Farmers fret over excessive chemicals, low yields

[Lite Beer]

Farmers fret over excessive chemicals, low yields
Kornchanok Raksaseri
The Nation on Sunday

Some farmers, aware of how much chemicals is being used to grow rice, admit to being afraid of eating rice. And despite the hike in costs, many farmers invest more in chemicals with the hope of increasing productivity.

BANGKOK: -- The interview with rice farmers in Pathum Thani seemed to be just another question-and-answer session from the beginning to the end. But just before the reporter's departure, Saibua Krupae, a former farmer, suddenly said: "I don't dare to eat our own rice nowadays."

He looked sad and his eyes did not hide his worries. He lowered his voice and said his fears were because he knew how many chemicals were being used to grow rice. At least seven kinds of fertiliser and pesticides are used with each crop.

Now 56, he quit his job as a farmer two years ago after having spent three decades in the field of agriculture. Saibua has passed on the mantle to his two sons, who rent 30 rai of land each to grow rice, as they only own 10 rai.

"My body cannot take it any more. It was I who sprayed pesticide [in the rice field] in the past," he said, adding he was critically hospitalised three times after spraying chemicals in three crop seasons.

He has now become a petrol retailer in the village at Moo 9, Tambon Beung Kham Proi in Lam Luk Ka district. He also does other odds jobs, such as a land broker.

The family buys rice from Surin for consumption, and only from trusted mill owners.

"They [in the Northeast] grow rice only once a year up there, and they use less chemicals," he said, adding he had been trying to convince his sons to use less chemicals while growing rice.

After the government announced the rice-pledging scheme with a price of Bt15,000 per tonne, land rent shot up to Bt1,500 per rai per season. Some landlords took 80-100 kilograms of rice paddy, up from 60-70kg in the past, he said.

Despite the hike in costs, farmers in his village were happy to pay the rent, but invest even more in chemicals with the hope of increasing productivity.

"Deserted land, no matter what it was before, has been turned into ricefields now," Narong Cheuncharoon, a former village chief, said.

"Productivity has been low lately. Since the flood [in 2011], the only crop that was productive was the crop right after the flood," Narong said. He added that he used to have a yield of one tonne of rice paddy but it has been as low as 400-500 kilograms per crop lately.

"It's been bad recently, every [farmers'] household faces the same problems. The soil gets no respite, and it is losing its fertility," he said.

His family grew rice on 20 rai of land and reaped 12 tonnes of rice paddy this crop compared to 18 to 20 tonnes in the past.

"This year is about breaking even. We invested almost Bt100,000 and sold rice for a little over Bt100,000," he said.

Yongyut Kuntaweethep, 70, retired kamnan of Beung Thonglang district, said productivity was constantly dropping. It used to be more than 600kg of rice paddy per rai 10 years ago. During the Abhisit Vejjajiva government it was 570 and now the official survey by the local agricultural officer shows 540kg per rai.

Deputy village chief Rewat Pienpeung said no one was willing to listen and take a break. They start a new crop as soon as they had sold rice from the previous crop.

Saibua, Narong and Rewat agreed that with the government's rice-pledging scheme, productivity is part of the indicator if farmers can make profit. If the productivity rate is low, they will have to bear the loss themselves. However, under the previous government's price guarantee scheme, their income would at least cover the cost as the figure would be calculated based on their farming area.

However, many farmers were not so honest and reported farming area bigger than the land on which they actually grew rice at that time, they said.

-- The Nation 2013-06-30

[Soutpeel]

This is a scary thought....rice farmers who will not eat their own produce...but didnt the goverment say just a few days ago, that they have checked and havent found a problem with "chemical" contamination....some one is lying....

glad I dont eat rice

[chooka]

If the farmers are using excessive amounts of chemicals, then I can understand why the U.S and others are concerned about Thai rice.

[chooka]

This is a scary thought....rice farmers who will not eat their own produce...but didnt the goverment say just a few days ago, that they have checked and havent found a problem with "chemical" contamination....some one is lying....

glad I dont eat rice

The government is desparate to off load all it's rice so it is not going to tell the international community that it is contaminated.

[bigbamboo]

Jeez, now even the farmers themselves don't want to eat Thai rice...!

Come to think of it even Rover, next door's dog, looked a bit sniffy when he got his breakfast yesterday.

[Thai at Heart]

These yields are absolutely pitiful.

