PM asks farmers to delay or suspend rice farming

[Lite Beer]

PM asks farmers to delay or suspend rice farming

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha has pleaded with rice farmers to delay their main-crop cultivation and to suspend second-crop cultivation until there is enough water.

Addressing the country in his weekly “Returning Happiness to the People” programme Friday night, the prime minister said that there wouldn’t be water to irrigate the farmland anyway because water in the dams is short and there are no rains and the rice plants will wither and die.

He blamed the acute water shortage this year on climate change and wanton destruction of forests which, he said, have resulted to the depletion of water in most dams and rivers across the country.

“This should serve a lesson for us,” said the prime minister, adding that authorities concerned has been out to create better understanding with the farmers of the need to postpone or suspend rice farming and to convince them to switch to crops which consume less water, to engage in fishing or to raise domestic animals instead of relying on rice farming alone.

Source: http://englishnews.t...nd-rice-farming

-- Thai PBS 2015-06-20

[Songhua]

Not mentioned in this article but he also told them they should consider farming frogs, chickens or rubber for export, or crickets and worms for local consumption.

Edited June 20, 2015 by Songhua

[HeijoshinCool]

"… convince them to switch to crops which consume less water, to engage in fishing …"

[sawadee1947]

why not delay ruling the country?

[davehowden]

And the farmers asked him to "shut up" with his stupid suggestions?

[shirtless]

Great so how do these guys adapt and make the change this government is ruining thailand .

[quandow]

"Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha has pleaded"

Not in THIS lifetime!

[ratcatcher]

If they don't grow and sell rice, how will they make the payments on all those nice shiny new pickups I see everywhere upcountry?

[joebrown]

And the farmers asked him to "shut up" with his stupid suggestions?

I'm not saying the PM is making stupid suggestions or otherwise. I'm usually a critic of the PM for all the obvious previously 'posted' reasons, but I watched his weekly show last night and I got the distinct impression that LOS is, or will soon be in a desparate situation regarding water supply. It was most unusual for the PM not to cover a whole range of topics, with his usual lauding of himself and his acolytes. He spent at least 70% of his show talking about water shortage it's causes and how the Thai populace can help alleviate the problem. I think the water situation is going to get a whole lot worse in the very near future if the PM is so concerned at this time.

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

Dear PM if our farmers dont plant crops what will they live from the rest of the year. Will you again give us B 15 000 to last the year. If so, will you also live on B 15 000 for the year to show us how its done ? We don't want to be difficult but you know the civil servnts incharged let too much water out of the dams and now we dont have enough anymore, we want to ask what action you are going to take against these people that neglected to do their duty. Mr. PM you see there was warnings about a possible El Nino 6 months ago but the civil servants ignored this warning and relied on cows and rain dances to predict the weather. We believe its a case of derelict of duty, the same as what the courts have brought against certain politicians. We know that these civil servants are your friends but PM you know that their neglect will cost the country more than $ 3 bn in lost income. Mr. PM we further want to know about the cheaper fertilizer and chemicals you told us we will get when you decreased our prices by 60%. We know that you are a busy man and that you dont like difficult questions, but please answer just this one question, what must we as farmers do them you say we must not work/farm ?

[Manbing]

Obviously not an ideal situation, but he makes a good point. Diversity leading to sustainability,

Maybe just saying it isn't enough though. What about some assistance from experts to show people the way forward?

[docshock13]

It is a critical situation. I've heard the greens and fairways at the military golf course are drying up.

All joking aside, there is water (not an abundance) but it is just poorly managed. Was just up for a funeral in Udon yesterday. Poo yai ban's ricefields going great. So much so that 1000s of litres of water were flowing onto the road and out to the highway. All the way up the road (1 km) to the funeral it was bone dry to the left and right. Brutal.

[djayz]

It is a critical situation. I've heard the greens and fairways at the military golf course are drying up.

All joking aside, there is water (not an abundance) but it is just poorly managed. Was just up for a funeral in Udon yesterday. Poo yai ban's ricefields going great. So much so that 1000s of litres of water were flowing onto the road and out to the highway. All the way up the road (1 km) to the funeral it was bone dry to the left and right. Brutal.

You've probably hit the nail on the head; the available water is poorly managed. People, especially farmers, need to look at ways to store/retain rain water.

[docshock13]

It is a critical situation. I've heard the greens and fairways at the military golf course are drying up.

