Payment of Thai rice farming subsidy begins October 20

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Payment of rice farming subsidy begins October 20



BANGKOK: -- As Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-ocha announced payment of the rice farming subsidy of 40 billion baht will begin October 20, and cautioned landlords against exploitation of the scheme, farmers said the legal action threat could not work as they still have to rent land to farm.

Gen Prayut described his 1,000 baht per rai per household a non populist policy, and vowed to tackle landlords drastically if they forced farmers for share of the subsidy.

He said the subsidy was not much and even meant nothing for the rich, but this small amount of money meant so much for farmers.

He cautioned against mishandling of the scheme and the exploitation of the scheme by landlords.

Under the short-term remedy scheme, a household of farmers owning not more than 15 rai of farmland will receive 1,000 baht as subsidy from the government as farming cost. For those who have over 15 rai, the maximum payment is capped at 15,000 baht subsidy.

The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives is tasked to pay the subsidy to farmers based on their earlier registration documents with the government of 2.7 million households from total 3.5 million households.

The bank expected the remaining 600,000 households will register within this month

The local administration offices are now opening to register farmers qualified to receive the subsidy by end of this month.

But farmers voiced concern of the prime minister’s announcement to take legal action against landlords who own farmlands.

One farmer in Nakhon Ratchasima said most farmers did not have their farmland but have to rent from landlord under the 70:30 share of rice.

He said if farmers could get 100 sacks from their harvest, then they have to give 30 sacks to landlord as rent.

Even the prime minister threatened landlords with court cases, they saw this could not work as farmers still are reluctant to cooperate as they feared the landlords would terminate their rents and give their lands to new renters to do farming if they refused to let landlord share their subsidy.

There are lots of farmers who are ready to rent the farmland for farming if the landlords terminate their rights.

The farmers said they do not have formal agreement on renting as most just made verbally.

Now landlords are travelling from towns and Bangkok to register as farmland owners waiting to get the subsidy.

Farmers said although these landlords do not have farmers ID cards, they have no worry as they still could force share of the subsidy or take the entire amount from farmers who still have to rent land from them to grow rice.

And most farmers are willing to give them the subsidy to retain the right in the land, one farmer said.

Another farmer also said at present most farmers do not cultivate rice by themselves, but hire rice cultivation tractors to do the job instead as it is faster and easier.

The tractor will cultivate, mill and then packed in sacks as everything is all in one, he said.

What farmers will do is just to pay the hire of approximately 700 baht per rai and then sold them directly to millers.

But white rice from cultivation tractor also was always given low price from millers who claimed of having high moisture, adulteration and low quality.

Millers said there are mixed rice in the sacks in case the tractor was hired to cultivate low quality rice from a farmland, and then was hired by another farmers to cultivate in another farmland which grew high grade rice.

Low quality grains might be left in the tractors and get mixed with high quality grains during the milling and put in same sack.

This is reason which millers cited to lower the rice they buy from farmers, he said.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/payment-rice-farming-subsidy-begins-october-20/


-- Thai PBS 2014-10-14

[Emster23]

So glad to see they swept with new broom to clean up that corrupt rice support scheme attempted by evil sister.... none of that "buying of votes" as no one can vote.... and expand to rubber farmers. This is reform Suthep wanted? Is he still monking it?

[Thai at Heart]

What a screwed up market. No record of who farms. No rental contracts declared. No record of who grew. Shuffle it into a sack and the mill pays nothing because they claim its mixed.

How can ANY company claim gap and traceability with this? Impossible.

Edited October 15, 2014 by Thai at Heart