[chooka]

Got to love all the pesticide banners surrounding this topic. Your crops need more chemicals, buy buy buy. A bit like a topic about an unexpected death and get funeral companies advertising on the topic.

Edited June 30, 2013 by chooka

[Valentine]

The greed factor driving farmers & their overlords to use more chemicals to obtain higher yields at the expense of people's health. Instead of fretting over their position in the world rice exporting figures how about promoting sustainable organic farming which must surely generate good returns. Niche markets can be very profitable. However, no doubt this would create a lot of opposition from the already obscenely rich who control the fertilizer market.

[geriatrickid]

This is a scary thought....rice farmers who will not eat their own produce...but didnt the goverment say just a few days ago, that they have checked and havent found a problem with "chemical" contamination....some one is lying....

glad I dont eat rice

Then you certainly do not want to eat the shrimp and fish grown in "farms" that are subject to farmland runoff. These creatures concentrate the chemicals in their bodies. That's something Thailand's aquaculture industry doesn't want anyone to discuss.

[chooka]

This is a scary thought....rice farmers who will not eat their own produce...but didnt the goverment say just a few days ago, that they have checked and havent found a problem with "chemical" contamination....some one is lying....

glad I dont eat rice

Then you certainly do not want to eat the shrimp and fish grown in "farms" that are subject to farmland runoff. These creatures concentrate the chemicals in their bodies. That's something Thailand's aquaculture industry doesn't want anyone to discuss.

That is why Australia has banned importing shrimp from Thailand, they are heavily contaminated.

[Thai at Heart]

This is a scary thought....rice farmers who will not eat their own produce...but didnt the goverment say just a few days ago, that they have checked and havent found a problem with "chemical" contamination....some one is lying....

glad I dont eat rice

Then you certainly do not want to eat the shrimp and fish grown in "farms" that are subject to farmland runoff. These creatures concentrate the chemicals in their bodies. That's something Thailand's aquaculture industry doesn't want anyone to discuss.

That is why Australia has banned importing shrimp from Thailand, they are heavily contaminated.

The sad thing is, they have repeatedly refused to allow foreign competition into agriculture, whilst allowing one supposedly Thai company in particular to become dominant in all agri sectors.

There is no visibility, the fda is toothless against this behemoth, and all that can be said is,

"Trust us, it's safe".

Edited June 30, 2013 by Thai at Heart

[jpinx]

The knock-on effects are huge. I know a farmer who tries to use minimal chemicals and take one crop per year, but because of previous and surrounding farmers using crazy amounts of pesticides all the bugs come and eat *his* rice.

[GAS]

This is why I try to eat as much organic non gmo as possible...we have same problems in US, but worse I imagine in Thailand. Lately we have started getting good organic brown rice, forget from which province, and buying veggies from Royal project. If anyone knows good sources for "cleaner" fruits in veggies in BKK would love to hear it.

[Loptr]

Seems like a good time to contact Monsanto or another global agra conglomerate to provide some genetically modified seed. They have done wonders for crops around the world where yields go up while requiring less land for planting, less water and most important, less chemical fertilizer. Some people balk at this technique, but you cannot argue with the yields. Just look at corn yields in the last few years for an example.

[Thai at Heart]

Time to accept that 3 or 4 crop cycles is unsustainable and come up with higher yielding seeds, or run the system on strict regional quotas.

[chooka]

Seems like a good time to contact Monsanto or another global agra conglomerate to provide some genetically modified seed. They have done wonders for crops around the world where yields go up while requiring less land for planting, less water and most important, less chemical fertilizer. Some people balk at this technique, but you cannot argue with the yields. Just look at corn yields in the last few years for an example.

Wouldn't they then be harvesting American rice and not Thai Jasmine rice.

[kimamey]

Seems like a good time to contact Monsanto or another global agra conglomerate to provide some genetically modified seed. They have done wonders for crops around the world where yields go up while requiring less land for planting, less water and most important, less chemical fertilizer. Some people balk at this technique, but you cannot argue with the yields. Just look at corn yields in the last few years for an example.

Wouldn't they then be harvesting American rice and not Thai Jasmine rice.

I'm assuming that Loptr meant modifying Thai seeds rather than using American ones. Mind you I don't suppose there's any practical reason why some American rice can't be grown instead unless the climate prevents that.

[hanuman2543]

Using medieval methodes and technology will produce medieval results. Time to reform the whole farm sector with an organic approach, hopefully.

