Farmers in the central region tell The Nation’s Pratch Rujivanarom that the policy was actually helpful during a time of low rice prices.

Farmers say the rice-pledging scheme under Yingluck Shinawara’s administration was beneficial to them, and have urged the current government to help raise the price of rice. They say rice is very cheap now, and they can’t make enough profit from farming.

Amphai, a 54-year-old rice farmer in Nonthaburi’s Sai Noi district, said that during the time of the Yingluck government she could earn a lot of money from selling rice. At that time, due to the pledging scheme, the price was as high as Bt15,000 per tonne and she could expand her field up to 150 rai (24 hectares).

“It was a good time back then,” Amphai said. “The farmers could earn a substantial profit from rice and had a good standard of living. It was a good policy and I am sad to see my beloved former prime minister being sued in court for her good deed to farmers.”

She said that the situation was much worse nowadays, as paddy prices had plummeted as low as Bt6,500 a tonne, which did not even cover the cost of planting rice. This meant that many farmers, including her, had a large amount of debt.

“I am now reducing the rice-planting land to only 18 rai, as selling paddy rice is not profitable any more. The more we grow, the more debt we have, because the price of fertiliser and pesticide is more and more expensive in contrast to the rice price,” she said, noting that she was more than Bt1 million in debt with the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives.

Yingluck’s rice-pledging policy was intended as a kind of price guarantee during a period of low rice prices. The government pledged farmers up to Bt15,000 per tonne for good quality rice. The idea was that when the rice price went up again, the farmers could redeem their rice and sell it for a high price in the market.

Another farmer in Nakhon Pathom’s Bang Len district, Withun, 75, told a similar story to Amphai’s. He said that his family’s livelihood was better during the Yingluck government due to high rice price.

“I have been growing rice for my entire life and I can say that now is the hardest time for farmers that I can remember,” he said.

“I cannot recall any time that the rice price was this low compared to my daily expenses. All of my children have had to abandon the family business and go to Bangkok to find a job.

“We do not want anything from the government, we just want them to keep the rice price at least Bt10,000 per tonne, or else the farmers nationwide will starve to death and there will be no more backbone of the country.”

The village head in Tambon Narapirom of Bang Len district, Supachai Srithongjoi, revealed that the debt problem had reached the point that many farmers have had to sell their land to topsoil mining businesses.

“Hundreds of rai of paddy field in this tambon have been sold to businessmen from outside to dig up the topsoil for sale,” Supachai said.

He added that the mining “caused many problems to the community, such as land sinking and landslides into nearby plots”.

“The large number of lorries that come to transport soil also damage the local roads,” Supachai said.

Asked about the government policy to reduce the amount of rice-farming area and encourage farmers to plant other crops, he said that most land in his region was not suitable for crops such as maize or sugarcane.

“Our region is irrigated by the Chao Phraya River and Ta Chin River, which is best for planting rice, and we can plant rice three times a year. Moreover, we do not have knowledge about growing other crops,” he said.

“I understand that the government wants to punish a corrupt politician, but at least we want the government to help us on this rice-price crisis.”

Another farmer from Phitsanulok’s Bang Rakam district, Suthon Manaowan, said that the government had provided no help on rice prices this year. He wanted government help not just because the price was so low, but because many farmers had suffered in the recent floods.

“Farmers need the rice price to be at least Bt7,000 per tonne if the government cannot bring back a |rice-pledging policy that can guarantee the price at Bt10,000 per tonne. If the government is going to issue a new policy to help the farmers, they have to do it soon,” Suthon said.

Asked about the claims of corruption, he said: “The government should let the justice system work out this issue, but they should also help the farmers.”