Much more needs to be done for rice farmers: Thai editorial

[webfact]

EDITORIAL
Much more needs to be done for rice farmers
The Nation

Yes, they have been paid, but the threat to sustainable livelihood remains

BANGKOK: -- The smiling faces of farmers as they received long-overdue payments for their rice are a positive sign. The money came just in time for them to celebrate tomorrow's National Rice and Thai Farmers Day.

The National Council for Peace and Order has quickly taken action on an important issue that was causing widespread suffering. But this is just the first step, and the NCPO move is by no means a sustainable one.

The saga began when the Pheu Thai Party decided to launch its controversial rice scheme to lure support from the largest section of Thailand's "grass-roots" voters. Policymakers' promise that the government would "buy up every grain of rice" at Bt15,000 per tonne drew a barrage of criticism from prominent economists, who predicted fiscal disaster.

The government of Yingluck Shinawatra shrugged off the warnings, but they quickly proved true. The rice price-pledging policy drastically reduced Thai farmers' competitiveness. The government hit monetary roadblocks, and the scheme fell foul of the inevitable corruption.

Rather than bringing them "prosperity", as advertised, the scheme left more than half of the participating rice farmers - about 850,000 of them - unpaid. In desperate financial straits, many staged protests to demand the money owed. Then the political crisis intervened, further muddying an already controversial subsidy scheme. One thing remained clear though: the farmers had not been paid and the government's cash flow had run dry.

The rice scheme started off on the wrong foot, as a political tool for Pheu Thai. With politics involved from day one, the problems only intensified. The anti-government protesters chipped in to support the farmers with donations of money. Morally, it was the right thing to do, but there was also political motivation for much of the generosity.

The rice farmers were held hostage amid the political warfare.

When the Yingluck administration dissolved the House, it lost legislative control over the finances for the rice scheme, and its subsequent attempts to secure loans to meet obligations to farmers were obstructed by the anti-government protesters.

Of course, swift payment from the NCPO also had political motivation. But, since the farmers had been suffering for almost half a year, no one objected to the junta's action. Nevertheless, the problem in our agricultural sector is far from resolved. Policymakers have to realise that the key issue is not the price of rice, but how to support farmers in a sustainable way.

The challenge ahead if our farmers are to stay competitive in the coming Asean Economic Community is to draft well-rounded policies. And the last thing we need in our attempt to solve this long-standing problem is more political meddling.

The next government must learn from the "expensive" lesson provided by the Yingluck administration. Rice-farming methods need to be modernised to keep up with the competition. More importantly, the sector must be managed in a sustainable way. Farmers should be encouraged to end their dependence on expensive fertiliser and pesticide, which require substantial investment every time they plant a new crop. Modern methods should be brought in and blended with local agricultural wisdom. Relevant government agencies, especially the Rice Department, should cooperate on comprehensive approaches that prevent farmers from falling into a vicious cycle of debt.

There is much to be done if the next government wants to empower the rice farmers and help them survive in the long term. Once farmers gain more control over their destiny, Thailand will be a step closer to regaining its position as the world's rice bowl. Rather than achieving short-term goals, the challenge for policymakers should be to cultivate a sustainable rice-growing sector.

-- The Nation 2014-06-04

[Lunchbob]

Isn't the philosophy of the sufficiency economy the appropriate and readily available solution?

[Tatsujin]

I agree that the rice farmers need "help" to remain competitive whilst earning a decent income and I hope long term this comes from whoever is in "power" . . . but I also hope they have learned an important lesson from all of this also . . . but that remains to be seen . . . I fear those very short-term memories

[NongKhaiKid]

I don't know anything about rice farming and am more than happy to be corrected by those who do.

i can understand the need for education and encouraging farmers to adopt better methods, stop using expensive fertilizers etc but as always you can lead a horse to water... !

No govt wants to create an industry totally dependent on them and with a growing mindset it doesn't matter how much they screw up the govt will always bail them out.

[ramrod711]

My father in law stopped growing rice on his 3 rai, against my wifes advice, planted rubber trees. He may have failed to do his research.

[ezzra]

I don't know anything about rice farming and am more than happy to be corrected by those who do.

i can understand the need for education and encouraging farmers to adopt better methods, stop using expensive fertilizers etc but as always you can lead a horse to water... !

No govt wants to create an industry totally dependent on them and with a growing mindset it doesn't matter how much they screw up the govt will always bail them out.

Which, you should have go on and say, will always leads to discontent to smaller policy

deviation on the government part, after all, they DID GAVE BEFORE, why not now,

so it's like a vicious cycle, lazy, depended and dishonest, spent thrifty farmers against

the government for as long as the farmers will hide under the government's skirt...

[worgeordie]

My wifes friend has a plot of land growing rice and she just

sold her crop to the millers(not the Govt.) and she said she

made 20,000 Bht profit,nett. my wife asked her how she made

profit,and she said she did not use as much fertilizer as other

farmers around the area did.

