Thai Agriculture Min ready to cope with drought

[webfact]

Agriculture ready to cope with drought



BANGKOK: -- The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives today reported the cabinet of its measures to handle this year's drought which is expected to be critical.

The ministry yesterday called a meeting with the Water Management Committee with instruction and to the Royal Irrigation Department to task all 22 governors from the central Chao Phraya river basin to inform their farmers to delay their rice cultivation until July and August to avoid water shortages and damages to their crops if they ignored the call.

The instruction came as the recent rainfalls did not reach their normal level of at least 990 million cubic meters, leaving the Bhumibol, Sirikit and Chonlasit dams with severely low water level.

The ministry further noted that the Thai Meteorological Department has also forecasted that the country would now face a period of no rainfall until July, prompting the ministry to push forward with the decision to ask the public to use water sparingly.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/agriculture-ready-to-cope-with-drought


-- Thai PBS 2015-06-16

[billd766]

They are NOT prepared at all. This water crisis which is what it really is, has been in the pipeline for a few years now and has been partly caused by politicians (especially the Minister of Agriculture) interfering in what was before a fairly well organised system.

The other part of the problem is that ther are too many ministries and depaertments which overlap each other, each vying for overall control without an overall chief who is willing to bang heads together.

This year is bad but IMHO next year will be worse before it get better.

[elgordo38]

They are NOT prepared at all. This water crisis which is what it really is, has been in the pipeline for a few years now and has been partly caused by politicians (especially the Minister of Agriculture) interfering in what was before a fairly well organised system.

The other part of the problem is that ther are too many ministries and depaertments which overlap each other, each vying for overall control without an overall chief who is willing to bang heads together.

This year is bad but IMHO next year will be worse before it get better.

I wonder if he could do a "he turned the water into wine" reverse? Happy Songkran while we still have water. Next year we will be throwing confetti unless the government hot air committee does not relent. The way things run here is like "Damn the torpedo's full speed ahead" mentality.

[elgordo38]

They are NOT prepared at all. This water crisis which is what it really is, has been in the pipeline for a few years now and has been partly caused by politicians (especially the Minister of Agriculture) interfering in what was before a fairly well organised system.

The other part of the problem is that ther are too many ministries and depaertments which overlap each other, each vying for overall control without an overall chief who is willing to bang heads together.

This year is bad but IMHO next year will be worse before it get better.

We wasted the 7 fat years now the 7 lean years are upon us with a vengeance me thinks. Might be best not use the 650,000 tons of bad rice for fuel. We may need to fuel our stomachs in the lean years ahead. Oh well looking off into the distance from my balcony I can see no less than 7 more condo's rising up ready to compete for a dwindling supply of water, electric fresh air and of course a place to dump the poop and pee. The owners are more than likely looking north into China for paying customers to come and buy them. Chiang Mai China has a certain ring to it. Looking off the balcony at the wall to wall traffic I thank my lucky stars I am 77 years old.

[Srikcir]

So the minister's measures are :

- warn farmers of a drought

- let farmers know that without water crops will be damaged

- ask farmers to delay crops

No doubt this government has the best and brightest people that Prayut can appoint leading the country. It's just the direction that they are NOT leading the country that is disturbing.

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

Yes they are prepared for another rain dance but not for the drought as they let too much water out and now the major dams are nearly empty. The worst is that they are promising rainfall to return to normal later in the season. The scientific facts are however that there are an El Nino forming that looks as if it will be worse than the 1997/98 one. Instead of giving empty promises tell the truth that the government can start to prepare for emergency aid to farmers.

This is the same people that negelected to let out enough water in 2011 which later on aggreviated the flood.

Thailand needs a proper water management system, like the Koreans was suppose to implement, but then came a coup and we are back at cattle predicting rainfall and rain dances to ask for rain.

[mikemac]

So the minister's measures are :

- warn farmers of a drought

- let farmers know that without water crops will be damaged

- ask farmers to delay crops

No doubt this government has the best and brightest people that Prayut can appoint leading the country. It's just the direction that they are NOT leading the country that is disturbing.

No matter how incompetent this government is regarding the flood and drought situation, it will never compare with the incompetence of the previous government. That really was the pinnacle of incompetence, the likes of which will never be seen again.

