Farmers asked to change crop cycle to enable water catchment zones plan

[rooster59]

Farmers asked to change crop cycle to enable water catchment zones plan

By PRATCH RUJIVANAROM
THE NATION

 

 

AROUND 50,000 farmers in four provinces in the North have been told to grow crops on other land, as the Royal Irrigation Department (RID) plans to create 69 water retention reservoirs – or “monkey cheek” dams – on their land to store up to 2 billion cubic metres of water during the wet season.

 

RID deputy director-general Somkiat Prajamwong said yesterday that the department plans to create reservoirs in Sukhothai, Phitsanulok, Nakhon Sawan and Phichit on a budget of Bt29 billion, in order to prevent chronic floods in the Central Plains. They aim to cut the severity of annual flooding in the Chao Phraya River Basin by 30 per cent.

 

Somkiat said there were 69 areas suited for developing the monkey cheek reservoirs, in line with His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s idea to prevent and mitigate floods. The dams would be created over five years in low-lying farmland in the four provinces.

 

Given the areas proposed for creating the reservoirs are on people’s land, he said farmers in these areas would be encouraged to change their farming pattern to leave their fields empty to hold water during the wet season.

 

“Farmers in the areas designated to be monkey cheek reservoirs will have time to farm on their land from April to August with help from the RID, which will allocate irrigation water for them to grow their crop before other farmers. This way they can plant their crop and harvest before the flood season begins,” Somkiat said.

 

“They will have to shift their farming pattern for public benefit, as from August to November their land will be used for floodwater storage. This could help more than 348,000 people along the Yom River and Nan River and many more in the Chao Phraya River Basin to avoid flooding.”

 

He said that if there was any damage to the farmers’ crops, the authorities would compensate them properly.

 

He said the RID had been working on a pilot project – 265,000 rai of land in Bang Rakam district in Phitsanulok, where RID personnel will develop irrigation facilities, pumping stations, and water gates for use in this year’s flood season.

 

For the rest of the designated areas, the RID will start in areas with no legal obstruction or local people who object, before moving to the other areas during the five-year period.

 

“We will prove that this model of flood prevention is effective – despite the budget for this project being expensive, it can prevent flood damage of up to Bt11 billion per year,” Somkiat said.

 

Martin Hart-Hansen, an official with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Thailand said the project fitted principles of saving the environment and maintaining good livelihoods for people. So, the UNDP would seek $40 million in funds for the work. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30318958

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-06-24

[williamgeorgeallen]

doubt many farmers will allow their land to be flooded for 7 months of the year. to mitigate flooding/drought thailand needs to build large scale dams like china has already done. friend of mine is in the business of building dams in thailand but he says he spends more time in court dealing with problems with why dam projects failed to get built and where project funding went. the general needs to use his magic powers to get things moving.

[jak2002003]

Farmers can only farm the land for 4 months out of the year?  And then they are told to grown crops in the DRY season?  

 

I think a better plan would be to buy the land off the farmers, compensate them, and relocate them. 

 

 

 

 

[wakeupplease]

Same old same old crop burning and no land management soil erodes and in goes the same old crop again. In the real world they rotate the crops to help manage the soil and that produces better yeilds and they do not use pesticide that the rest of the world knows kills. But here Same Old Same Old all down to a lack of education, just the way the j's like it.

[jak2002003]

1 hour ago, wakeupplease said:

Same old same old crop burning and no land management soil erodes and in goes the same old crop again. In the real world they rotate the crops to help manage the soil and that produces better yeilds and they do not use pesticide that the rest of the world knows kills. But here Same Old Same Old all down to a lack of education, just the way the j's like it.

What article did you read?  I don't think you have the correct thread.  This is about flooding land to reduce serious flooding in other areas... nothing about eroding soil or pesticides. 

 

 

[wakeupplease]

1 minute ago, jak2002003 said:

What article did you read?  I don't think you have the correct thread.  This is about flooding land to reduce serious flooding in other areas... nothing about eroding soil or pesticides. 

