The Public Warehouse Organisation (PWO) – the state-owned agricultural marketing arm – is allocating about Bt10 million to buy 780 tonnes of Hom Mali rice directly from farmers during the current harvest season, for packing into 1-kilogram bags and distribution to visitors paying their respects to the late King at the Grand Palace.
PWO chairman Kriboon Suadsong said yesterday that the project formed part of the government’s plan to pay respects to the recently deceased monarch, while at the same time helping farmers.
The PWO will require volunteers to help pack the rice, which will be distributed as free gifts from November 14 to January 31, he said.
Meanwhile, to help maize farmers, the organisation will request a special budget from the Farmers Assistance Committee to purchase 100,000 tonnes from the market in a bid to increase the price of maize.
Kamchai Louiyapong, vice president for marketing at CRC Thai Watsadu, said that during the current market situation in which the price of rice was quite low, Thai Watsadu – as part of the community – welcomed the opportunity to provide dedicated space for free to farmers or local cooperatives, so that they could sell rice, or indeed other produce, directly to consumers.
“We will also fully help to promote them through every media we have, both online and offline. Our locations are quite convenient, easy to access and have bigger overall parking space. Interested farmers can make direct contact with the store manager or customer service department at any of our branches until the situation returns to normal. In some areas, these spaces can become community markets in the future, as we are pleased to support the building of stronger communities,” he explained.
Thai Watsadu operates 42 branches, most of which are located in agricultural areas in the North, Northeast and Central regions.
“We have always supported farmers via coordinated campaigns with the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives [BAAC], such as offering interest-free deals for three months and top discounts when making purchases at any of our agriculture departments. We see that any direct and indirect support will improve their quality of life and provide an opportunity for them to produce quality products,” he said.
At Thai Watsadu, farmers can buy good-quality and reasonably priced agricultural equipment, tools and many more products, Kamchai said, adding that the company would run a privilege campaign offering special discounts in the current situation.
“We will continue to support the agricultural sector with the BAAC, and work closely with the local community to raise the quality of life,” he said.
At the same time, Thai Watsadu is supporting farmers in collaboration with local government authorities.
Recently, Thai Watsadu’s Lampang branch started working with local bodies to allocate space at the store for farmers to sell rice directly to the public, free of any expenses.
The store also offers an area in front of the store for drying rice.
Pattaraporn Penprapat, deputy managing director for marketing and public relations at Central Food Retail, said that Tops – a business unit of Central Group – in collaboration with the provincial public authorities, was allowing farmers affected by falling rice prices to distribute qualifying products in Tops outlets by themselves.
“At this time, Tops consistently helps farmers through the ‘Tops with Public-Private Collaboration for Farmers’ campaign, which is the company’s policy to completely support the farmers,” she said.
Salinla Seehaphan, corporate affairs director of Tesco Lotus, said the retail giant this year had been supporting local farmers across Thailand via its direct-sourcing programme, under which it purchased more than 150,000 tonnes of produce directly from farmers.
For rice farmers in particular, Tesco Lotus lowered the prices of all packed rice in May and has kept the prices low to encourage customers to consume more rice to support farmers, she said.
In addition, one of the company’s 22 “Pracha Rath” projects supports rice farmers in Si Sa Ket province.
Tesco Lotus serves as a distribution channel for “Rice Buddy” organic jasmine rice, which is grown, milled, packaged and branded by the farmers themselves, with support from the BAAC, she explained.
Through Tesco Lotus, the farmers are able to sell their products directly to customers and have a much wider reach than before, while customers benefit from having access to high-quality organic jasmine rice, she added.
True Corp is another major private company lending a helping hand.
It announced yesterday that its parent, Charoen Pokphand group, would directly purchase white rice from farmers for sale at True stores and True Coffee shops, of which there are a combined 300 outlets nationwide.
True chief executive officer Suphachai Chearavanont said the rice would be sold at cost price, starting from the third week of this month.
PTT, meanwhile, will inaugurate its project for purchasing rice from farmers on Monday, in an event chaired by Energy Minister Anantaporn Kanjanarat.
The company has been |allowing farmers to sell their rice at participating PTT petrol stations around the country free of charge.