Farmers want to know: Will our plots become water-retention areas?
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Anxiety is growing among farmers in the lower Chao Phraya basin because their next farming season is due to start in less than two months and they are still in the dark on whether their paddy fields are marked as water-retention areas.
“We are clueless. Officials have not told us anything about exact locations,” Bamrung Phosri, 59, said. She is a farmer in Tambon Mahadthai, Angthong.
According to the Angthong Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office, about 400,000 rai of paddy fields and irrigated areas in Thung Lam Ta Daeng and Thung Wichet Chaicharn – covering five districts – will be officially designated as retention areas to hold about 300 million cubic metres of water.
Last month, the government announced it had already chosen two million rai of land for water-retention for the flood season. The goal is to save crucial zones such as industrial estates from flooding.
The government was reported to have up to Bt60 billion to create infrastructure for the flood zone. Yet the amount of compensation that affected locals will get if their land is inundated remains unclear.
The flood season sometimes lasts from September until December.
The plan to select two million rai of land as water-retention areas was conceived after the flood crisis last year, which swamped seven industrial estates, killed hundreds and flooded the homes of millions.
“I won’t complain if the government uses my fields as water-retention areas. How can I stand up against the government, anyway?” Bamrung said, “But at the very least, they should clearly inform locals about which plots will be used and how long the plots will be flooded for.”
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said she would assign officials to talk to locals before announcing the chosen locations – for fear of protests.
“Communication must be done directly with the affected people first for good understanding,” Bamrung said.
Somphong Boonmee, a 49-year-old farmer in Ayutthaya, is praying that his paddy fields will escape the official water-retention area label.
He owns 60 rai of land in Bang Ban district where the Chao Phraya, Noi and Lop Buri rivers meet.
“But if my field is chosen as a water-retention area, I hope the floodwater level is not too high otherwise I will have no place to live,” the farmer lamented. He also suggested the government not pay financial compensation to the owners of water-retention areas but provide them with efficient irrigation systems instead, that would boost their yield.
If the flood does not hit, farmers will be able to grow rice three times each year. However, if flooding disrupts the process, they can grow rice only between January and August.
Boonchu Raipap, a 59-year-old farmer in Bang Ban district, said two crop seasons a year would allow her to survive but the government must ensure the floodwater disappears from her 102 rai of paddy fields by December.
“I must start working on the fields in January,” she explained. Last year, she earned more than Bt950,000 from crops harvested on 102 rai of rented paddy fields, with two crop seasons.
Boonchu hoped the government would also pay for floodwater to be pumped out of paddy fields and that it may consider providing efficient irrigation systems.
The Strategic Committee for Water Resources Management (SCWRM) has explained that although some farmers will not be able to grow rice during flooding months, there will be opportunities for new livelihoods.
“For example, they might raise fish during flood season instead,” SCWRM member Dr Anond Snidvongs said.
He said the government would provide financial compensation appropriate for each area – a flat rate would not be applied.
Mongkol Dangkrajang, director of the Phakhai Water Distribution and Maintenance Project, said about 180,000 rai in three districts in Ayutthaya – including Pakhai, Sena, and Bang Ban – would be used as water retention areas.
“We will try to keep floodwater levels at no more than 1.5 metres from ground level,” he said, “We will also try not to let floodwater linger for more than 21 days. We will drain it as soon as possible”.
His agency is now constructing floodwalls and raising the height of seven strategic logistic roads. The surface of some roads is now at least three metres above ground level.
“We need to keep strategic roads dry during the flood season. They are crucial in the transportation of relief items and food to flood victims. In addition, if floods swamp all nearby areas, people will at the very least camp out on these roads,” Mongkol said.
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