DIT: Thai farming production costs to be reduced

[webfact]

DIT: Farming production costs to be reduced



BANGKOK, 2 JULY 2014 (NNT)- More reasonable costs of farming have been announced by the Department of Interior Trade. The reduction is in line with the policy of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), decided on after Thai farmers called for help from the NCPO, to tackle the issue of high rice farming costs, and for a guarantee on crop prices.

After a meeting with the National Rice Policy Committee presided over by the junta leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha, with the Director General of the Internal Trade Department, Somchat Soithong, it was revealed that the department had proposed measures to reduce the cost of farming in the new rice season 2014/15. The changes have now been approved by the NCPO.

The new measures result from the cooperation of the rice mill owners, representatives of the rice farmers association and related agencies to help farmers reduce farming costs per rai. Costs include the price of chemical fertilizer which will now decrease by 40 baht per sack, pesticide products, seeds, the fallowing service, and land rental which will reduce by 20 baht ,122 baht, 50 baht and 200 baht respectively.

The DIT will announce the price of chemicals and fertilizers this week according to an agreement with every sector. The measures are believed to help Thai rice farmers reduce their farming costs from 4,787 baht to 4,358 baht per rai.

-- NNT 2014-07-02

[chaiyapoon]

Can't see that making much difference to a farmer with less than 50rai,which is most of them.

[dcutman]

I would think the best way to lower the cost of farming is to increase yields.

How is that Vietnam can now produce 5 to 700 kilos of rice per rai and Thailand is and has been stuck at 3 to 400 kilos per rai?

In fact Thailand is the lowest producing country in Asia.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x6905e/x6905e0f.htm

[thaimat]

I would think the best way to lower the cost of farming is to increase yields.

How is that Vietnam can now produce 5 to 700 kilos of rice per rai and Thailand is and has been stuck at 3 to 400 kilos per rai?

In fact Thailand is the lowest producing country in Asia.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x6905e/x6905e0f.htm

http://vietnamnews.vn/society/240194/organic-rice-farmers-go-against-the-grain.html

[bassman]

The latest round of sales of 5% broken white rice from the paddies in my area was just below 6 baht per kilo. Most Thai farmers would be tickled to get 500 kilos per rai at harvest. At current prices a farmer will only receive 3,000 baht per rai at harvest.

Reducing the price from 4,787 baht to 4,358 baht per rai is not going to keep the small farmer in business.

Even under rice pledging I don't believe most farmers in my area had a windfall but did manage some profit though slight.

5% broken is a 90 day "fast" product that is inferior to the long season grains which do sell for more, but they also incur more labor, risk and higher input costs.

[UbonRatch]

"and for a guarantee on crop prices."

Pls, not again!

[renaissanc]

The politicians are going to be reduced to the awful level of just "Extremely Unusually Rich" by all these clampdowns on mafias, human trafficking, the exploitation of farmers, corrupt populist schemes, etc. Some of them may have to sell one of their resorts, some of their thousands of rai, one of their super cars, etc., just to survive. Maybe one or two of their mia nois will have to be given the boot. These are hard times for our politicians.

[ChrisY1]

Myanmar labourers..........??

[h90]

"Costs include the price of chemical fertilizer which will now decrease by 40 baht per sack, pesticide products, seeds, the fallowing service, and land rental which will reduce by 20 baht ,122 baht, 50 baht and 200 baht respectively."

great!!! Because we don't have enough pesticides in the Thai products already!

[ericthai]

I would think the best way to lower the cost of farming is to increase yields.

How is that Vietnam can now produce 5 to 700 kilos of rice per rai and Thailand is and has been stuck at 3 to 400 kilos per rai?

In fact Thailand is the lowest producing country in Asia.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x6905e/x6905e0f.htm

There are allot of factors that come into play to determine yields, such as soil conditions, irrigation, planting etc.

