RICE INSURANCE SCHEME EXPANDED TO 2M RAI

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NEWSFEED

July 14, 2015 1:00 am

The Insurance Commission will expand its 2015 target for insurance policies for in-season paddy fields by 500,000 rai to 2 million rai (320,000 hectares) to fulfil rising demand from farmers facing the drought.

“Sales of insurance policies for in-season paddy fields as of July 8 reached 1.33 million rai or 89.1 per cent of the old target of 1.5 million rai,” secretary-general Pravej Ongartsittigul said yesterday.

The decision to increase the area came after discussions with agencies such as the Finance Ministry, the Agriculture Ministry, the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, and the Thai General Insurance Association.

The policy covers damages incurred from natural disasters as well as pests and epidemics.

The insurance policy is available until August 14, except for the South, where it will be available until December 11.

‘NO WATER SHORTAGE YET’

The Commerce Ministry insists there is no shortage of drinking water yet, calling on consumers not to panic or hoard water, as the government will closely monitor the situation. Commerce Minister General Chatchai Sarikulya said the Irrigation Department insists the drought affecting much of the company has not resulted in a shortage of water for household use.

However, he acknowledged that the prices of some vegetables had increased because of the drought. Other goods, including drinking water, are still available as normal.

He added that the government was preparing for the worst and had water in reserve in case of emergency. He urged consumers to stay confident that water would be supplied in the case of a shortage and noted that rainfall was expected by late this month to relieve the impacts from the drought.

Boonyarit Kalayanamit, director-general of the Internal Trade Department, said a survey by the agency found that drinking water was still being traded as normal. He warned that if any traders or consumers were found hoarding or increasing prices unfairly, they could be subject to Bt140,000 fines and/or a maximum of seven years in jail.

Meanwhile, a grocery store in Nonthaburi said many customers had brought more drinking water than usual because of concerns about the drought.

“Normally, consumers will buy only one [six-bottle] package of water, but now they will buy two to four packages. Suppliers have also delayed delivery as they receive more orders from grocery stores because of high demand,” the retailer said.

RELIEF PLAN APPROVED

The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives’ board of directors gave a green light to relief measures for farmers hit by drought, including a maximum debt-repayment schedule of 12 months.

Finance Minister Sommai Phasee, who is also the BAAC chairman, said other measures included Bt30 billion in short-term loans and Bt10 billion in loans for resuming production after the drought.

The long-term loans, totalling Bt10 billion per year for three years, will be extended to farmers who enhance production efficiency or shift to more appropriate crops.

About a million troubled farmers are expected to benefit from the relief measures, Sommai said.

Auction date for inferior rice stock postponed

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Auction-date-for-inferior-rice-stock-postponed-30265301.html

RICE

July 27, 2015 1:45 pm

Commerce Ministry has delayed the auction date for inferior rice in its stockpile, from the end of this month to next month, allowing more time for officials to conduct a thorough survey and separate quality grains from inferior ones.

Commerce Minister General Chatchai Sarikanya, he has ordered ministry officials, academics, the National Farmers Council, surveyors, rice sellers, and the Thailand Development Research Institute to inspect silos where government’s rice has been stored.

These officials are to thoroughly inspect 1.29 million tons of the supposedly low quality rice in the ministry’s stockpile as well as estimating the cost of improving the grains for various purposes.

After the examination, the officials would determine whether the rice should be sold in smaller portions or as an entire silo. They would also separate inferior grains from the rice to be sold for public consumption.

Auction winners have been told to strictly use these grains for particular purposes, the Minister said, adding that his ministry would later conduct follow-up inspections to make sure that the low-quality rice would not be sold for public consumption.

Chatchai also disclosed that the auction of around 400-500,000 tons of quality grains scheduled for next week would go ahead as planned.

Farmers insure rice on 1.3m rai

ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Farmers-insure-rice-on-1-3m-rai-30265232.html

The Sunday Nation July 26, 2015 1:00 am

MANY farmers have insured their rice crop – covering some 1.33 million rai – in the wake of severe drought that has ravaged many parts of the country, the secretary general of the Office of the Insurance Commission (OIC) Prawet Ongartsithikul revealed yesterday.

After presiding over a ceremony yesterday to celebrate National Life Insurance Day at Future Park Rangsit, Prawet said that the sale volume of insurance of seasonal rice produces this year had grown since the insurance scheme was launched on May 5. The project, which initially aimed to cover 1.5 million rai, would continue until August 14, he said.

The OIC will propose that the Cabinet on Tuesday expands coverage to be 500,000 rai furthir so it will cover 2 million rai in total and allocates a further budget of Bt100 million, he said.