All joking aside, there is water (not an abundance) but it is just poorly managed. Was just up for a funeral in Udon yesterday. Poo yai ban's ricefields going great. So much so that 1000s of litres of water were flowing onto the road and out to the highway. All the way up the road (1 km) to the funeral it was bone dry to the left and right. Brutal.

You've probably hit the nail on the head; the available water is poorly managed. People, especially farmers, need to look at ways to store/retain rain water.

Yes. As it is clearly being diverted by those with the right connections for their own benefit. And then "leased" out for a fee--cannot pay? No problem. You can be indebted for a lifetime to me and my family bcoz of the exorbitant and illegal interest rates i charge. The whole culture is built upon a medieval patronage system (or in modern times a pyramid/ponzi/MLM/mafia system from top to bottom and everything in between).

[phil2407]

Which planet does this PM live on? Don't grow rice or second crop as not enough water! BS - sort out your water management system then you can do - also how much rice from the last crop was unasble 675 tonnes - make up your mind PM - do / don't do - I think you're trying to get Thailand back on the right track but sort out the corruption first - let the Thais (farmers) decide theirs - they know no water no rice

[ratcatcher]

Bugger the rice, we can look forward to high speed trains to transport the unemployed farmers to work elsewhere.

Priorities? Not in this land. Water management and retention is surely the number one priority in a country that has rice as its number one export.

Four years ago, Thailand was awash in dirty water, two years ago it was suffocating under millions of tons of unsold rice, and still has a disposal problem for millions of tons of rubbish rice..

Something has to give soon.

[apetley]

Easy, just refuse to open the canals as they have done in our area so it is virtually impossible to grow any crop.

It will now be at least a year between rice crops in our village so a 2 thirds drop in income from rice farming.

[djjamie]

It is a critical situation. I've heard the greens and fairways at the military golf course are drying up.

All joking aside, there is water (not an abundance) but it is just poorly managed. Was just up for a funeral in Udon yesterday. Poo yai ban's ricefields going great. So much so that 1000s of litres of water were flowing onto the road and out to the highway. All the way up the road (1 km) to the funeral it was bone dry to the left and right. Brutal.

You've probably hit the nail on the head; the available water is poorly managed. People, especially farmers, need to look at ways to store/retain rain water.

It is called water management.

Khun Korn has no issues with water shortage with the "IM rice" farmers he is helping.

Like all good, well intentioned projects it will take time for the majority to pick up on it, but it will happen.

Sustainability and not market manipulation will win in the end to the detriment of the 7%'ers.

The poor will eventually benefit.

[Srikcir]

If only Prayut would activate the Royal Rainmaking Department.

[Balance]

 

It is a critical situation. I've heard the greens and fairways at the military golf course are drying up.

All joking aside, there is water (not an abundance) but it is just poorly managed. Was just up for a funeral in Udon yesterday. Poo yai ban's ricefields going great. So much so that 1000s of litres of water were flowing onto the road and out to the highway. All the way up the road (1 km) to the funeral it was bone dry to the left and right. Brutal.

 

[rametindallas]

Dear PM if our farmers dont plant crops what will they live from the rest of the year. Will you again give us B 15 000 to last the year. If so, will you also live on B 15 000 for the year to show us how its done ? We don't want to be difficult but you know the civil servnts incharged let too much water out of the dams and now we dont have enough anymore, we want to ask what action you are going to take against these people that neglected to do their duty. Mr. PM you see there was warnings about a possible El Nino 6 months ago but the civil servants ignored this warning and relied on cows and rain dances to predict the weather. We believe its a case of derelict of duty, the same as what the courts have brought against certain politicians. We know that these civil servants are your friends but PM you know that their neglect will cost the country more than $ 3 bn in lost income. Mr. PM we further want to know about the cheaper fertilizer and chemicals you told us we will get when you decreased our prices by 60%. We know that you are a busy man and that you dont like difficult questions, but please answer just this one question, what must we as farmers do them you say we must not work/farm ?

Dear PM if our farmers dont plant crops what will they live from the rest of the year

Straw Man Alert!

From the headline of this OP: PM asks farmers to delay or suspend rice farming

Where in this article does it say the PM told the farmers to stop farming?