We are getting between 500-600 kilos per rai, but my wife puts allot of effort into getting these yields. She cut way

back on chemical fertilizers and using mostly manure. Stopped the slash and burn thing etc. We rented some land a few years

ago and no matter what we did the most we could get from than land was only 250-300 kilos per rai. The soil was terrible.

[Alwyn]

I would think the best way to lower the cost of farming is to increase yields.

How is that Vietnam can now produce 5 to 700 kilos of rice per rai and Thailand is and has been stuck at 3 to 400 kilos per rai?

In fact Thailand is the lowest producing country in Asia.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x6905e/x6905e0f.htm

That's a good point. Perhaps investment in some education for these poor guys would help more or at least as much as reducing the cost of a bag of fertilizer?

[ericthai]

The latest round of sales of 5% broken white rice from the paddies in my area was just below 6 baht per kilo. Most Thai farmers would be tickled to get 500 kilos per rai at harvest. At current prices a farmer will only receive 3,000 baht per rai at harvest.

Reducing the price from 4,787 baht to 4,358 baht per rai is not going to keep the small farmer in business.

Even under rice pledging I don't believe most farmers in my area had a windfall but did manage some profit though slight.

5% broken is a 90 day "fast" product that is inferior to the long season grains which do sell for more, but they also incur more labor, risk and higher input costs.

Are you saying 5% broken is grown in 90 days? Sorry to say but you have no idea what you are talking about.

5% broken has nothing to do with how quick or how long rice is grown or the amount of labor or even the type of rice. Risk... I have no idea what you mean by that.

The percentage of broken is controlled by the mill when processing and bagging. The meaning of "5% broken" is that 5% of the rice is not long grains it is broken, you can get cheaper rice 10-15% broken, I have even seen 90% broken which I know poor countries like Africa import, so more of the rice is broken and not long grains. The mill pays you according to the quality of your rice and the moisture content, of course the more moisture the less they pay as the heavier it is.

[Chris Lawrence]

Farmers are poor because of their main engagement in agricultural production, which has to face difficult conditions such as natural disasters, uncertainties of markets and farm prices, as well as good quality produce to meet market demand. Farmers are regarded as the poorest group in the country. They also face competition in the world trading of agricultural commodities being dominated by protectionism on the part of several groups of nations.

Borrowing money usually means paying higher interest rates.

Don't rice farmers also need help with transferable technology suited to their environment and education on crop diversification programs. Don't they also need information flow?

Good to see that they are attempting to reduce costs, but are they transferable through out rice growing areas?

[dcutman]

I would think the best way to lower the cost of farming is to increase yields.

How is that Vietnam can now produce 5 to 700 kilos of rice per rai and Thailand is and has been stuck at 3 to 400 kilos per rai?

In fact Thailand is the lowest producing country in Asia.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x6905e/x6905e0f.htm

There are allot of factors that come into play to determine yields, such as soil conditions, irrigation, planting etc.

We are getting between 500-600 kilos per rai, but my wife puts allot of effort into getting these yields. She cut way

back on chemical fertilizers and using mostly manure. Stopped the slash and burn thing etc. We rented some land a few years

ago and no matter what we did the most we could get from than land was only 250-300 kilos per rai. The soil was terrible.

That is my point.

Rice is a very soil exhaustive crop, it cannot be planted year after year is the same dirt. Something different needs to be planted that actually regenerates the soil. Its called crop rotation and sustainable farming. All the chemicals and pesticides can be cut drastically if Thai farmers where willing to adopt some modern farming techniques.

Maybe instead of rice pledging schemes and and fertilizer subsidies. The government should invest in irrigation, eduction, and higher yielding, drought tolerant seed production.

Pretty sure that has the rest of the world is/has adapted.

[ericthai]

I would think the best way to lower the cost of farming is to increase yields.

How is that Vietnam can now produce 5 to 700 kilos of rice per rai and Thailand is and has been stuck at 3 to 400 kilos per rai?

