BAAC incentives to make up for cut in rice pledging price
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About 200,000 farmers who will be affected by the reduction of the minimum per-tonne rice price to Bt12,000 under the pledging scheme will be incentivised by an extended loan ceiling and lower interest rates from the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural
Of those 200,000 farmers, whose total rice outputs are estimated at 3 million tonnes of rick husk, those who have obtained BAAC loans will enjoy lower interest rates, as well as soft loans for investment in the next two crops, with a higher ceiling amounting to an additional 20 per cent of the current one they are entitled to, he said.
The 200,000 farmers, regardless of their status as BAAC clients, would also be guaranteed all rights under the farmer’s credit-card scheme. They can avail of any government-supported insurance scheme for their future harvests. The BACC’s board of directors would hold a meeting soon to discuss the incentive conditions, and the bank would be compensated by future government subsidies, he added.
Lak said up to 25 per cent of the 200,000 farmers would be affected by the Bt500,000 subsidy limit under the rice-pledging scheme. “These big-time farmers will be given different conditions for BACC incentives,” he said, without elaborating.
He called on farmers to keep humidity in their rice at the lowest possible level while storing before the pledging, as even a one-per-cent rise in humidity would result in a reduction of between Bt130 and Bt150 per tonne, on top of an average 10 per cent humidity per tonne.
Citing details on the rice-pledging scheme implemented by the BAAC, Lak said 4.06 million farmers had taken part in the two previous years, or four crop seasons, which had yielded a total of 40.50 million tonnes of rice husk pledged to the government at a total price of Bt627 billion.
He said the scheme had resulted in better living conditions for the farmers, judging from continued growth in their savings accounts deposits at BAAC – Bt140 billion in 2011, Bt170 billion in 2012 and Bt250 billion this year.
Deputy Finance Minister Tanusak Lek-uthai, meanwhile, said the government would soon work out projects to assist farmers who will be affected by the reduction of the minimum price from Bt15,000, while improvements would be made towards implementation of the scheme, from marketing and storage conditions to inspection of stockpile.
Commerce Ministry Boonsong Teriyapirom posted a message yesterday on his Facebook page that the Bt12,000 price would remain in effect despite protests and growing opposition from farmers. He reiterated two key conditions about the Bt12,000 price – that it would take effect on June 30, and that the Bt500,000 ceiling would be limited to one farmer household starting today.