We wasted the 7 fat years now the 7 lean years are upon us with a vengeance me thinks. Might be best not use the 650,000 tons of bad rice for fuel. We may need to fuel our stomachs in the lean years ahead. Oh well looking off into the distance from my balcony I can see no less than 7 more condo's rising up ready to compete for a dwindling supply of water, electric fresh air and of course a place to dump the poop and pee. The owners are more than likely looking north into China for paying customers to come and buy them. Chiang Mai China has a certain ring to it. Looking off the balcony at the wall to wall traffic I thank my lucky stars I am 77 years old.

Yes elgordo38, I know what you mean.

After living in a condo for the last 5 years in the city of Chiang Mai, just behind the Night Bazaar, we decided to buy some land at Saraphee and build a house. The house was finished in March and my wife moved out in March (I was away working)

Will not miss Chiang Mai, China, and hopefully they will not follow us out there and start building condos all around us.

[billd766]

They are NOT prepared at all. This water crisis which is what it really is, has been in the pipeline for a few years now and has been partly caused by politicians (especially the Minister of Agriculture) interfering in what was before a fairly well organised system.

The other part of the problem is that ther are too many ministries and depaertments which overlap each other, each vying for overall control without an overall chief who is willing to bang heads together.

This year is bad but IMHO next year will be worse before it get better.

We wasted the 7 fat years now the 7 lean years are upon us with a vengeance me thinks. Might be best not use the 650,000 tons of bad rice for fuel. We may need to fuel our stomachs in the lean years ahead. Oh well looking off into the distance from my balcony I can see no less than 7 more condo's rising up ready to compete for a dwindling supply of water, electric fresh air and of course a place to dump the poop and pee. The owners are more than likely looking north into China for paying customers to come and buy them. Chiang Mai China has a certain ring to it. Looking off the balcony at the wall to wall traffic I thank my lucky stars I am 77 years old.

We moved up here to rural Thailand in 2004 though my wife had part of the land here about 10 years before that but lived in BKK.

When we got here the nearest house was about 400 metres in one direction and 600 metres in the other. The water pipe was a 3 inch bore blue plastic one.

Now on our side of the road there is no space for any houses for 1 km either way and there are 2 resorts. The electricity now has 3 phase but few connections on it, the poop is the same systen of septic tanks and the honey truck and the water pipe still has not been upgraded.

A lady who helps my wife out has water and cannot understand why we don't and she lives about 1 1/2 km closer to the supply than we do.

I am so p1ssed off with having no government water that I told my wife to call the Pu Yai Ban and ask why he has water (a different village 3 km closer to the water supply for him) and we don't. There is a tap somewhere between us and our lady friend and the PYB apparently didn't know or tell anybody to turn it off.

That was yesterday. Today there is still no government water.

[little mary sunshine]

I now have a feather head dress, Tom tom and will start the

Chant and dance after I finish swimming in my pool. All is

Well!!!

[torpedo1970]

They are NOT prepared at all. This water crisis which is what it really is, has been in the pipeline for a few years now and has been partly caused by politicians (especially the Minister of Agriculture) interfering in what was before a fairly well organised system.

The other part of the problem is that ther are too many ministries and depaertments which overlap each other, each vying for overall control without an overall chief who is willing to bang heads together.

This year is bad but IMHO next year will be worse before it get better.

We wasted the 7 fat years now the 7 lean years are upon us with a vengeance me thinks. Might be best not use the 650,000 tons of bad rice for fuel. We may need to fuel our stomachs in the lean years ahead. Oh well looking off into the distance from my balcony I can see no less than 7 more condo's rising up ready to compete for a dwindling supply of water, electric fresh air and of course a place to dump the poop and pee. The owners are more than likely looking north into China for paying customers to come and buy them. Chiang Mai China has a certain ring to it. Looking off the balcony at the wall to wall traffic I thank my lucky stars I am 77 years old.

We moved up here to rural Thailand in 2004 though my wife had part of the land here about 10 years before that but lived in BKK.

When we got here the nearest house was about 400 metres in one direction and 600 metres in the other. The water pipe was a 3 inch bore blue plastic one.

Now on our side of the road there is no space for any houses for 1 km either way and there are 2 resorts. The electricity now has 3 phase but few connections on it, the poop is the same systen of septic tanks and the honey truck and the water pipe still has not been upgraded.

A lady who helps my wife out has water and cannot understand why we don't and she lives about 1 1/2 km closer to the supply than we do.