In fact Thailand is the lowest producing country in Asia.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x6905e/x6905e0f.htm

There are allot of factors that come into play to determine yields, such as soil conditions, irrigation, planting etc.

We are getting between 500-600 kilos per rai, but my wife puts allot of effort into getting these yields. She cut way

back on chemical fertilizers and using mostly manure. Stopped the slash and burn thing etc. We rented some land a few years

ago and no matter what we did the most we could get from than land was only 250-300 kilos per rai. The soil was terrible.

That is my point.

Rice is a very soil exhaustive crop, it cannot be planted year after year is the same dirt. Something different needs to be planted that actually regenerates the soil. Its called crop rotation and sustainable farming. All the chemicals and pesticides can be cut drastically if Thai farmers where willing to adopt some modern farming techniques.

Maybe instead of rice pledging schemes and and fertilizer subsidies. The government should invest in irrigation, eduction, and higher yielding, drought tolerant seed production.

Pretty sure that has the rest of the world is/has adapted.

Yes, you are correct the farmers need to be educated that allot of what they are doing is not correct or no good. As for the drought tolerant seeds, I would think that is GMO and Thailand is not allowing any GMO products into the country.

Edited July 2, 2014 by ericthai

[h90]

I would think the best way to lower the cost of farming is to increase yields.

How is that Vietnam can now produce 5 to 700 kilos of rice per rai and Thailand is and has been stuck at 3 to 400 kilos per rai?

In fact Thailand is the lowest producing country in Asia.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x6905e/x6905e0f.htm

There are allot of factors that come into play to determine yields, such as soil conditions, irrigation, planting etc.

We are getting between 500-600 kilos per rai, but my wife puts allot of effort into getting these yields. She cut way

back on chemical fertilizers and using mostly manure. Stopped the slash and burn thing etc. We rented some land a few years

ago and no matter what we did the most we could get from than land was only 250-300 kilos per rai. The soil was terrible.

I heard Thais who told they would not eat plants with manure as fertilizer because it is so ugly. But they have no problem with chemicals....how stupid is that....

[bigbamboo]

I would think the best way to lower the cost of farming is to increase yields.

How is that Vietnam can now produce 5 to 700 kilos of rice per rai and Thailand is and has been stuck at 3 to 400 kilos per rai?

In fact Thailand is the lowest producing country in Asia.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x6905e/x6905e0f.htm

That's a good point. Perhaps investment in some education for these poor guys would help more or at least as much as reducing the cost of a bag of fertilizer?

I suppose they could always hire some Vietnamese farmers to come to Thailand and show the Thais how it's done. Perhaps they could make instructional videos which could be aired on television here in the evenings to educate the locals.

I'm sure they would be very popular.

Edited July 2, 2014 by bigbamboo

[Alwyn]

I would think the best way to lower the cost of farming is to increase yields.

How is that Vietnam can now produce 5 to 700 kilos of rice per rai and Thailand is and has been stuck at 3 to 400 kilos per rai?

In fact Thailand is the lowest producing country in Asia.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x6905e/x6905e0f.htm

That's a good point. Perhaps investment in some education for these poor guys would help more or at least as much as reducing the cost of a bag of fertilizer?

I suppose they could always hire some Vietnamese farmers to come to Thailand and show the Thais how it's done. Perhaps they could make instructional videos which could be aired on television here in the evenings to educate the locals.

I'm sure they would be very popular.

Yes and they could dub over that really nice music they love at the fights too!

[Thai at Heart]

I would think the best way to lower the cost of farming is to increase yields.

How is that Vietnam can now produce 5 to 700 kilos of rice per rai and Thailand is and has been stuck at 3 to 400 kilos per rai?

In fact Thailand is the lowest producing country in Asia.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x6905e/x6905e0f.htm

There are allot of factors that come into play to determine yields, such as soil conditions, irrigation, planting etc.

