Rice farmers encouraged to plant maize after harvests

 

 

BANGKOK: -- Low-land rice farmers will be encouraged to plant maize after rice harvests in an attempt to reduce high-land forest encroachment to clear land for maize cultivation.

 

Agriculture Minister Chatchai Sarikalya said on Monday that, from his discussion with representatives of the animal feed manufacturers’ association, it was learned that animal feed producers need between 7-8 million tonnes of maize year as raw material to produce animal feed.

 

Of the 7-8 million tonnes of maize needed for the industry, half of them came from legitimate farmland the rest came from high-land plantations on land which was used to be covered with forest but which was destroyed and encroached.

 

The agriculture minister said he would call a meeting on June 19 with representatives of the animal feed manufacturers’ association, the maize buyers association and rice farmers who want to plant maize after rice harvests to discuss maize production to meet domestic consumption and the purchase of maize crops from the farmers.

 

Full story: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/rice-farmers-encouraged-plant-maize-harvests/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2017-06-06

The maize price is already very low. Instead of the government enforcing the laws preventing these farmers abusing the land they want the farmers to drive down the maize price so low that the marginal mountain farmers will stop to produce maize on crazy/stupid steep slopes. Nice try.

Would rice fields be suitable for rice planting after a crop of corn?

burn baby burn.

.

Government meddling again. If there was a demand for maize the price would be higher and farmers would react to that.

11 hours ago, IAMHERE said:

Would rice fields be suitable for rice planting after a crop of corn?

Good question need to ask the agriculture department. Brazil is doing very well with sugarcane for the ethanol. Would ethanol reduce the petrol bill for the country? They should send a team to Brazil to see for themselves.

Does maize not require water to grow?

Does maize not require water to grow?

Not quite as much as rice requires.

Around here the last government suggestion was to plant soybeans after the rice crop. In the end it cost the farmers more to plant than what they got at the market. Now everyone is planting corn. Everywhere.

 

The locals have cleared the Nan riverbanks and planted corn. I wish them luck, but I don't think the rainy season is over yet.