webfact Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 Farmers asked to delay cassava cultivation due to oversupply of cassava in marketBANGKOK, 15 February 2016 (NNT) - The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) has introduced two financial aid schemes for cassava growers coping with the drought crisis.BAAC Managing Director Luck Wajananawat said the first program will provide a loan of five billion baht to 100,000 farmers to postpone their cassava cultivation, as an oversupply of 21 million tons of cassava is expected to flood the market until April.They are advised to harvest and sell their cassava only when the market price is higher. They will also have enough money to pay for household expenses while waiting to sell their cassava.As for the second scheme, the BAAC will allocate a total of 4.6 billion baht to 20,000 farmers who wish to install a drip irrigation system in their cassava plantations. Farmers eligible for these schemes must be existing or prospective BAAC clients. Those interested are encouraged to contact the bank's call center at 02-555-0555 or visit its website at www.baac.or.th for more information.-- NNT 2016-02-15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavisH Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 Gotta feel sorry for some farmers. They are told to plant cassava due to drought....then when they do, told not to sell it yet because the market is flooded. Then if they do sell, the price is low so the farmers will moan more. Do farmers understand the concept of supply and demand? More product doesn't = higher profits! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slapout Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 There were reports a while back that a lot of the cassava, which the government had purchased and was paying to have stored could not be accounted for at warehouses where it was susposed to be. Security for warehouses who are paid to handle, treat and store ag products in this country must have a floor made of large netting, built on top of ponds for fish or pens for hogs, cattle, chickens, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tartempion Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 Haven't ridden my bicycle for 3 months, rode the fields this morning and what did I see? Cassava fields everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djayz Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 Due to the drought, they weren't allowed to/couldn't plant a second crop of rice. Now, they're told not to grow/sell cassava. Money must be getting very tight for a lot of families (farmers, farm labourers, lorry drivers, etc.) who rely on these crops, and agriculture in general, to make a living. I wonder how much more can they take? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apetley Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 Price local to us has plummeted to breakeven lately which means the best part of a years work for nothing. All this after being encouraged to grow cassava instead of rice. Farmers must feel like punchbags right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callaway Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 Drip irrigation seems like a lot better idea than flooding. This will save heaps of water if used correctly. Save all the water they can because Songkhran is coming and that brings $$$$$$$$'s. Whats more the money goes mostly to the well off and once again the poor miss out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgesAbitbol Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 When the governments of this country will stop think with their as... feet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katipo Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 While I do feel sorry for the farmers, the fact that they have to rely on the government to tell them what to plant and when, speaks to the much larger problems facing Thailand. Lack of education and a patronage system mean that they neither have the will nor the way to take the initiative and make informed decision for themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOTIRIOS Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 ...a potential disaster.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MZurf Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 While I do feel sorry for the farmers, the fact that they have to rely on the government to tell them what to plant and when, speaks to the much larger problems facing Thailand. Lack of education and a patronage system mean that they neither have the will nor the way to take the initiative and make informed decision for themselves. And that suits the powers that be to a tee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eliotness Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 Price local to us has plummeted to breakeven lately which means the best part of a years work for nothing. All this after being encouraged to grow cassava instead of rice. Farmers must feel like punchbags right now. We reached break-even last year, 2.15 baht a kilo. In 2010 we got 3.40 baht a kilo. This year we rented the field to neighbours as there was no way we could have made a profit, but the neighbours were willing to take the risk. If the price drops much below 2.00 baht a kilo then many farmers are going to be unable to pay off their debts incurred planting the crop. Bad times ahead I fear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Srikcir Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 Oversupply of Cassava in the market is not a surprise! A year ago: "farmers who planted cassava after the 2014/2015 crop year and wanted to delay their harvest were eligible to the loans provided by the bank. ...around 30.9 million tons of cassava will likely enter the market this harvest season [20150, slightly higher than the same period last year. In a bid to prevent price drop, the government has issued short-, middle- and long-term measures for cassava farmers through the BACC, including the microcredit." 2015-01-31 & 2015-02-01 2015 Cost: 3.0 billion baht 2016 Cost: 9.6 billion baht Good thing for the junta that "money grows on trees" - a neverending supply from the Thai taxpayer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nbarch Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 The solution to the oversupply of Cassava is obvious; interfere in the market and artificially prop up the price, it has been done with success with rice and then rubber. What could possibly go wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluespunk Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 "Farmers eligible for these schemes must be existing or prospective BAAC clients" So, all farmers then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willyumiii Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 I have been telling my wife that we should sell our ( her ) farms of cassava and rice for two years now. I think it is obvious to most non Thais that the future of farming is dim in Thailand. She has finally agreed that we should sell.... Now, nobody wants to buy a farm! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thian Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 In Europe we have great cassava chips...Why have i never seen them in Bangkok? They should be cheap if there's oversupply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strangebrew Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Why do farmers listen to city folk when it comes to growing crops? First check the market soybeans usually does well when sold on the open market also corn which has many uses, Dang grow a brain if your going to farm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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