We are getting between 500-600 kilos per rai, but my wife puts allot of effort into getting these yields. She cut way

back on chemical fertilizers and using mostly manure. Stopped the slash and burn thing etc. We rented some land a few years

ago and no matter what we did the most we could get from than land was only 250-300 kilos per rai. The soil was terrible.

Reality is, if Thailand grew rice in the best places where yields were better, they would only produce 50% of what they do now

Chasing this ridiculous title of largest rice exporter is ridiculous if the farmers can't make any money. They need to start to switch.

[northernjohn]

I would think the best way to lower the cost of farming is to increase yields.

How is that Vietnam can now produce 5 to 700 kilos of rice per rai and Thailand is and has been stuck at 3 to 400 kilos per rai?

In fact Thailand is the lowest producing country in Asia.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x6905e/x6905e0f.htm

http://vietnamnews.vn/society/240194/organic-rice-farmers-go-against-the-grain.html

Not sure if this is allowed but the mods allowed the site location so I copied a bit of it.

This is the second season that they have foregone the use of chemicals after receiving the training of experts from the University of Tokyo and Ha Noi University of Agriculture.

"My rice is growing well," said Bui Thi Khuynh, 53. "We only used organic fertiliser for the crop and it is making a big difference."

What are the chances of Thailand letting foreign universities in to give them advice?

[ericthai]

I would think the best way to lower the cost of farming is to increase yields.

How is that Vietnam can now produce 5 to 700 kilos of rice per rai and Thailand is and has been stuck at 3 to 400 kilos per rai?

In fact Thailand is the lowest producing country in Asia.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x6905e/x6905e0f.htm

There are allot of factors that come into play to determine yields, such as soil conditions, irrigation, planting etc.

We are getting between 500-600 kilos per rai, but my wife puts allot of effort into getting these yields. She cut way

back on chemical fertilizers and using mostly manure. Stopped the slash and burn thing etc. We rented some land a few years

ago and no matter what we did the most we could get from than land was only 250-300 kilos per rai. The soil was terrible.

Reality is, if Thailand grew rice in the best places where yields were better, they would only produce 50% of what they do now

Chasing this ridiculous title of largest rice exporter is ridiculous if the farmers can't make any money. They need to start to switch.

I agree, but most of them only know how to grow rice. They grow to have enough rice for themselves all year and then sell the rest.

For them to grow something else it would need direction and coordination so not to flood the markets with other products and cause a big price drop.

One of my workers thought she was being smart 4-5 years ago. She saw the cucumbers were selling at a high price. She decided to grow cucumbers on her land and also leased allot of other land that she borrowed money from the bank to lease the land, buy seeds etc. Come harvest time turned out allot of other people were thinking the same as her and the market was flooded with cucumbers. She was getting almost nothing got them, she gave us two big bags full of cucumbers and was giving them to all the other workers in our factory.

It's easy to say grow something else that pays more but you need to know what is going on in the market to avoid issues like this. Don't know what the answer is. I do know Thailand has several rice research center spread around Thailand where they are always testing different ideas on how to grow rice to get better yields, other fertilizers etc. My wife took me to one of the research centers once and it was very interesting on all the things they are trying and testing.

Maybe one of these days they will find the key to get max yields time after time.

[Jay Sata]

I would think the best way to lower the cost of farming is to increase yields.

How is that Vietnam can now produce 5 to 700 kilos of rice per rai and Thailand is and has been stuck at 3 to 400 kilos per rai?

In fact Thailand is the lowest producing country in Asia.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x6905e/x6905e0f.htm

I quite agree. However machinery and buying co ops would be a start followed by greater mechanisation.

The yield per rai will never improve using just manpower alone.

[Thai at Heart]

I would think the best way to lower the cost of farming is to increase yields.

How is that Vietnam can now produce 5 to 700 kilos of rice per rai and Thailand is and has been stuck at 3 to 400 kilos per rai?

