She said it was the duty of any government to provide help to farmers without any concern about making a profit or a loss.
The ex-PM from the Pheu Thai Party said that farmers are suffering from declining rice prices. She added that without any measures to help them, the farmers would be severely impacted.
“I want to see systematic assistance for farmers to help them become self-reliant. Debt suspension alone, without any other measures, will not help the farmers to go any further,” Yingluck said.
She said that although the government preferred to think of its rice-subsidy programme as being different from her administration’s corruption-plagued rice-pledging scheme, both programmes were designed to help farmers.
Yingluck also said that she would seek fair and non-preferential treatment in the legal action against her stemming from her government’s rice-pledging scheme.
She is being tried by the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders on the charge of criminal negligence, as she was head of the government when the scheme was implemented.
The authorities have sought civil liabilities of Bt35 billion from her for the damage caused to the state by the project.
Meanwhile, large amounts of rice have been sold directly to consumers at prices preferred by farmers.
In Nakhon Ratchasima province yesterday, rice produced by local farmers was offered for sale at Bt25 to Bt30 a kilogram.
Booths were set up at Thao Sura Nari Memorial Plaza, a landmark of the northeastern province. Over the past two weeks, more than 15 tonnes of rice have been sold there.
The Interior Ministry’s Local Administration Department will today sell rice to consumers for Bt100 for a 3.5kg bag from the northeastern province of Surin. There will be 15,280 bags of rice on sale.