Army to buy rice directly from farmers

 

 

BANGKOK: -- Army commander-in-chief Gen Chalermchai Sitthisat said today that the Army will cooperate with local administration officials to probe into the problems farmers are currently facing and may buy rice directly from farmers' cooperatives.

 

He said the Army will look into all facts related to the farmers’ problems and will  seek cooperation from millers who remain selfish or have hidden motives.

 

He would ask them if they could sacrifice a bit to help farmers, while the Army may also help to buy rice directly from mills owned by farmers’ cooperatives.

 

This would be discussed in details, he said.

 

He said soldiers might also help farmers to harvest their crops in areas where there are problems of harvesting.

 

Full story: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/army-to-buy-rice-directly-from-farmers/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2016-11-01

So, Gen Sitthisat is suggesting that the army "...will  seek cooperation from millers who remain selfish or have hidden motives..."

 

Not another soldier playing politics ???

 

If you want to get the army involved in this, why not just spread the rice over its parade grounds, and get your soldiers to march all over it (and bypass the millers altogether) ???

 

 

This will also give the army practice in dealing with those pesky "...local politicians who have conflict of interest...".

6 minutes ago, waldroj said:

So, Gen Sitthisat is suggesting that the army "...will  seek cooperation from millers who remain selfish or have hidden motives..."

 

Not another soldier playing politics ???

 

If you want to get the army involved in this, why not just spread the rice over its parade grounds, and get your soldiers to march all over it (and bypass the millers altogether) ???

 

 

This will also give the army practice in dealing with those pesky "...local politicians who have conflict of interest...".

 

What deluded reply did you write mate? What's the use of soldiers marching over rice?

 

I like it when the army buys rice directly from cooperations. If it helps the farmers and also the army than why not?

 

 

If the farmers are getting 5 Bt / Kg, whilst I am paying 100 Bt / Kg at Tesco, then this proves that there is enough money to aid the farmers without having to use public funds.

There just needs to be some redistribution..........

48 minutes ago, KarenBravo said:

If the farmers are getting 5 Bt / Kg, whilst I am paying 100 Bt / Kg at Tesco, then this proves that there is enough money to aid the farmers without having to use public funds.

There just needs to be some redistribution..........

 

You don't pay 100B a kg at Tesco for hom malee rice...another deluded reply.

40 minutes ago, fruitman said:

 

You don't pay 100B a kg at Tesco for hom malee rice...another deluded reply.

 

Yes I do. As a diabetic, I have to eat Hom Mali Brown rice.

It varies in price from 99 Bt to 109 Bt.

Check it out yourself first before accusing people of lying.

1 minute ago, KarenBravo said:

 

Yes I do. As a diabetic, I have to eat Hom Mali Brown rice.

It varies in price from 99 Bt to 109 Bt.

Check it out yourself first before accusing people of lying.

 

That's not the same rice as we're talking 'bout in this thread which is produced in mass quantities.

 

I bet the farmers get more for that special version of rice. You won't fool me mate.

 

An observation, remember the 5 Bt is with the husk on, very approximately half the weight is husk, so without the husk it is 10Bt a kilo, which is what you buy in the supermarkets

 

We buy rice with the husk on each year and pay around 500bt per bag with about 40 kilos, it works out much less than planting with all the labor costs for both planting and harvesting, we pay the same for plain and sticky rice

 

I wonder if the figures quoted by others are correct, normally the bags in Tesco/Big C and Macro are 5 kilo bags, a good price for 5 kilos is less than 100 bt, we feed it to our dogs mixed with ground up bones

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Army to buy rice directly from farmers

 

... and then eat it immediately.

 

No chance that they'll store it like those "crazies" from the last govenrment.... 

So they will be paid above the market price?

 

Keep an eye out for trucks of rice coming across the borders and farmers yields being sky high, pretty sure the farmers will see the obvious opportunity of buy for a dollar and sell for two to the army.

4 hours ago, KarenBravo said:

If the farmers are getting 5 Bt / Kg, whilst I am paying 100 Bt / Kg at Tesco, then this proves that there is enough money to aid the farmers without having to use public funds.

There just needs to be some redistribution..........

I agree but we live in a dog eat dog world. Everybody lives by the self enrichment code. Do unto others before they do it to you. 

The rice thing seems to be going pear shaped in every possible direction.

The military can do more by slashing their budget of 210B Baht. Just reduce by half the number of generals who are on active payroll and canceling all unnecessary purchases like the submarines and sell the useless blimp. 

I guess it would be too much to hope that the farmers would create their own cooperative, market their product and bypass the middle men....

i am thinking that the army generals brothers sisters, cousins family dogs etc have just gone into the rice business.

6 hours ago, webfact said:

may buy rice directly from farmers' cooperatives.