He asked them to change to crops that are less water intensive. Since they are farmers, they should be able to grow crops other than rice. The government owns enough rice for Thailand not to lose its market share and, anyway, if stubborn farmers still plant rice and the crop fails, they will be worse off than if they'd switched to a less water intensive crop. It's just common sense. When there is an El Nino weather pattern, Thailand gets far less rain than other years. That, combined with the fact that the dams are at the lowest they've been in many years, means you just don't plant rice. Doh!

Stop being so deceitful with your posts. You throw out all sort of numbers and percentages without a single link to back up your wild claims.

but please answer just this one question, what must we as farmers do them you say we must not work/farm

Again, why do you lie and claim the PM told farmer not to work their farms? You say 'we'; are you Thai because if you're not it is illegal for you to farm commercially. If you have a garden, that's not farming and the PM has never addressed gardening.

.

[baboon]

Dear PM if our farmers dont plant crops what will they live from the rest of the year. Will you again give us B 15 000 to last the year. If so, will you also live on B 15 000 for the year to show us how its done ? We don't want to be difficult but you know the civil servnts incharged let too much water out of the dams and now we dont have enough anymore, we want to ask what action you are going to take against these people that neglected to do their duty. Mr. PM you see there was warnings about a possible El Nino 6 months ago but the civil servants ignored this warning and relied on cows and rain dances to predict the weather. We believe its a case of derelict of duty, the same as what the courts have brought against certain politicians. We know that these civil servants are your friends but PM you know that their neglect will cost the country more than $ 3 bn in lost income. Mr. PM we further want to know about the cheaper fertilizer and chemicals you told us we will get when you decreased our prices by 60%. We know that you are a busy man and that you dont like difficult questions, but please answer just this one question, what must we as farmers do them you say we must not work/farm ?

Dear PM if our farmers dont plant crops what will they live from the rest of the year

Straw Man Alert!

From the headline of this OP: PM asks farmers to delay or suspend rice farming

Where in this article does it say the PM told the farmers to stop farming?

He asked them to change to crops that are less water intensive. Since they are farmers, they should be able to grow crops other than rice. The government owns enough rice for Thailand not to lose its market share and, anyway, if stubborn farmers still plant rice and the crop fails, they will be worse off than if they'd switched to a less water intensive crop. It's just common sense. When there is an El Nino weather pattern, Thailand gets far less rain than other years. That, combined with the fact that the dams are at the lowest they've been in many years, means you just don't plant rice. Doh!

Stop being so deceitful with your posts. You throw out all sort of numbers and percentages without a single link to back up your wild claims.

but please answer just this one question, what must we as farmers do them you say we must not work/farm

Again, why do you lie and claim the PM told farmer not to work their farms? You say 'we'; are you Thai because if you're not it is illegal for you to farm commercially. If you have a garden, that's not farming and the PM has never addressed gardening.

.

I'm the first to admit I know nothing about farming, but could it be the case that the growing of rice is the only thing some of these farmers know, so are woefully ill-equipped to turn their hands to other crops?

[Mot Dang]

Not mentioned in this article but he also told them they should consider farming frogs, chickens or rubber for export, or crickets and worms for local consumption.

He really said that ? Diversification can be a very good move, but I question the logic for farmers to start scraping rice production and starting a rubber plantation. My wife has a small rubber plantation just outside Chumpon. Our trees are 7 years old and are close to a size to which we can start tapping. But we have decided to wait another 3 years to see if the rubber price can recover. It is dismal at the moment.

I think starting rubber plantations would be a hard sell to Issan rice farmers, seems to me that would only increase the struggle Issan is experiencing. The rains will come.

And just as a foot note, it has been successive Thai administrations that have allowed illegal deforestation to continue. so let Mr.P do something about that before he starts raising the issue of climate change. At the moment its just spin.

[otherstuff1957]

This not a political issue. This is not a matter of the PM being cruel and unsympathetic to farmers or former politicians ruining the rice growing sector with their poorly thought out schemes, this is Thailand having to deal with 3 consecutive years of below average rainfall.

There just isn't enough water in the the reservoirs to support another rice crop. If the farmers plant now, they will just waste their time and the money as most of the crops will simply wither in the field when the irrigation ditches run dry. The farmers should either let their fields lie fallow & recover a bit from years of overuse or try growing a crop that uses less water.

This picture shows the deviation from normal for this year's rainfall from Jan 1 to a few days ago. Red is about 60-70% of normal. The maps for the past 3 years are similar.