Edited June 30, 2013 by hanuman2543

[Robby nz]

Productivity has been low lately. Since the flood [in 2011], the only crop that was productive was the crop right after the flood,"

Farmers in the past relied on the annual floods to not only bring water but silt to fertilise the ground.

Now we have all the wonderful flood protection work to save the cities at the expense of the farm land.

There is really no way out of this for rice growers who cant survive on just one crop per year of the rice they are growing now and with world prices as the are.

Increasing productivity on the best land and changing to other less chemical dependent crops on the rest is the only answer.

[Robby nz]

Time to reform the whole farm sector with an organic approach, hopefully

I seem to remember reading some years back that someone did try growing organic rice in Thailand but they had to give up because they couldn't get anyone to buy the rice because all the buyers were tied up with the chemical companies and if the farmer didn't buy the chemicals then the companies wouldn't buy the rice.

[seajae]

goes to show how much money rules in Thailand, the farmers are loading in the chemicals trying to make as much as possible even though they know it is poisoning the eaters of their rice plus they will not even eat it themselves. They should all be charged with poising the populace, they are aware of what they are doing but dont care as long as they are paid. This is beneath contempt, the govt needs to stop this stupidity now before people start dying from this shit.

[GentlemanJim]

Seems like a good time to contact Monsanto or another global agra conglomerate to provide some genetically modified seed. They have done wonders for crops around the world where yields go up while requiring less land for planting, less water and most important, less chemical fertilizer. Some people balk at this technique, but you cannot argue with the yields. Just look at corn yields in the last few years for an example.

If it is scary that farmers will not eat their own rice then it should be equally scary that Bill Gates, the major Monsanto shareholder will not eat anything Monsanto, nor will he eat meat from any animal fed on Monsanto feed. It is little wonder how conspiracy theories come into being. Look how quickly the Thai rice agri business has been sent to the point of destruction. More pledging means farmers trying to grow more crops per year, more crops per year is draining the soil of any nutrients, no nutrients means the need for chemicals if you are doing nutrient replacement on the cheap, more chemicals mean unsafe food, unsafe food means you will try a new idea, Monsanto perhaps and Monsanto means.....unsafe food. If it is this easy to destroy the rice bowl of the world, the rest will be child's play. How soon before the dreams of Bill Gates and those of his father come in to place?

[patongphil]

We have our own small farm in Isaan and grow all our own rice for consumption. Not too many chemicals there as only 1 crop per year dependent on rain. Also the rice is milled in a small momma and poppa mill in the village and not polished - lovely stuff!!!

I do feel sorry for others without access to same.

[GentlemanJim]

goes to show how much money rules in Thailand, the farmers are loading in the chemicals trying to make as much as possible even though they know it is poisoning the eaters of their rice plus they will not even eat it themselves. They should all be charged with poising the populace, they are aware of what they are doing but dont care as long as they are paid. This is beneath contempt, the govt needs to stop this stupidity now before people start dying from this shit.

People are already dying from eating "this shit". 50-100 years ago we never had anywhere near the amount of cancer per head of population as we do now. We are what we eat and we are eating processed, chemical shit. You are not going to fall over dead after eating a bowl of this rice. The toxins are accumulating in your body and causing all manner of problems and destruction to your major organs. The problem here is finding a trustworthy source of genuinely organic food. it is worth every baht you spend on it.

[chooka]

Time to reform the whole farm sector with an organic approach, hopefully

I seem to remember reading some years back that someone did try growing organic rice in Thailand but they had to give up because they couldn't get anyone to buy the rice because all the buyers were tied up with the chemical companies and if the farmer didn't buy the chemicals then the companies wouldn't buy the rice.

Have a guy in my wife's village in Chai Nat who says he grows totally organic rice in his fields. He says he only adds fertilizer to help it grow and pesticides to kill the bugs apart from that it is 100% totally organic. It grows in the ground.

[impulse]

Seems like a good time to contact Monsanto or another global agra conglomerate to provide some genetically modified seed. They have done wonders for crops around the world where yields go up while requiring less land for planting, less water and most important, less chemical fertilizer. Some people balk at this technique, but you cannot argue with the yields. Just look at corn yields in the last few years for an example.

Seriously, Monsanto?

The company that's suing just about every farmer in the USA whose crop (even accidentally) picks up a little genetic material that Monsanto has patents on? The company whose GMO material has mysteriously shown up in crops hundreds of miles from their closest sale?

