Govt yet to differentiate itself from elected regimes

The military government was born out of the dreams of people fed up with elected governments that woo voters with big promises but blow the country’s finances – and leave little to fund projects for long-term prosperity. 

Prayut, who retired as Army chief last month, also dreamed of fulfilling this vision, vowing to serve in a distinctive way. But, it’s easier said than done. 

Several policies announced so far involve the agricultural sector. Yes, it is the same target for any elected government, given the sector employs over 20 million workers. 

Opponents of the Yingluck government criticised her for giving farmers subsidies. The first agricultural policy approved by the current government was subsidies for rubber growers, amid their threats to stage protests in light of a steep fall in rubber prices. This was followed by Prayut’s famous notion that Thailand churns out so much rubber we need to export it to Mars.

As the Yingluck government’s rice-pledging policy was one of the main issues opponents used against her, it seems the Prayut government does not want to repeat the mistake but obviously has few new ideas on how to deal with farmers. 

The Commerce Ministry under the Prayut administration has been doing pretty much the same things the previous government did. It is putting rice in small sacks for sale and auctioning big sacks. When the Yingluck government made a similar move last year, it faced stiff protests and was lambasted. 

When the rubber price plummeted during the previous administration, Yingluck faced serious protests even though her administration tried to significantly subsidise the price. The rubber price has plummeted again but there has been no serious complaining. 

A new time-bomb facing the government involves its policy to give Bt1,000 per rai for each of the 3.9 million rice-farming households, in a bid to persuade them not to grow a second crop.

Deputy Prime Minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula and Finance Minister Sommai Phasee reasoned that this would stimulate the economy in the short term. Sommai also added that it would help farmers who did not benefit from the rice-pledging scheme. Well, the Bt40-billion budget allocated for this scheme is enough for 40 million rai, when the rice-pledging scheme covered all 70 million rai.

Prayut said that this would add income to farmers and reduce water usage in areas that are prone to drought. This is in addition to his plan to have farmers’ children schooled on better techniques in a bid to deliver higher productivity. Certainly, this would please children who want to be farmers. 

In his speeches, he also unveiled his plan to campaign for more rice consumption around the globe.

“Bread makes you fat. Eating rice won’t,” he said.

There were also claims that this would cut output, to help the government deal with the millions of tonnes of rice in government stockpiles. Farmers are not pleased with this. What they need is a mechanism for cheaper supplies of raw materials like seeds and fertilisers. 

Another academic reckoning is that the spending could generate a moral hazard, as people are paid to stop doing what they do for a living. This came in response to Agriculture Minister Pitipong Phuengboon Na Ayudhaya saying that he pondered a policy to pay farmers in areas not suited to rice farming, so they don’t need to suffer from low yields and losses every crop.

The pay-out policy has also led to criticism from oil palm and corn growers, plus those who grow other crops. They want to know why they have been left out if the government really wants to use public money to boost farmers’ income.

With its stated desire to change Thailand for the better, the government has also tasked itself many other assignments. In time, we will know if this government has overcome the trap that is preventing it from differentiating itself from elected governments.