10kBaht/ton - so now we have a working definition of "Sufficiency Economy".

anything less would be just run-o-the-mill subsistence farming.

 

On ‎01‎/‎11‎/‎2016 at 5:48 AM, waldroj said:

"...PM says the government will try to make farmers earn 10,000 baht/tonne of paddy..."

 

More trying times ahead for Thailand, especially those citizens most at risk from the vagaries of over-supply and under-demand in a globalized world !!!

 

In a country that is still largely agrarian, with large parts devoted to small-scale rice production (especially the NE), it still needs some policies that support its farmers, especially if they are to continue to be competitive in the international market (where farm subsidies exist).

 

While its easy to suggest that, "...farmers should also plant other crops if they suffer loss from rice cultivation...", its another matter again to facilitate the transition away from what is still a traditional and cultural way of living for many, AND importantly, provides sufficient alternate financial value to the nation to replace the loss of export income (that rice provided).

 

Apart from national reconciliation, this could be Prayut's greatest challenge if he, and his cronies are to avoid widening the gap even further between the haves and have-nots in Thailand.

 

 

 

To fan the flames of the smouldering rice husks; rice farmers who did allocate some land to alternative crops were further disadvantaged when they found this year's rice subsidy was reduced.  The reason given was that as the farmer had reduced the amount of land for rice, so the subsidy was reduced.

 

Damned if they do.  Damned if they don't.

On ‎01‎/‎11‎/‎2016 at 11:27 AM, ddavidovsky said:

So it's a subsidy, only at a lower rate than the previous one. That was always the only solution. not sure why it took them so long to figure it out.

 

And the subsidy gets cut even further if you choose to grow a crop other than rice.

 

So much for encouraging alternative crops.

On 01/11/2016 at 9:55 AM, colinneil said:

Yes Yingluck was already voted in, but you are missing the point.

It was for future votes, bit the army put a stop to that.

 

Surely political-hopeful Yingluck made the promises, for B15k/ton (normal rice) and B20k/ton (Hom Mali), during the elction-campaign  ...  at which point she wasn't  "already voted in" ?  So you're mistaken when you say that she was.

 

After she & her party were elected in July 2011, she did then keep this particular promise, although she had problems delivering because she expected the rice-scheme to be self-funding, which it turned out not-to-be.

 

Lastly to add that the army did not prevent any future votes, or step in before the failed-election in February 2014  ...  that was other forces. The coup wasn't until May-2014, was it ?