As the rice farmers don't seem to practice crop rotation,and only

grow rice ,in the long term that cannot be good for the land,and

would lead to increase in disease and pests.but what do i know.

If i was a farmer on a small scale i think it would be prudent to

follow the method of farming HM The King advocates which is

not to grow mono crops,but a wide variety,also have fish ponds,

chickens and other livestock,that way you will always have food

for the family and you can sell the excess,where only growing rice,

you have market forces and crop loss,then you have to sell the rice

to buy food.

regards worgeordie

[Chao Lao Beach]

I keep reading that Thai rice yields per Rai are extremely low compared to other countries, why not spend the money making the growing efficient ?

Why keep throwing good money after bad ?

I agree it is disgusting though to promise a contract and not pay for more than 6 months, it is great that is being cleaned up for the farmers.

[seajae]

even in Australia I practiced crop rotation in my vegie patch, if you continually grow only one type of plant in the same ground it ruins it and introduces disease/pest problems. We have already heard of the fact some farmers say they use that much chemical now to grow the rice even they will not eat it, it is way past time this pathetic repitition of cropping is sorted out before they destroy the land, they need to look at the future not just the present.

[SOTIRIOS]

......you didn't say squat for the longest of time......

[Ozziepat]

Eventually, as with wheat farming in the US, big agribusiness will become the principal answer to reducing costs while increasing yields and efficient use of land in order to remain competitive in the rice market. Trying to accomplish this outcome with thousands of small independent farmers will fail. A few will survive as higher-priced specialty producers, e.g., of unusual or heirloom organic varietals. Others will form managed co-ops, leave the land or switch into other markets. I don't advocate this, but it will eventually be forced by similar actions in other countries like China, and ambitions in countries like Myanmar, causing relentless downward pressure on prices.

[lomatopo]

Isn't the philosophy of the sufficiency economy the appropriate and readily available solution?

Yes, if living in the 18th century.

Seriously, that whole "philosophy of sufficiency" was just meant to keep Somchai down on the farm, happy with his tiny plot and his bucolic life at the bottom of the Thai Sakdina Class system.

[allan michaud]

The single most effective way to increase farmers money is to teach them to increase their yield. Thailand has one of the lowest yields per hectare of any rice producing nation at around 2.5tons per hectare. Even Cambodia, which is still recovering from decades of war produces more, at 2.8 tons. Vietnam is up around 6 tons.

However there's not much money to be made by the rich and powerful from education so I don't see that happening.

[firebasejay]

My father in law stopped growing rice on his 3 rai, against my wifes advice, planted rubber trees. He may have failed to do his research.

i hope he has an alternative income. depending on where he is, it will be anywhere from 5 to 10 years before he sees a dime in return. hopefuly for his sake the rubber market will have corrected itself by then

[firebasejay]

Eventually, as with wheat farming in the US, big agribusiness will become the principal answer to reducing costs while increasing yields and efficient use of land in order to remain competitive in the rice market. Trying to accomplish this outcome with thousands of small independent farmers will fail. A few will survive as higher-priced specialty producers, e.g., of unusual or heirloom organic varietals. Others will form managed co-ops, leave the land or switch into other markets. I don't advocate this, but it will eventually be forced by similar actions in other countries like China, and ambitions in countries like Myanmar, causing relentless downward pressure on prices.

this seems to be underway with so many farmers grabbing the easy loans and putting up their fields. where i live, it's rare a farmer doesn't go in debt to cover the costs of a new planting.. as the bottom falls out, I fear soon they will be little more than indentured servants on the land they once owned, if they are lucky. it's sad, too, because of the way property values have skyrocketed the past few years

just like in america in the 1930s, the banks are poised to take over

[ATF]

Most farmers won't and don't grow jasmine rice which is what the markets want. Jasmine gets a 50% premium over the cheap crap they grow and now they want the powers to be to guarantee them 10k baht per tonne when the market is 5k baht milled.

It would make more economic sense for Thailand to stop growing rice for a year or two and send all farmers to re-education camps where they can learn about real modern agricultural techniques and get paid on an attendance basis instead of the government wasting money on subsidies.

The price of rice would also rise in the meantime and the stockpiles depleted. Every country that subsidizes any industry ends up losing out.

[thumper101]

This is not just about the 'long term'. But of course that has to be factored in.

What this article fails to address is the immediate problem looming, and this won't be a problem of the future government or the 'long term'... This is about how the Junta is going to handle the situation of the new harvest which will arrive from September onwards.

Masses of rice in storage that can't be rushed out as it will affect the global and domestic price, a new 20 million tonnes about to land on the doorstep that needs buyers.

Bumper harvests worldwide with some countries expecting record breaking crops.

Not just 1 million farmers are going to be affected, and that was bad enough as it was..... The entire nation's rice industry of over 4 million farmers can literally be brought to its knees over the coming months..... not just the 2 million that were conned by the vote buying and corruption enabling scheme.