Locals worried about plans to divert water from Mekong

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Locals-worried-about-plans-to-divert-water-from-Me-30265113.html

DROUGHT

THE NATION July 24, 2015 1:00 am

A NETWORK of Thais living along the Mekong River yesterday voiced their concern about a plan to divert water from the river to special economic zones.

“Careful studies must be conducted before such a plan is implemented,” said network representative Jintana Kaysornsombat, who described the plan as being a possible threat. The government recently announced that it plans to establish special economic zones in eight provinces by the Mekong River.

“Big moves like this can affect hundreds of thousands of people. So we demand that the government include people in the planning process,” Nichon Pholjan, a member of Beung Kan’s Political Development Council, said.

Beung Kan is one of the provinces on the banks of the Mekong River, which also runs through China, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Jintana pointed out that local farmers and fishermen were already suffering from dams built upstream of the river, and hence they have a reason to worry about impacts from other big projects.

Recently, people filed a petition with the Administrative Court to fight against the plan to construct the Xayaburi Dam in Laos. This petition seeks to have the court nullify the permission granted to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) to buy electricity from the dam. Opponents believe that the construction may be cancelled if Egat decides not to buy the power.

According to Jintana, this case is now in the hands of the Supreme Administrative Court, which is scheduled to conclude its fact-finding process today.

 

DSI develops app for reports on forest encroachment

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/DSI-develops-app-for-reports-on-forest-encroachmen-30265129.html

Piyanut Tumkasetchai
The Nation July 24, 2015 1:00 am

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has developed a new smartphone application for people to report forest encroachment along with details and coordinates of the location, DSI director-general Suwanna Suwannajutha said.

DSI also inked a memorandum of understanding with the Defence Technology Institute for research and development of technology for special investigation, which would span over the next five years. The DSI Bureau of Consumer Protection and Environment Crime has applied open-source geo-information technology to create the app, which also uses the “DSI Map Extend” network to help analyse and investigate encroachment into state-owned land or forests.

Suwana said that the Cabinet has also recently put five new offences under the DSI’s jurisdiction, namely, violation of the Land Code, the Forestry Law, the Forest Reserve Law, the National Park Law and Wildlife Conservation Law.

Small water flow brings joy to rice farmers

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Small-water-flow-brings-joy-to-rice-farmers-30264942.html

DROUGHT

The Nation July 22, 2015 1:00 am

AS SOON as water began flowing into their paddy fields again yesterday, farmers in Lop Buri’s Ban Mi district felt like they were on cloud nine. “I am over the moon. I feel like heaven,” said Surat Rueangroong, 69.

He said it had broken his heart to walk around the paddy fields for the past month and see his rice plants wither from lack of water, day after day.

The Royal Irrigation Department had allowed farmers in Surat’s town to pump water into their fields.

“We are permitted to do so for just one day. But it’s still better than nothing and we understand that we have to share water with farmers in other zones too,” the farmer said.

Ayutthaya Governor Apichart Dodilokwej said the government was trying to support about 100,000 rai of fields where rice had first started to sprout. “We are prioritising the needs for water in each zone,” he said.

With supply tight, the government had resolved to cut water for farms in a bid to ensure people would still have water for their daily activities until the annual rains start. However, authorities are also trying to ensure that they can ease farmers’ woes where possible. And some farmers have already managed to turn the drought crisis into an opportunity.

In Uttaradit’s Laplae district, locals in Ban Pong Kachee are now doing well with their new livelihood – making mushroom spawn for sale. “Months ago, we were told to postpone growing rice until adequate rain arrived. So, we started looking for supplementary jobs. We need to earn money,” farmer Namneung Jeamklin said yesterday.

Locals in Ban Pong Kachee looked around their neighbourhood and saw that it had plenty of sawdust because there were many wood-processing factories nearby.In Sukhothai province, many farmers decided to grow cassava in place of rice in the face of the water shortage.

“Cassava requires little water. We have to go for it,” said Jamroon Sukpan, the kamnan of Tambon Nong Chik.

 

Good news for farmers: downpour in north, northeast

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Good-news-for-farmers-downpour-in-north-northeast-30264854.html

DROUGHT

The Nation July 21, 2015 1:00 am

Rain eases drought, prompts water release for farms in 3 provinces

THE Irrigation Department is preparing to release more water for rice farmers in irrigated areas of Ayutthaya, Lop Buri and Sing Buri provinces following heavy rainfall in the North and Northeast over the past several days that boosted water reserve levels in major dams.

Suthep Noipairote, deputy head of the Irrigation Department, said the initial water discharge was aimed at paddy fields in the three provinces to help crop survival.

Earlier, the government cut the volume released from dams for farming to conserve water for household use.

Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda said the water resources management panel would review the amount of water being released from the Bhumiphol, Sirikit, Pasak Cholasit, and Kwai Noi dams. It was earlier cut from 28 million cubic metres per day to 18 million cubic metres, a move that affected 22 provinces downstream.