Yield is one thing, but the farmers also want to keep a tiny little bit of the profit in their own pockets. Monsanto seems to want that money, too.

[kimamey]

goes to show how much money rules in Thailand, the farmers are loading in the chemicals trying to make as much as possible even though they know it is poisoning the eaters of their rice plus they will not even eat it themselves. They should all be charged with poising the populace, they are aware of what they are doing but dont care as long as they are paid. This is beneath contempt, the govt needs to stop this stupidity now before people start dying from this shit.

People are already dying from eating "this shit". 50-100 years ago we never had anywhere near the amount of cancer per head of population as we do now. We are what we eat and we are eating processed, chemical shit. You are not going to fall over dead after eating a bowl of this rice. The toxins are accumulating in your body and causing all manner of problems and destruction to your major organs. The problem here is finding a trustworthy source of genuinely organic food. it is worth every baht you spend on it.

You may have a point but one other reason for the increase in cancers is that with increasing life expectancy we are now living long enough to get cancer. Western countries have had problems with cancers for a long time because cancers tend to be more common as we get older. Of course longer lives give more time for toxins to build up as well. Countries that are improving their healthcare and life expectancy are now finding they have more people who are older and who are developing cancers. I'm not saying you're wrong in your views but just that there are other reasons as well.

I'm not totally against chemical use as I don't believe in the idea that chemicals must be bad for you and something that's natural is good for you . It's too simplistic as well as being obviously wrong. The problem comes when too many chemicals without proper testing are used and I wouldn't doubt that this happens in Thailand. I think even in organic foods some chemicals are required although I can't remember the reason.

GM might provide some answers but it needs to be scientifically tested and this seems to be a problem in some countries not helped by the media using phrases like 'Frankenfoods'.

[GentlemanJim]

goes to show how much money rules in Thailand, the farmers are loading in the chemicals trying to make as much as possible even though they know it is poisoning the eaters of their rice plus they will not even eat it themselves. They should all be charged with poising the populace, they are aware of what they are doing but dont care as long as they are paid. This is beneath contempt, the govt needs to stop this stupidity now before people start dying from this shit.

People are already dying from eating "this shit". 50-100 years ago we never had anywhere near the amount of cancer per head of population as we do now. We are what we eat and we are eating processed, chemical shit. You are not going to fall over dead after eating a bowl of this rice. The toxins are accumulating in your body and causing all manner of problems and destruction to your major organs. The problem here is finding a trustworthy source of genuinely organic food. it is worth every baht you spend on it.

You may have a point but one other reason for the increase in cancers is that with increasing life expectancy we are now living long enough to get cancer. Western countries have had problems with cancers for a long time because cancers tend to be more common as we get older. Of course longer lives give more time for toxins to build up as well. Countries that are improving their healthcare and life expectancy are now finding they have more people who are older and who are developing cancers. I'm not saying you're wrong in your views but just that there are other reasons as well.

I'm not totally against chemical use as I don't believe in the idea that chemicals must be bad for you and something that's natural is good for you . It's too simplistic as well as being obviously wrong. The problem comes when too many chemicals without proper testing are used and I wouldn't doubt that this happens in Thailand. I think even in organic foods some chemicals are required although I can't remember the reason.

GM might provide some answers but it needs to be scientifically tested and this seems to be a problem in some countries not helped by the media using phrases like 'Frankenfoods'.

I accept your point regarding age, but sadly the disease not only ravages the elderly, but also a staggering amount of young people.

Impulse

[kimamey]

I noticed an article in the other paper about lack of profits for rice farmers. The Thai Agriculturist Association has given figures showing the costs involved in producing 1 rai of rice. One of the costs it gives is 10 labourers at 200 baht a day. I thought that the minimum was 300 baht a day so I assume the government will be cracking down on this.

[scorecard]

This is a scary thought....rice farmers who will not eat their own produce...but didnt the goverment say just a few days ago, that they have checked and havent found a problem with "chemical" contamination....some one is lying....

glad I dont eat rice

Then you certainly do not want to eat the shrimp and fish grown in "farms" that are subject to farmland runoff. These creatures concentrate the chemicals in their bodies. That's something Thailand's aquaculture industry doesn't want anyone to discuss.

And who remembers the paymasters 'roadshow; when he personally went to Roi et (and other places), house by house, advising each family what they should do to get rich.

Time and time again his advice: 'start a fish / shrimp farm'.

And in many areas of Thailand such farming was already illegal because of the damage it does to the environment.