Support for rice farmers
To alleviate their financial worries, rice farmers can borrow their rice crop interest-free up to a value of 90 percent of the harvest, which is 10 percent more than the current arrangement. However, the allowance only applies to Hom Mali (jasmine rice) and glutinous rice.
The National Rice Policy Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, gave the green light for this on Friday. The loans are provided by the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC). The farmers receive 14.400 baht for a ton of Hom Mali and 11.700 baht for a ton of glutinous rice, plus a bonus of 1.000 baht per ton to support quality improvement.
It is expected that approximately 2 million tonnes of paddy will be offered. Farmers participating in the program are not allowed to borrow more than 20 tons.
The interest-free program will run for four months from November 1 to February 28, when harvest time for the 2014/2015 season begins.
During this time, farmers are also allowed to sell the paddy, if the price goes up. But when the price stays the same or falls, the rice becomes the property of the bank and the government takes care of it.
[Should I interpret this as a disguised form of the controversial and abolished mortgage system for rice, even though in that system the government bought all the rice and also paid the farmers 40 percent above the market price?]
In addition to the above scheme, the BAAC also offers interest-free loans with a term of two months, with farmers receiving 2.000 baht per tonne.
(Source: bangkok mail, October 25, 2014)
Because the government guarantees those prices for Hommali and glutinous rice paddy (not husked rice), both of which come mainly from Isan, it is no different from the previous rice mortgage system, although the expenditure will be lower. If all 2 million tons of paddy are lent, it will cost the government more than 20 billion baht.
Meanwhile, the junta has taken over almost all programs of that damned Yingluck.
Yes, the rice is paid dearly (contemporary saying of Kniertje's great-granddaughter)
And then also the special price/arrangement for the rubber farmers.
It is very expensive to keep the farmers friendly
Who are next to be helped?
Cor Verkerk
@ Tino I don't understand your last sentence, because the subsidy schemes for the purchase of a first car and house have ended, and the tablet PC program has been killed. Which programs are you referring to?
What I do not understand in the newspaper report is that it refers to an existing scheme, in which lending up to 80 percent of the value was possible. What existing scheme is it?
“Just about all” was a bit of an exaggeration. Well, for example, the infrastructure investment, rejected by the court at the time, now goes to 3 trillion baht (was more than 2 trillion), subsidies on other agricultural products and fuel. The first-car subsidy was a one-off anyway and had already expired, and instead of the tablets, the students now have the 12 core values for education.
'Funny' is that my son, not exactly a poor Thai, also collects 10.000 baht (1.000 per rai) and benefits from the mortgage scheme. I'll give it to his mother.
It's not about the programs themselves, of course. There is nothing wrong with helping poorer citizens in one way or another from the government (and hopefully structurally addressing the need through political measures). That curse is because the implementation and organization of the rice mortgage system (from transport-purchase-qualify-weighing-storage-payment) was so susceptible to fraud and corruption. The funds that were intended for the poor farmers have partly disappeared into the pockets of others. And that cursing is also because the Yingluck government categorically ignored all warnings from home and abroad that this rice system would lead to a disaster and would not have the intended effect and lied about selling rice to others. The result is an enormous loss (estimates vary, but it runs into the hundreds of billions of Baht) that must be paid by the taxpayer (Thai and non-Thai, including through an increase in VAT). A biscuit made from our own medicine, and not from rice dough: a biscuit with the ultimate price of a chatterbox.
Dear Dick, here in Khon Kaen and the surrounding area, there is nothing to borrow from the rice harvest, because there is no rice harvest.
Everything has failed here because there has been little rain, my wife has 11 rai everything has failed this year's harvest, there is now an arrangement for her to receive 1 baht compensation for 1000 rai, so peddling is not an issue here at all. She is going to sign with the mayor for the compensation pending payment ??
By the way many farmers have already destroyed the “(harvest ') and plowed the field for a next harvest now I know it's poor soil here more sand than loam so it doesn't hold water.
I once went out for a day along the rice fields, it is all a sad sight what you see, but not everywhere because where there is a river nearby, it looks good.
So I don't know where else everything is fine with the rice harvest, but certainly not here.