The Department of Agriculture Extension, meanwhile, will seek Cabinet approval for Bt400 million to help rice farmers whose paddy fields were damaged by the water cut-off.

 

Angry fishermen call for rules delay

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Angry-fishermen-call-for-rules-delay-30264786.html

THE NATION July 20, 2015 1:00 am

Aek

Hundreds protest over new rules to overhaul the fishing industry and avoid a ban by the EU

SEVERAL HUNDRED fishermen along Thailand’s coastal provinces have urged the government to delay new rules and regulations to crack down on so-called illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing practices as required by the European Union, which last week told Thai authorities the country has not done enough to solve the IUU issue.

In Samut Sakhon, 300 fishermen gathered yesterday to demand the delay of the measures, saying they have caused them financial hardship as the authorities no longer allowed vessels with certain types of fishing nets to operate.

Pradit Lekdee, president of Samut Sakhon “Oun Roon” Fishermen’s Club, said representatives from neighbouring coastal provinces such as Samut Songkham, Samut Prakan, and Phetchaburi had joined the Samut Sakhon fishing industry in opposing the government’s move to comply with the EU demand.

On Friday, Deputy Premier General Prawit Wongsuwan told reporters the EU had sent a letter to the government indicating the country needed to take more action to solve the IUU problem.

Thailand has been given another two months to fulfil its pledge to eradicate the IUU fishing practices after the EU warned four months ago that it would consider slapping an export ban on Thai seafood if the problem was not tackled satisfactorily.

Coastal fishermen said their fishing method did not hurt fish stocks and the environment as some people claimed.

Pradit said the group wanted fair treatment as club members had been badly hurt by the government’s measures.

‘Government has banned our nets’

“Please stop hurting us by distorting facts. The government has recently banned the use of oun roon nets as part of its campaign to satisfy the EU demand. We are now broke, whereas we have fixed expenditure,” he said.

“So the government has to consider remedies and compensation for us. It’s not our fault. As of now, the government should postpone enforcement of the new rules and regulations.”

Rien Hong-koo, 73, a former vice president of the Samut Sakhon Fishermen’s Association, said he had been a fisherman since childhood and the oun roon nets were environmentally friendly because they were mainly used by small vessels not capable of significantly depleting fish stocks.

Meanwhile, Pol General Aek Angsananont, deputy national police chief, said police in 22 coastal provinces were helping local authorities enforce the port-in, port-out requirement, one of the measures to comply with the EU demand.

Commander Suebsan Rien-roo, head of the PIPO centre in Rayong, said the centre was responsible for regulating 30-gross-tonne or larger fishing vessels, which were required to be registered and licensed to fish legally.

Their fishing equipment and personnel also need to be registered while every port departure and their return has to be reported 24 hours in advance in official forms submitted to the PIPO centre.

Since opening on May 6, 238 fishing vessels had filed PIPO forms with the centre, Suebsan said, adding that the figure for July 1 to yesterday was 174 vessels.

He said Rayong had 285 30-gross-tonne and larger vessels registered with authorities.

Aek said the Navy commander-in-chief was directly responsible for enforcing the PIPO requirement while police would support the operation by providing personnel at 28 PIPO centres in 22 provinces with each centre staffed by 20 policemen who would also enforce laws on the use of illegal larbour in the fishing industry.

 

Cash-strapped farmers forced to watch crops wither away

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PRATCH RUJIVANAROM,PAKAWAN ROJANASINGSAWAD

THE NATION July 20, 2015 1:00 am

A farmer in Ayutthaya province looks sad as he sees his paddy dying due to the shortage of water after the government told farmers to stop diverting water from a nearby irrigation system to their fields.

A farmer in Ayutthaya province looks sad as he sees his paddy dying due to the shortage of water after the government told farmers to stop diverting water from a nearby irrigation system to their fields.

AS THE Chao Phraya River Basin runs out of water for farmland, rice farmers are running out of cash.

Without water, farmers can do nothing but leave their plants to wither. Without crops, they have no source of certain income.

As a result, many farmers have turned to loan sharks to get money to fill their family members’ hungry stomachs. This means the longer the drought crisis, the deeper they will plunge into debt.

Based on the grim weather forecasts, there is a risk the drought may drag on for years.

That would obviously be financially crippling for countless farmers as they would have defaulted on several loans.

Ubon Thepthong, director of the Lop Buri Provincial Cooperative Office, revealed that more farmers could not pay back their debt to the agricultural cooperative and they had to borrow money from the loan sharks who charged very high interest rates.

According to the records of the Ban Mi Agricultural Cooperative, the Lop Buri district is one of the hardest hit drought areas in the province, with 328 cooperative members unable to pay their debt at last count.