I think we aint seen nothing yet!!

Edited June 4, 2014 by thumper101

[monkeycountry]

The main step is to stop producing so much rice that clearly noone wants to buy. It is called demand and supply. Tell the farmers to grow something else, and if needed, give them the initial help to do so (free seeds for first crop or whatever). Since no farmers will listen as long as the government keeps buying all their rice, the government will have to stop buying all their rice, thereby forcing them to listen.

[gemini81]

The main step is to stop producing so much rice that clearly noone wants to buy. It is called demand and supply. Tell the farmers to grow something else, and if needed, give them the initial help to do so (free seeds for first crop or whatever). Since no farmers will listen as long as the government keeps buying all their rice, the government will have to stop buying all their rice, thereby forcing them to listen.

Don't worry, PTP's little fiefdom days are over. Progress on the way.

[Basil B]

Maybe time Thais stopped copying their neighbours and diversified, Thailand has a very good growing environment and there must be a lot more cash crops that would return a greater return.

[rickirs]

"The government hit monetary roadblocks.."

Yes, that roadblock would be the 2007 Constitution that would not allow an interim government to borrow funds to pay the farmers and unnecessarily burden the next new government. Fortunately for the farmers, that constitution was subsequently suspended which allowed loans to be made without jexplanation on how they were to be repaid. A silver lining in every dark cloud.

[bigbamboo]

My wifes friend has a plot of land growing rice and she just

sold her crop to the millers(not the Govt.) and she said she

made 20,000 Bht profit,nett. my wife asked her how she made

profit,and she said she did not use as much fertilizer as other

farmers around the area did.

As the rice farmers don't seem to practice crop rotation,and only

grow rice ,in the long term that cannot be good for the land,and

would lead to increase in disease and pests.but what do i know.

If i was a farmer on a small scale i think it would be prudent to

follow the method of farming HM The King advocates which is

not to grow mono crops,but a wide variety,also have fish ponds,

chickens and other livestock,that way you will always have food

for the family and you can sell the excess,where only growing rice,

you have market forces and crop loss,then you have to sell the rice

to buy food.

regards worgeordie

Crop rotation in a paddy field?

This is Thailand not Ireland.

[issanaus]

I keep reading that Thai rice yields per Rai are extremely low compared to other countries, why not spend the money making the growing efficient ?

Why keep throwing good money after bad ?

I agree it is disgusting though to promise a contract and not pay for more than 6 months, it is great that is being cleaned up for the farmers.

Best kept "secret" in rice farming SRI Method Rice.

"2. What are the main environmental, economic, and social benefits of applying the SRI methodology?

Benefits include increased yields of 20-50% or more, a reduction in seed use of 80-90%, and up to 50% water savings. SRI methods have shown these significant benefits across all ecological zones in over 50 countries, and have been adopted largely by smallholder farmers in Asia, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

By reducing inputs of seed, water, chemical fertilizers, and in some cases of labor, SRI gives greater returns to farmers' available resources of land, water, labor and capital, and can lower their production costs. This increases farmers' incomes and increases the profitability of rice farming.

Use of pesticides can be decreased because SRI plants are stronger and healthier. Disease pressure is reduced when plants are widely spaced because humidity levels in the plant canopy are lower than in more densely planted conventional fields.

Use of chemical fertilizer can be reduced significantly as fertilizer use efficiency increases in soils enriched with organic matter. As soils improve in structure and become more fertile through periodic organic matter amendments, less fertilizer is needed to achieve a targeted production level. If the soil is sufficiently fertile, use of chemical fertilizer can be eliminated.

Because plants are stronger and more deeply rooted, SRI crop stands show greater resilience towards drought, strong winds and storms. These hazards are becoming more frequent and more extreme with climate change.

Also, farmers note that SRI management usually shortens their crop cycle by 1-2 weeks. This frees up their land for other uses, and reduces their crops' exposure to climatic stresses and pest and disease risks.

SRI paddy rice usually produces about 10% higher outturn of polished rice when milled, because of fewer unfilled grains and less chaff. Fuller grains, reduced chalkiness and reduced breakage of grains during milling, further improves grain quality, which translates often in a higher price and return for the farmer.

Additional environmental benefits include:

Increased water availability at the landscape level or for other consumption needs, as irrigation water use can be reduced by up to 50% with SRI management,

Improved soil and water quality, through the reduction of agrochemical use,

Increase in soil carbon pools through the additions of organic matter to soils and residues from larger root systems.

Reduction in methane emissions from rice paddies through non-flooded rice paddy conditions; thus far, although more research is needed, evaluations have not shown any offsetting increase in nitrous oxide emissions.

Maintaining the biodiversity of rice cultivars can be enhanced, as local varieties become more productive and thus more attractive for farmers to grow."

http://sri.ciifad.cornell.edu/aboutsri/FAQs.html#mainenvironmental