I am so p1ssed off with having no government water that I told my wife to call the Pu Yai Ban and ask why he has water (a different village 3 km closer to the water supply for him) and we don't. There is a tap somewhere between us and our lady friend and the PYB apparently didn't know or tell anybody to turn it off.

That was yesterday. Today there is still no government water.

The first thing i did moving into my home in isaan was to install a 2000 liter water tank and pump system. the government water system is at best unreliable. comes and goes all day/night.

a water tank system is not unheard of even in Europe. when i lived in London my house had that a few years ago....

just a tip.....

[Muhendis]

It is a Bangkok problem only. They don't want the Ayutthaya farmers to take water for their farms that Bangkok needs and quite rightly so. However the rest of Thailand has no problem. Here in Buriram our only problem is trying to drive through the mud on the rural road out to my house and, of course, finding the dry time to scatter our rice seed.

[Thai at Heart]

They ordered 2 more water coolers for the office.

[billd766]

They are NOT prepared at all. This water crisis which is what it really is, has been in the pipeline for a few years now and has been partly caused by politicians (especially the Minister of Agriculture) interfering in what was before a fairly well organised system.

The other part of the problem is that ther are too many ministries and depaertments which overlap each other, each vying for overall control without an overall chief who is willing to bang heads together.

This year is bad but IMHO next year will be worse before it get better.

We wasted the 7 fat years now the 7 lean years are upon us with a vengeance me thinks. Might be best not use the 650,000 tons of bad rice for fuel. We may need to fuel our stomachs in the lean years ahead. Oh well looking off into the distance from my balcony I can see no less than 7 more condo's rising up ready to compete for a dwindling supply of water, electric fresh air and of course a place to dump the poop and pee. The owners are more than likely looking north into China for paying customers to come and buy them. Chiang Mai China has a certain ring to it. Looking off the balcony at the wall to wall traffic I thank my lucky stars I am 77 years old.

We moved up here to rural Thailand in 2004 though my wife had part of the land here about 10 years before that but lived in BKK.

When we got here the nearest house was about 400 metres in one direction and 600 metres in the other. The water pipe was a 3 inch bore blue plastic one.

Now on our side of the road there is no space for any houses for 1 km either way and there are 2 resorts. The electricity now has 3 phase but few connections on it, the poop is the same systen of septic tanks and the honey truck and the water pipe still has not been upgraded.

A lady who helps my wife out has water and cannot understand why we don't and she lives about 1 1/2 km closer to the supply than we do.

I am so p1ssed off with having no government water that I told my wife to call the Pu Yai Ban and ask why he has water (a different village 3 km closer to the water supply for him) and we don't. There is a tap somewhere between us and our lady friend and the PYB apparently didn't know or tell anybody to turn it off.

That was yesterday. Today there is still no government water.

The first thing i did moving into my home in isaan was to install a 2000 liter water tank and pump system. the government water system is at best unreliable. comes and goes all day/night.

a water tank system is not unheard of even in Europe. when i lived in London my house had that a few years ago....

just a tip.....

Thanks for the tip but I use concrete ongs as my water storage and each holds about 1,500 litres of useable water. I have 20 croaa connected with 7 spare so I can hold out for quite a while but it has been 5 months now since the water last flowed from the government pipes. We get a free delivery of about 9,000 litres of water from the fire truck every couple of weeks but so does everybody else in the local villages. my wife has to go to the tessaban and order it and sign for it when we get it. The al;ternative is to get the other tanker to deliver it at a cost of 50 baht per 1,000 litres. The normal price is 2 baht per 1,000 litres. The storage system and pump are fine, it is just getting the water that is hard.

Most years there is a water shortage for a couple of months but this year has been bad. IMHO next year will be worse before it starts to get better in 2017 for 5 or 6 years.

[billd766]

It is a Bangkok problem only. They don't want the Ayutthaya farmers to take water for their farms that Bangkok needs and quite rightly so. However the rest of Thailand has no problem. Here in Buriram our only problem is trying to drive through the mud on the rural road out to my house and, of course, finding the dry time to scatter our rice seed.

Lucky you in Buriram and BKK.

Quote "However the rest of Thailand has no problem."

Sorry to dispute your words but there are vast areas of Thailand in the North/North West/North East who ARE suffering from a drought and would only be too happy to change places with you.