In fact Thailand is the lowest producing country in Asia.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x6905e/x6905e0f.htm

There are allot of factors that come into play to determine yields, such as soil conditions, irrigation, planting etc.

We are getting between 500-600 kilos per rai, but my wife puts allot of effort into getting these yields. She cut way

back on chemical fertilizers and using mostly manure. Stopped the slash and burn thing etc. We rented some land a few years

ago and no matter what we did the most we could get from than land was only 250-300 kilos per rai. The soil was terrible.

Reality is, if Thailand grew rice in the best places where yields were better, they would only produce 50% of what they do now

Chasing this ridiculous title of largest rice exporter is ridiculous if the farmers can't make any money. They need to start to switch.

I agree, but most of them only know how to grow rice. They grow to have enough rice for themselves all year and then sell the rest.

For them to grow something else it would need direction and coordination so not to flood the markets with other products and cause a big price drop.

One of my workers thought she was being smart 4-5 years ago. She saw the cucumbers were selling at a high price. She decided to grow cucumbers on her land and also leased allot of other land that she borrowed money from the bank to lease the land, buy seeds etc. Come harvest time turned out allot of other people were thinking the same as her and the market was flooded with cucumbers. She was getting almost nothing got them, she gave us two big bags full of cucumbers and was giving them to all the other workers in our factory.

It's easy to say grow something else that pays more but you need to know what is going on in the market to avoid issues like this. Don't know what the answer is. I do know Thailand has several rice research center spread around Thailand where they are always testing different ideas on how to grow rice to get better yields, other fertilizers etc. My wife took me to one of the research centers once and it was very interesting on all the things they are trying and testing.

Maybe one of these days they will find the key to get max yields time after time.

Look at it another way. Thailand grows 50%,of its crop for export. Why not pay people to stop growing and just give them the rice they need to eat, and let them grow something else.

Why grow the excess for export when as you say so much is grown on crap land just to feed people. They have got themselves in a complete mess over rice at all costs for export. I just don't see the benefit.

[plachon]

Quote from article:

"The new measures result from the cooperation of the rice mill owners, representatives of the rice farmers association and related agencies to help farmers reduce farming costs per rai. Costs include the price of chemical fertilizer which will now decrease by 40 baht per sack, pesticide products, seeds, the fallowing service, and land rental which will reduce by 20 baht ,122 baht, 50 baht and 200 baht respectively."

What on earth is the "fallowing service" referred to? And why should the govt be subsidising land rental? This subsidy will favour landlords, not farmers, in practice. But looking at the beneficiaries of the subsidy mentioned, unlike the old crop subsidy, none of these subsidies are going to the farmer themselves, but the leeches that feed off their ignorance and powerlessness. This plan seems retrogressive to me, no better than the Yingluk rice subsidy programme, and just as prone to abuse as before. Designed to keep the rice farmers just about afloat, but never able to break out of poverty and dependency on parasitic networks above, and this crazy notion that Thailand has to keep its stake as No 1 rice exporter in the world going for another few years, despite the contradictions it poses in an essentially post-agricultural society.

[Thai at Heart]

Quote from article:

"The new measures result from the cooperation of the rice mill owners, representatives of the rice farmers association and related agencies to help farmers reduce farming costs per rai. Costs include the price of chemical fertilizer which will now decrease by 40 baht per sack, pesticide products, seeds, the fallowing service, and land rental which will reduce by 20 baht ,122 baht, 50 baht and 200 baht respectively."

What on earth is the "fallowing service" referred to? And why should the govt be subsidising land rental? This subsidy will favour landlords, not farmers, in practice. But looking at the beneficiaries of the subsidy mentioned, unlike the old crop subsidy, none of these subsidies are going to the farmer themselves, but the leeches that feed off their ignorance and powerlessness. This plan seems retrogressive to me, no better than the Yingluk rice subsidy programme, and just as prone to abuse as before. Designed to keep the rice farmers just about afloat, but never able to break out of poverty and dependency on parasitic networks above, and this crazy notion that Thailand has to keep its stake as No 1 rice exporter in the world going for another few years, despite the contradictions it poses in an essentially post-agricultural society.

