Smog in the North cost the economy Bt6 billion

[Lite Beer]

Smog in the North cost the economy Bt6 billion
The Sunday Nation

BANGKOK: -- A seminar for economic reform yesterday assessed damage to the economy from Thailand's recent smog crisis in nine northern provinces at Bt6 billion.

The meeting to conclude issues related to the Thai economy and contract farming for law amendments was hosted by the National Reform Council (NRC)'s Finance and Monetary Reform Committee.

It also discussed the northern smog, which has been a chronic issue since 2007 and reportedly stemmed mainly from outdoor burning of agricultural waste, said a committee member Chalee Tangjirawong. He said the region had seen corn stub burnings over 5 million rai, resulting in smog that took a toll on the economy and tourism.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Smog-in-the-North-cost-the-economy-Bt6-billion-30259226.html

-- The Nation 2015-05-03

[Praematura]

Jaw dropping amounts of Chinese busses spewing diesel fumes is what happened since 2007. Thais been burning agricultural waste since the dawn of time.

[NongKhaiKid]

Sue Burma, isn't it the fault of their irresponsible farmers ?

[canuckamuck]

Jaw dropping amounts of Chinese busses spewing diesel fumes is what happened since 2007. Thais been burning agricultural waste since the dawn of time.

Then why is it seasonal?

[Fiddlesticks]

Jaw dropping amounts of Chinese busses spewing diesel fumes is what happened since 2007. Thais been burning agricultural waste since the dawn of time.

You're joking right? Perhaps you should at least try to veil your bigotry with more intelligent comments than this.

[dcutman]

No mention of what it does to peoples health. Did that 6 billion include the cost of all the additional health care?

[BSJ]

No reference to how they concluded it was a 6 billion loss to the economy. Without some yardstick as reference one can only assume they plucked a number out of the smoke haze!

[clockman]

As there is no transparency, sic. How can any part of society make statements.

[trogers]

Pity those foreigners who have decided to retire up north.

[slapout]

i think the mouth of some of these spokesmen/civil servents is similar to what you would hear in the steel mills. losts of noise of indeterminate orgine, no background figures nor reasoning for the immense racket. if someone has the biggest hammer, he is the one making the most noise. he is probably beating on sheet metal to get a ringing effect and the following echo that will follow from one of the other underlings.

[jollyhangmon]

Well then, i'm just glad it doesn't 'take a toll' on health, would be mentioned otherwise, no ...? Good, means no costs from that side either.

Effin' hypocrites.

[angiolo]

As there is no transparency, sic. How can any part of society make statements.

of course no transparency . too much smoke

[oneday]

No reference to how they concluded it was a 6 billion loss to the economy. Without some yardstick as reference one can only assume they plucked a number out of the smoke haze!

They used a unique Thai statistical analysis...

...they visited the local McDonalds's fortuneteller.

[Skygod2000]

The figures probably came from TAT, nuff said

[halloween]

Looks good to me, next year I'll be up there. I could make up for a lifetime of smoking abstinence in less than a week.

[HerbalEd]

And how many billions of baht does the burning of spent crop fields earn? The absurdity is mind boggling. Why do they let this continue year after year? I must assume it's corruption that's lining some government officials' pockets. But I can't at all figure out who profits from this burning.

Edited May 3, 2015 by HerbalEd

[Dogbarker]

Jaw dropping amounts of Chinese busses spewing diesel fumes is what happened since 2007. Thais been burning agricultural waste since the dawn of time.

But much of this agricultural matter is a bio resource which is wasted .. not waste! Since the dawn of time maybe but NOT to the levels we are looking at today ... all motor pollution in Chiang Mai is an issue .. some visible sources need police action perhaps? .. ahem

[Dogbarker]

Jaw dropping amounts of Chinese busses spewing diesel fumes is what happened since 2007. Thais been burning agricultural waste since the dawn of time.

Then why is it seasonal?

it tends not to burn easily when wet in the rainy season ...

[canuckamuck]

Jaw dropping amounts of Chinese busses spewing diesel fumes is what happened since 2007. Thais been burning agricultural waste since the dawn of time.

Then why is it seasonal?

it tends not to burn easily when wet in the rainy season ...

I was asking the poster who proposed the smoke is from Chinese diesel buses why we only get the smoke seasonally.

I am quite aware of the actual source of the smoke. Slash and burn corn is the main crop where I live.

[biggles45]

6 billion or 60 billion, it doesn't really matter. Nothing will be done, nothing will change and life will go on as before TIT

[Nobb]

Next year they will have same problem because the farmer burning the waste can not read and do not really care. Send Army to north to make farmer obey the laws. Police will not do it!

[Thai at Heart]

No mention of what it does to peoples health. Did that 6 billion include the cost of all the additional health care?

That is probably counted as a profit, not a cost

[canuckamuck]

What really needs to happen is someone showing the farmers the economic benefit of not burning. Either through no-till techniques or composting. I am not sure there is a better way though. The hills are steep and fires are cheap and easy.

But with no economic benefit the millions of mountainside farmers are going to do the only thing they can do. Light it up.

Also one other thing you might not know is that there is lots of land not in production every year. But this land gets overgrown. I have been told there is an understanding with the forestry department that if the farmer doesn't keep their land cleared, they will give it to someone else. Most of this land has no papers. So in essence the government is forcing the farmers to burn land that could more easily be left alone until needed.

For our contribution we have been putting our land into tea and coffee, and are looking for some other options. we will probably do a few rai of banana this year. Anything but corn.

Edited May 4, 2015 by canuckamuck

[DividendGuy]

We were thinking of moving to Chiang Mai, but after visiting there during the haze season we finally gave up. There is no way we are going to pay out a lot of money for a condo and then have to vacate the place for a few months each year. We are now looking in Vietnam, because it is just plain easier to get visas and to live near the ocean and to be honest, the Vietnamese people are polite and seem to be easier to deal with.

[crazygreg44]

jawdropping sight today . . . . .guys set fire to the brushes and the rice field and happily work amidst the smokescreen, instead of leaving a fireguard and go home

their lungs will soon be charcoal black and Asthma is a raising ailment in the countryside But ya know, life is cheap in Eesaan.

it's the cost of mulching by tractors that makes farmers relent on stipple burning

Edited May 8, 2015 by crazygreg44

[BSJ]

This year I had a closer look at what was left over after the contractors had finished their work. My BIL and SIL walked with the harvester and picked up the cobs it missed. In the one rai plots they would get 2 buckets of cobs. They didn't worry about broken cobs shorter than my thumbs length. In all honest there can't be much nutritional value in the stubble even with a few broken cobs here and there.

I can understand why they burn. Their outlays in time, diesel and tractor hours wouldn't be of benefit to them. In the USA some farmers with cattle put the cattle in the field to graze the stubble but here in LOS there are not the number of cattle on farms to make that an option.

It would be good if they can get more return on their corn as an incentive to mulch, but that's not going to happen either. And it would be better to mulch other products together with the corn stubble to get a good mix or organic matter.....which means buying more equipment.

I think we are going to see burning the stubble for many years to come!

[Johnny S]

The figures probably came from TAT, nuff said

The genius, Ms. Korbkan, Minister for Tourism and Sports (what a title btw ha ha) could probably predict that the smog will have no effect on anybody or the tourism as a Whole which is the most important ... WHO gives a sh1t how many suffer or die from this smog - time to find another place to live perhaps