With the price of paddy falling to as low as Bt5 per kilogram, many farmers have been plunged into deep financial trouble this harvest season. However, many people are now offering assistance as farmers in many areas try to adapt to the problem.
Kasetsart University lecturer Decharut Sukkumnoed said after a workshop on Sunday at the university’s faculty of economics that many people and organisations had volunteered to relieve farmers’ financial burdens.
“There has been a lot of good news regarding the farmer financial crisis right now, as many people have offered help to farmers’ families who are planning to sell their parents’ rice,” Decharut said.
He said the Commerce Ministry had ordered Provincial Commerce Offices across the country to help farmers’ families to directly sell rice. Meanwhile, many rice mills in Chiang Rai, Payao, Chai Nat and Suphan Buri have volunteered to mill and store rice for private direct sales.
He also said many organisations had offered free spaces for rice vendors both in Bangkok and other provinces. In Bangkok, Thammasat and Kasetsart universities have designated space for rice sellers to open shop on their campuses.
“I have received offers from IT firms that can help to develop online platforms to sell rice for farmers and their family members. This is including mobile applications that allow the customers to order rice products from farmers directly. The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives is also considering providing low-interest loans for rice direct sellers too,” Decharut said.
The campaign for farmers’ families to directly sell rice, which was initiated by Decharut to tackle the lowest paddy prices in a decade, is gaining traction on the Internet as farmers have started to advertise their products on social media, while other people have volunteered to help by designing packaging and providing free marketing.
However, E-sarn Organic Agricultural Community Enterprise Network director Ronwarit Pariyachattrakul criticised the direct-sales model, which might help farmers obtain higher prices in the short term, but did not solve the farming crisis in the long term.
“We need to shift our rice production to organic and rebrand Thai rice to be premium organic rice in order to raise the prices in the international market. If we are successful, our rice price will be higher automatically and demand for our rice will increase,” Ronwarit said.
“Our network has been producing organic jasmine rice for many years and despite the low paddy price this year, our organic produce can be sold at Bt14 per kilogram compared to jasmine paddy from chemical farms, which can be sold only Bt5 per kilogram,” Ronwarit said.
“The Agricultural Extension Department should be at the |forefront to promote organic rice farming.”
For a short-term solution, he said government agencies that need rice to feed the Army, prisons and public hospitals should buy rice directly from farmers at higher prices.