Measures being drawn up to support start-ups and SMEs in agricultural sector

They are expected to be introduced as soon as possible in order to support the government’s plan to shift towards a domestic-led economy by increasing the number of agricultural entrepreneurs in the country.
“I am glad to see that all sides have agreed to push for a new agricultural base and change the image of Thailand’s farmers to match those in developed countries who are well-off. And why are they well off? It is because their governments have provided support in all aspects, and this year we will all help revolutionise Thailand’s agricultural sector together,” Somkid Jatusripitak, the deputy prime minister in charge of economic affairs, told reporters yesterday.
He was speaking after a meeting with high-level officials from the Finance Ministry, the Government Savings Bank (GSB), the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC), the National Village and Urban Community Fund Office and the Thai Chamber of Commerce.
“I began talking about this entrepreneurial-economy idea no less than five years ago, and how it would pave the way for the future as there would be more new faces in the country’s industries,” he said.
The first measure involves the National Village and Urban Community Fund, which has been tasked with investment in local infrastructures such as water sources, small agricultural processing factories, and storage facilities.
The fund’s investment under the measure is set to commence this quarter.
The GSB and the BAAC, meanwhile, will be in charge of financial support for industrial farmers and agricultural start-ups via the provision of venture capital and low-interest loans, the deputy PM said.
The second measure involves the Thai Chamber of Commerce, which has agreed to negotiate with modern traders to find markets to support the sale of products made by the entrepreneurs and start-ups.
The ministry and the Board of Investment will provide privileges and tax breaks for the start-ups and entrepreneurs, along with incentives for large corporates that are willing to co-invest or support them, he explained.
Government agencies will also seek experts and retired individuals to be brought in as mentors for the start-ups and entrepreneurs, while the target groups are students and farmers that are looking to become business operators themselves, Somkid added.

One tambon, one project
BAAC president Luck Wajananawat said the state bank would set aside Bt50 billion to support the “one tambon one agricultural SME” project as part of the government measures to revolutionise the agricultural sector.
The bank has also set aside a further Bt5-billion loan budget for rubber farmers who wish to produce other crops on the side to compensate for the continuous drop in rubber prices, as Bt9 billion of the previous Bt10-billion budget to assist them had already been disbursed, he said.
GSB president Chatchai Payuhanaveechai, meanwhile, said he had proposed at yesterday’s meeting that the state bank would set aside Bt2 billion to support the setting up of a venture-capital fund for existing agricultural SMEs that already have potential, and a Bt2-billion loan budget to support new agricultural start-ups financially.
Details of both will be announced once they are ready to be launched, he said.
The interest rate for the GSB loan will be between zero and MLR-1 (minimum lending rate minus 1 percentage point) in the first two years, with a loan period of one to five years based on the size and type of the investment, he said.