There is something ridiculous when people are being subsidised for breaking their back for no profit just to export a product to.make some companies in bangkok a big margin.

[allan michaud]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

I would think the best way to lower the cost of farming is to increase yields.
How is that Vietnam can now produce 5 to 700 kilos of rice per rai and Thailand is and has been stuck at 3 to 400 kilos per rai?
In fact Thailand is the lowest producing country in Asia.
http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x6905e/x6905e0f.htm

There are allot of factors that come into play to determine yields, such as soil conditions, irrigation, planting etc.
We are getting between 500-600 kilos per rai, but my wife puts allot of effort into getting these yields. She cut way
back on chemical fertilizers and using mostly manure. Stopped the slash and burn thing etc. We rented some land a few years
ago and no matter what we did the most we could get from than land was only 250-300 kilos per rai. The soil was terrible.

Yes that's right, a lot of land is not good, the only way to improve it is massive work on composting, reducing chemical fertilisers. Too many farmers rely almost entirley on chemicals which in the long term destroy your soil. Most farmers have no clue as to how to improve their soil, they do not understand the natural process of how micro organisims convert naturally available chemicals like nitrogen into a form that plants can access, the fact that chemical fertilisers provide no biomass and reduce the number of micro organisims makes matters worse. EDUCATION IS WHAT IS NEEDED.

[Valentine]

Chemicals used in farming are the cause of untold health problems not only for those who apply them but to the end user as well. Subsidies will help but are not a long term solution & basically just another populist policy. Better farming methods, organic farming, crop rotation, farmer cooperatives, clean out the superfluous middlemen, etc, are the key to sustainable farming which in the end will benefit all.

[Saan]

I would think the best way to lower the cost of farming is to increase yields.

How is that Vietnam can now produce 5 to 700 kilos of rice per rai and Thailand is and has been stuck at 3 to 400 kilos per rai?

In fact Thailand is the lowest producing country in Asia.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x6905e/x6905e0f.htm

There are allot of factors that come into play to determine yields, such as soil conditions, irrigation, planting etc.

We are getting between 500-600 kilos per rai, but my wife puts allot of effort into getting these yields. She cut way

back on chemical fertilizers and using mostly manure. Stopped the slash and burn thing etc. We rented some land a few years

ago and no matter what we did the most we could get from than land was only 250-300 kilos per rai. The soil was terrible.

That is my point.

Rice is a very soil exhaustive crop, it cannot be planted year after year is the same dirt. Something different needs to be planted that actually regenerates the soil. Its called crop rotation and sustainable farming. All the chemicals and pesticides can be cut drastically if Thai farmers where willing to adopt some modern farming techniques.

Maybe instead of rice pledging schemes and and fertilizer subsidies. The government should invest in irrigation, eduction, and higher yielding, drought tolerant seed production.

Pretty sure that has the rest of the world is/has adapted.

Yes, you are correct the farmers need to be educated that allot of what they are doing is not correct or no good. As for the drought tolerant seeds, I would think that is GMO and Thailand is not allowing any GMO products into the country.

It is hard to change the mind set of people who have been brought up in a culture of farming that is hundreds, perhaps thousands of years old. I offered to pay for jasmine rice seed for my in-laws to grow rather than sticky rice. Jasmine sells for more. The answer was no as the like to eat sticky rice. I said grow Jasmine and buy sticky rice from your neighbours. No again, they like to eat their own rice.

[Chris Lawrence]

I would think the best way to lower the cost of farming is to increase yields.

How is that Vietnam can now produce 5 to 700 kilos of rice per rai and Thailand is and has been stuck at 3 to 400 kilos per rai?