Edited June 21, 2015 by otherstuff1957

[billd766]

Great so how do these guys adapt and make the change this government is ruining thailand .

How is this government ruining Thailand? Farmers want water, non farmers want water. There isn't enough water for both parties. Who should have the priority?

The government cannot simply make water from nothing and nowhere. The last time I looked nobody could control the weather, not even the current or past PMs of Thailand or the world for that matter.

What is YOUR suggestion to keep both sides happy and working?

[billd766]

Dear PM if our farmers dont plant crops what will they live from the rest of the year. Will you again give us B 15 000 to last the year. If so, will you also live on B 15 000 for the year to show us how its done ? We don't want to be difficult but you know the civil servnts incharged let too much water out of the dams and now we dont have enough anymore, we want to ask what action you are going to take against these people that neglected to do their duty. Mr. PM you see there was warnings about a possible El Nino 6 months ago but the civil servants ignored this warning and relied on cows and rain dances to predict the weather. We believe its a case of derelict of duty, the same as what the courts have brought against certain politicians. We know that these civil servants are your friends but PM you know that their neglect will cost the country more than $ 3 bn in lost income. Mr. PM we further want to know about the cheaper fertilizer and chemicals you told us we will get when you decreased our prices by 60%. We know that you are a busy man and that you dont like difficult questions, but please answer just this one question, what must we as farmers do them you say we must not work/farm ?

Actually the time that too much water was let out of the dams was in 2012 under the PTP government despite warnings from the Thai Weather Bureau, people in the agriculture ministry, RID etc but they were all ignored by the Minister of Agriculture at the time. He was the same minister who the year before who kept the water in the dams against all advice, to make sure that there would be second and third rice crops and indirectly caused the flooding in BKK.

The warnings about El Nino were published in 2012 and of course completely ignored by those in power at the time. All the information is out there about weather trends if people just take the time to look.

It was the same government who caused the price of land and fertiliser to rise dramatically and who gave the farmers credit cards to make sure that they could pay the new prices.

Are YOU a rice farmer in rural Thailand? If so did you give your family and frineds the benefit of your advice? If so, did they take it?

[Lunchbob]

If anyone is interested grain amaranth does really well here. You cannot flood it like rice plants. And harvest by hand, not difficult. Have no idea if it can be sold, though.

[billd766]

Which planet does this PM live on? Don't grow rice or second crop as not enough water! BS - sort out your water management system then you can do - also how much rice from the last crop was unasble 675 tonnes - make up your mind PM - do / don't do - I think you're trying to get Thailand back on the right track but sort out the corruption first - let the Thais (farmers) decide theirs - they know no water no rice

Strangely enough the PM lives in the real world of Thailand where there is little enough water available and what there is needs to be shared by ALL the people of Thailand, farmers and non farmers alike.

Are YOU willing to give up ALL of your water that you use for washing, shaving, showering, laundry, cooking, using the toilets etc so the farmers can grow an extra crop? Not only you, but all of your family and friends in all the places around you.

The previous government budgeted large amounts of funds in 2012 for water management. What did they do with it and where has the money gone to?

To fill the dams back to their normal levels will take YEARS and only then if consumption is kept to reasonable levels and that is assuming that the rainfall is average or above for the next 2 or 3 years.

If you think this year is bad for farmers, next year is predicted to be worse.

[mikemac]

This not a political issue. This is not a matter of the PM being cruel and unsympathetic to farmers or former politicians ruining the rice growing sector with their poorly thought out schemes, this is Thailand having to deal with 3 consecutive years of below average rainfall.

There just isn't enough water in the the reservoirs to support another rice crop. If the farmers plant now, they will just waste their time and the money as most of the crops will simply wither in the field when the irrigation ditches run dry. The farmers should either let their fields lie fallow & recover a bit from years of overuse or try growing a crop that uses less water.

This picture shows the deviation from normal for this year's rainfall from Jan 1 to a few days ago. Red is about 60-70% of normal. The maps for the past 3 years are similar.

Good post, at last some common sense amid a sea of idiotic, lame and anal anti-junta jibes.

[Nobb]

Khun PM you asked more than once for suspended rice farming. The Thai farmer do not listen to you but only want you to pay for there crops that fail due to the lack of rain. How much will this cost the government when they also fail?