Academics suggest cut in rice production

By Pratch Rujivanarom 
The Nation

 

 

Long-term solution needed and subsidies not enough to solve annual problem

 

AS A LONG-TERM solution to the recurring problem of fluctuating rice prices, Thailand should reduce its total rice-production area rather than subsidising prices every year, a group of academics say.

They agreed that government measures to help farmers by a rice-pledging scheme or price subsidy would not solve the problem at its root.

 

Full story: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30299196

 

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2016-11-05

They need to encourage sustainable diversification.

Given all the starving people in the middle east, one would think this would be an opportunity to solve a current problem.  Diversity would solve future problems. 

2 hours ago, rooster59 said:

government measures to help farmers by a rice-pledging scheme

And also a rice granary-pledging scheme being used by the government.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30299015

So an academic answer to those people who reject the idea that the Prayut government has resorted to a similar rice pledging program used by Yingluck.

1 hour ago, yellowboat said:

Given all the starving people in the middle east, one would think this would be an opportunity to solve a current problem.  Diversity would solve future problems. 

i dont think it is quite that simple. i lived in esan for a while and most of the rice paddies are low lying and only really suited for growing very specific crops that can survive in water logged ground. i dont know of any other types of crops that can handle those types of conditions.

if thailand can not compete with the rest of the world for producing cost effective rice then it needs to do something else, but the question is what?

3 hours ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

i dont think it is quite that simple. i lived in esan for a while and most of the rice paddies are low lying and only really suited for growing very specific crops that can survive in water logged ground. i dont know of any other types of crops that can handle those types of conditions.

if thailand can not compete with the rest of the world for producing cost effective rice then it needs to do something else, but the question is what?

It's a good point. When I was in Bali a couple of weeks back, the people running the farm-hotel I was staying at said that they get 4 or more rice harvests a year. My gf's family in Isann gets one. So Isaan is not even the best place for growing rice. Her parents also started growing corn in the last couple of years, and that seems to be working out, but they don't seem to be completely convinced yet ... there's a culture change involved when moving  away from rice.  

Now there's a suggestion based on logic, and which has merit. Hence it will go nowhere.

A lot of the rice land in my area is already going to sugarcane, corn, cassava, etc. Rice is now a total loser (as is cassava), too much work and negative return. 

Yes, too much rice being grown, and yes, in Isaan the only current viable crop during wet season in a paddy is rice. AS there is little irrigation available, when dry not much you can grow either. Changing a rice paddy to growing crops like corn or sugar cane may involve a need for considerable earth moving and providing drainage (probably not easy if surrounded by other rice fields). Other swamp style crops - Taro, water chestnut - but not certain about how easy these would be (i have taro growing in flooded margin of my fish pond). 

 

Most rice farmers our way after rice harvest just cultivate a small area of their land for vegetables - usually limited to what they can water by hand. Or go work in building industry during the dry season.