In fact Thailand is the lowest producing country in Asia.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x6905e/x6905e0f.htm

There are allot of factors that come into play to determine yields, such as soil conditions, irrigation, planting etc.

We are getting between 500-600 kilos per rai, but my wife puts allot of effort into getting these yields. She cut way

back on chemical fertilizers and using mostly manure. Stopped the slash and burn thing etc. We rented some land a few years

ago and no matter what we did the most we could get from than land was only 250-300 kilos per rai. The soil was terrible.

Reality is, if Thailand grew rice in the best places where yields were better, they would only produce 50% of what they do now

Chasing this ridiculous title of largest rice exporter is ridiculous if the farmers can't make any money. They need to start to switch.

I agree, but most of them only know how to grow rice. They grow to have enough rice for themselves all year and then sell the rest.

For them to grow something else it would need direction and coordination so not to flood the markets with other products and cause a big price drop.

One of my workers thought she was being smart 4-5 years ago. She saw the cucumbers were selling at a high price. She decided to grow cucumbers on her land and also leased allot of other land that she borrowed money from the bank to lease the land, buy seeds etc. Come harvest time turned out allot of other people were thinking the same as her and the market was flooded with cucumbers. She was getting almost nothing got them, she gave us two big bags full of cucumbers and was giving them to all the other workers in our factory.

It's easy to say grow something else that pays more but you need to know what is going on in the market to avoid issues like this. Don't know what the answer is. I do know Thailand has several rice research center spread around Thailand where they are always testing different ideas on how to grow rice to get better yields, other fertilizers etc. My wife took me to one of the research centers once and it was very interesting on all the things they are trying and testing.

Maybe one of these days they will find the key to get max yields time after time.

Instead of going to a research center the people working at the center need to spend a lot of time in the field to help educate and advise on the crops that will make money?

Farming shouldn't be a gamble on what to grow next season. Help should also be given with marketing?

Edited July 3, 2014 by Chris Lawrence

[bassman]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

The latest round of sales of 5% broken white rice from the paddies in my area was just below 6 baht per kilo. Most Thai farmers would be tickled to get 500 kilos per rai at harvest. At current prices a farmer will only receive 3,000 baht per rai at harvest.

Reducing the price from 4,787 baht to 4,358 baht per rai is not going to keep the small farmer in business.

Even under rice pledging I don't believe most farmers in my area had a windfall but did manage some profit though slight.

5% broken is a 90 day "fast" product that is inferior to the long season grains which do sell for more, but they also incur more labor, risk and higher input costs.

Are you saying 5% broken is grown in 90 days? Sorry to say but you have no idea what you are talking about.
5% broken has nothing to do with how quick or how long rice is grown or the amount of labor or even the type of rice. Risk... I have no idea what you mean by that.

The percentage of broken is controlled by the mill when processing and bagging. The meaning of "5% broken" is that 5% of the rice is not long grains it is broken, you can get cheaper rice 10-15% broken, I have even seen 90% broken which I know poor countries like Africa import, so more of the rice is broken and not long grains. The mill pays you according to the quality of your rice and the moisture content, of course the more moisture the less they pay as the heavier it is.

5% broken white rice is a standard that is most often traded on the markets. White rice is a generic term for milled rice of whatever variety. Quality Jasmine rice requires a minimum of 120 day growing season, "generic white rice" can be grown in 90 days. Your long winded explanation about broken percentages and Africa is off topic, not sure what your point is. And sure you can get deductions when selling for moisture plus other discrepancies like color, weed seed, chaff and anything else that is not rice.

By risk incurred from growing a 120 day Jasmine crop vice a 90 day white rice crop should be simple to comprehend. The main part of rain season where I'm at is usually about 120 days long, you have to hit the planting and harvest cycle almost spot on. With a 90 day crop you have 30 more days of a grace period during the rain season. Along with the risk there is also another month of labor and fertilizer involved.