Fair deal for rice farmers
While a fierce debate is raging over whether the government’s rice subsidy is more effective than the rice-pledging policy initiated by the Yingluck Shinawatra administration, at least the cash giveaways have proved a better method of passing on subsidies to needy farmers.
About 60% of the government’s 40-billion-baht handout has been given to farmers in the Northeast and upper North who are poorer than those in other regions, said Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) president Luck Wajananawat.
In comparison, a mere 20% of money spent on the rice-pledging scheme was distributed to farmers in the Northeast and upper North.
“This reflects money is flowing to small farmers who really deserve to receive assistance as they can grow only one crop a year. In the pledging scheme, most money was concentrated on farmers who live in areas with irrigation systems. A lot of farmers live in Is an but they got less
Thailand's rice industry is at rink of losing competitiveness if farmers do not turn to growing high-quality grains as the potential of farmers in other countries is on a par with Thai farmers but their labour costs are lower.
The BAAC is arranging a 10-year business strategy for the bank's and farming's sustainability. Under the plan, the bank will select 200,000 customers with good credit records to join a two-year pilot project.
Participants must identify who will be their heirs to take over their jobs. When the participants retire, their heirs will become BAAC customers and the bank will rebate 10% of the interest paid on loans to the retirees.
It is estimated the scheme will cost the bank about 70 million baht a year.