 

 

So when you flood fertile land soil erosion and the pesticides in it does not move on and damage other areas

 

OK I did not know that. I will now try to inform other countries not to worry about flooding fertile land as there is not a problem

Thanks for that info you saved the world a lot of money.

[jak2002003]

2 minutes ago, wakeupplease said:

So when you flood fertile land soil erosion and the pesticides in it does not move on and damage other areas

 

OK I did not know that. I will now try to inform other countries not to worry about flooding fertile land as there is not a problem

Thanks for that info you saved the world a lot of money.

OK you do that..... 

 

You do understand that the flooded farmland idea is to actually stop mass flooding and the problems or soil erosion and the things you are so concerned about right? 

 

You should be happy with the idea.  While its flooded there will be no burning, or spraying of pesticides.  It will probably be good for the environment, amphibians and birds will benefit....  even when the flooded water recedes there will be nothing for the farmer to burn.. and they won't need to spray on fertilizers either as the sediment will be nutrient rich.

 

 

[wakeupplease]

4 minutes ago, jak2002003 said:

OK you do that..... 

 

You do understand that the flooded farmland idea is to actually stop mass flooding and the problems or soil erosion and the things you are so concerned about right? 

 

You should be happy with the idea.  While its flooded there will be no burning, or spraying of pesticides.  It will probably be good for the environment, amphibians and birds will benefit....  even when the flooded water recedes there will be nothing for the farmer to burn.. and they won't need to spray on fertilizers either as the sediment will be nutrient rich.

 

 

Stop buying submarines and M vehicles and invest in real water management like reservoirs and inter village feeders along with clean water systems, then at least you may have a system that supplies half decent water for showers and washing up 365 days of the year and not have a system that at certain times of the year means you cannot have a shower for days. Now its just store it on land and let it run out to sea slowly carrying all the rubbish including those pesticides that the world has banned along with it.

 

There is more to the country than BKK which is the main reason its being done this way, cheap and not so bloody cheerful for many who live away from the sinking city.

[Grubster]

2 hours ago, wakeupplease said:

Same old same old crop burning and no land management soil erodes and in goes the same old crop again. In the real world they rotate the crops to help manage the soil and that produces better yeilds and they do not use pesticide that the rest of the world knows kills. But here Same Old Same Old all down to a lack of education, just the way the j's like it.

Where is the real world? All I see from farming is chemicals, chemicals, and more chemicals, not to mention genetic engineering to facilitate the use of chemicals. Big business has taken over the farming industry in my world.

[Cadbury]

Farming in Thailand is not about the farmers or their families. It is about the middlemen and the envelope chain to those at the top who corrupt the system for their own advantage. QED.

Do I need to quote examples?

[jak2002003]

13 minutes ago, wakeupplease said:

Stop buying submarines and M vehicles and invest in real water management like reservoirs and inter village feeders along with clean water systems, then at least you may have a system that supplies half decent water for showers and washing up 365 days of the year and not have a system that at certain times of the year means you cannot have a shower for days. Now its just store it on land and let it run out to sea slowly carrying all the rubbish including those pesticides that the world has banned along with it.

 

There is more to the country than BKK which is the main reason its being done this way, cheap and not so bloody cheerful for many who live away from the sinking city.

Wow... you really can't stay on topic can you.  Now you are talking about submarines!  Mind you, they might come in useful in a flood. 

 

Also, invest in some water storage tanks at your home and you will have more than enough water to many showers should you water supply get cut off. 

 

 

[wakeupplease]

2 minutes ago, jak2002003 said:

Wow... you really can't stay on topic can you.  Now you are talking about submarines!  Mind you, they might come in useful in a flood. 

 

Also, invest in some water storage tanks at your home and you will have more than enough water to many showers should you water supply get cut off. 

 

 

Hey I do not get cut off ever, but sadly may do in a certain neck of the woods when the local reservoir (Fishing Pool) runs dry as it has been doing for the last 10 years.

 

Now you are talking about submarines!  Mind you, they might come in useful in a flood.

 

Sorry floods are not deep enough just like the Gulf to shallow for subs