager said.

Did the BAAC already receive hundred or so billion Baht they spent on rice pledging as ordered by the government ?

No answer yet, but it seems the BAAC might take on some more debt as the Finance Mnistry seems to have asked the government for THB 70billion more for rice pledging ( )

[linno2]

Perhaps the funds should be used in some sort of controlled way (a challenge) to help so many farmers out of the bind they got themselves into (often but not always beyond their control) by using the title to their families generational land as securtiy for the many black market (and I am told often from a very large country to the North) money lenders who eventually end up owning the land. This way the farmer would have a fighting chance of paying back their loan with formal credit terms. After all the Govt bailed out millions of Baht of debt incurred by 'well to do' Thai people in the late 90's when they wouldn't or couldn't pay back their loans from the big banks - essentially the nation wrote off the debts as I understand - perhaps now time for the 'little guy'?

[Thaddeus]

Perhaps the funds should be used in some sort of controlled way (a challenge) to help so many farmers out of the bind they got themselves into (often but not always beyond their control)

A bind they got themselves into?.... they have been herded and cattle prodded in to this bind by blatant lies and promises of a better future that will never happen, and who benefits from this? .... it certainly isn't the chap walking his cows down the road, it isn't the guy who survives by collecting what most people would describe as garbage, it isn't the sons and daughters who try their best to make a better life for themselves by putting the entire family into debt to get out of this bind.

Who benefits from all of these empty promises?

[GentlemanJim]

I think the way things are headed, a Ministry needs to urgently come up with ways of boosting Government Income not rural incomes.