“Unpaid debt was as high as Bt29.8 million in July,” the cooperative disclosed.

Songpon Poonsawat, chairman of the Ang Thong Council of Farmers, said between 60 to 70 per cent of farmers in the province were forced to get a short-term loans from the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, while loans typically ranged from Bt50,000 to Bt100,000 as about Bt5,000 was needed per one rai of crop production.

Songpon revealed that the production rate in Ang Thong had dropped by about 70 per cent.

However, efforts are being made to relieve the farmers’ financial burden.

Ubon said the Cooperative Promotion Department had ordered the Provincial Cooperative Offices to talk with the local agricultural cooperatives about implementing debt restructuring or lengthen the debt-repayment period.

The decision on whether to adopt these measures was up to each cooperative board, he said.

In another move to help farmers, the BAAC has offered to extend the debt-repayment period by a year and increase the credit line for short- and long-term loans.

The economic impact from the drought has affected not only farmers, but also businesses linked to agriculture and local economies in drought areas.

Thatsanee Pengsuwan, the owner of the Thakhao Khuean Phonthep rice mill, said the mill’s income had dropped even though the rice price had increased due to low rice production.

“Now our mill is facing a rice shortage. We have to wait until we store enough rice to mill and the daily production of our mill has been reduced from 300 tonnes per day to only 100 tonnes,” Thatsanee said.

“It’s not only us who have been affected by the rice shortage. We have had to reduce the workforce in our mill, causing some employees to temporarily have no income.

“The local economy is also affected, as the farmers, who are major consumers, have no purchasing ability anymore because they have no income.”

She also revealed that some young farmers had left home to find jobs elsewhere but the elder farmers had to endure the hardship.

 

Farm survey to assess the damage

ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Farm-survey-to-assess-the-damage-30264734.html

DROUGHT

The Sunday Nation July 19, 2015 1:00 am

Major operation to evaluate drought situation in 22 provinces to dispatch appropriate aid

THE Agriculture Ministry is set to conduct a large-scale survey of drought-hit farmlands in the Central plains from tomorrow to assess the severity of the damage before dispatching proper assistance measures.

Agriculture Minister Peetipong Phuengboon na Ayutthaya said yesterday that officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives would be mobilised to conduct the survey.

Peetipong said heads of agricultural offices from 22 provinces in the Central plains are to gather today in Ayutthaya province to plan the mobilisation and assessment.

They would mobilise their subordinates from various departments to go to the fields and evaluate the situation of rice fields.

The ministry estimates about 1.4 million rai of rice fields in the plains had been hit by the drought, but Peetipong said he would like to know the severity of the damage before delivering appropriate assistance.

The areas would be classified based on the severity of the assessed damage, he said, ranging from the hardest-hit areas, where the rice yield is withering, the areas where farmers could help themselves but need some assistance, and the areas where no help is needed.

The deadline has not yet been set, but it is expected that it would be delivered today at the meeting.

The plan was part of the new effort by the ministry to try to manage the demand side in the drought-hit area.

“Demand-side management is as important as water management, which is supply side,” said Peetipong during his inspection of the Rama IX Reservoir in Pathum Thani province.

“It’s about the needs of the areas and how we can manage to help alleviate the problem. If we know which areas need help and to what extent, we will be able to deliver help more efficiently, rather than disseminating it all over and wasting it,” he said.

The Royal Irrigation Department (RID) since Thursday has shut down more than 300 sluice gates in the plains as part of its measures to prevent water being channelled to farms to ensure water for domestic consumption. Soldiers have been dispatched to help keep a watch on any water pumping activity. Meanwhile, angry farmers are reported to have staged protests, demanding water for their withering rice crop.

Some 18 million cubic metres of water a day is being discharged from the Department’s major dams for consumption and to maintain the ecological system in the Central plains. However, there have been reports of water being heavily pumped out of the system, raising fears that this would disrupt the water for consumption downstream.

The Department has urged farmers not to pump water into their fields over the next few days. The minister said he has received a report that the water level near the Chao Phraya Dam in Chainat province has risen by 12 centimetres.

Irrigation department director-general Lertviroj Kowattana conceded that water discharge from its major dams was not as efficient as it should be. The department has allocated 8 million out of 18 million cubic metres for consumption, and 5 million for maintaining the ecological system. However, there have been reports of an increase in salinity downstream, prompting concerns among water users in the Chao Phraya. By shutting down the sluice gates, the Department has seen more clearly where the problem was, he added.

Peetipong said water stored in the major dams had been reducing continuously over the last three years, and in the future it may become necessary for farmers to give up their practice of growing rice two or three times a year, as there was likely not enough water to irrigate their rice fields.

This would be part of the ministry’s long-term plans, Peetipong added.