The problem with rice isn't that it can't be sold, it's a matter of making a profit when its sold. Which at current market prices farmers are unlikely to do so. Unless the military purchases rice at above market prices just as it did with its rubber buffer stock program, its solutions are not meaningful.

7 hours ago, webfact said:

He said the Army will look into all facts related to the farmers’ problems and will  seek cooperation from millers who remain selfish or have hidden motives.

 

Wait, should this be the responsibility of the government?

 

5 hours ago, waldroj said:

Not another soldier playing politics ???

 

 

It seems the new army commander, Gen. Chalermchai Sittisart, is trying to make a name for himself. Unlike Prayuth and Prawit, who represent the military faction known as the “Eastern Tigers,” Sittisart comes from the special forces. No more can be said...

".... will  seek cooperation from millers who remain selfish or have hidden motives"  

 

Seek? Take control away from the millers (but not their premises) and, with some suitable training, let the farmers run the mills co-operatively for the benefit of the farmers. If necessary provide bridging finance during low rice prices to be repayed during times of high rice prices. An equalisation scheme?

Sounds like  great plan Ummmm wasn't Yinluk doing the same thing

He Farmers Take the money up front Don.t take and IOU

The title says "to buy" and the article says "may buy".  Farmers get it again. 

The rice is sold usually with the chaff attached, so the price at Tesco and the price to the farmer is not directly correlated. However the farmer is getting a bad deal, and any move to cut out the middleman's profit is in the interest of the poor farmer.

14 hours ago, kamahele said:

I guess it would be too much to hope that the farmers would create their own cooperative, market their product and bypass the middle men....

That would be considered a large red shirt gathering, Highly illegal.

14 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

The military can do more by slashing their budget of 210B Baht. Just reduce by half the number of generals who are on active payroll and canceling all unnecessary purchases like the submarines and sell the useless blimp. 

It could be said that 210b baht intentional loss of the peoples money is a crime the same as the rice scheme only with zero chance of any money back. It does make a difference who gets the money eh.

Is this not just vote buying/buying support? Army money is after all no different from using Government money? It all comes from the taxpayer.

 

I also wonder why the army has any role to play in this, and how and who Governs how their budget is spent.

 

I presume they dont need the rice, so why suddenly start buying it now. Seems if they have huge surplus for  buying rice then they have far to large a budget already.

Edited November 2, 20169 yr by smutcakes

10 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

Is this not just vote buying/buying support? Army money is after all no different from using Government money? It all comes from the taxpayer.

 

I also wonder why the army has any role to play in this, and how and who Governs how their budget is spent.

 

I presume they dont need the rice, so why suddenly start buying it now. Seems if they have huge surplus for  buying rice then they have far to large a budget already.

 

 

Nothing wrong in support.

 

It certainly beats a corrupt price guarantee scam.

 

 

Who do you think has the power/control under a coup ?

5 minutes ago, Jip99 said:

 

 

Nothing wrong in support.

 

It certainly beats a corrupt price guarantee scam.

 

 

Who do you think has the power/control under a coup ?

 

1) Because its not the armies role and it is using public funds

2) If its a great support scheme why don’t the Government do it (Perhaps because if they did it, it would be vote buying)

3) The army is currently in control and involved in politics (They might not need to buy votes to win and election, but they definitely need support to stay where they are)

4) Who will have oversight of how the army is spending their funds?

5) How is the army trained or able to assess the economics behind rice prices, millers etc and why is it their job to presumably make arbitrary judgement on milling practices, and who is being selfish or has hidden motives? Surely they have no legal right to affect millers businesses or make decisions or take actions.

6) Them getting involved like this is just a recipe for more corruption on both a small and large level  eg which millers to target as having hidden motives, who to buy their rice off.

7) I have no idea why you would in Thailand suddenly expect this to have no corruption or scams

7) All of the above, the army has no role to play in the job of the Government.

21 hours ago, KarenBravo said:

If the farmers are getting 5 Bt / Kg, whilst I am paying 100 Bt / Kg at Tesco, then this proves that there is enough money to aid the farmers without having to use public funds.

There just needs to be some redistribution..........

The government has been robbing the poor for decades and this regime is the teacher lol.

Can someone explain to me, what the big difference is between THIS and what the YS- government did?

Seriously: I don't get it!

But I guess it comes down to sheer technicallities, like "it's the Army- NOT the government...", right?!

Maybe someone's nephew can 'facilitate' the Army-farmer (A2F?) rice sales?

5 hours ago, smutcakes said:

Is this not just vote buying/buying support? Army money is after all no different from using Government money? It all comes from the taxpayer.

 

I also wonder why the army has any role to play in this, and how and who Governs how their budget is spent.

 

I presume they dont need the rice, so why suddenly start buying it now. Seems if they have huge surplus for  buying rice then they have far to large a budget already.

You'd be surprised what the Army has their fingers in,fish,cows,buffs,pigs.