Debt-relief measures to waive Bt4 billion owed by farmers
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THE Bt4 billion in debt of some 28,000 Thai farmers who do not have the means to repay is to be written off, while other debt-relief measures are arranged for some 800,000 other farmers who owe a total of Bt112 billion.
Deputy Finance Minister Wisut Srisuphan said the scheme – approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday – was aimed at aiding 818,000 small farmers to whom the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) had lent a total of Bt116 billion.
Each such farmer owes less than Bt500,000 to the BAAC.
The scheme, in effect from yesterday until March 31, 2016, will cover three groups of farmers through debt-clearing, debt restructuring, and extensions of their repayment periods.
The first group of 28,000 farmers with no means to repay debts totalling Bt4 billion will have their debts written off, he said.
The second group of 300,000-400,000 farmers with low repayment potential – owing a total of Bt48 billion – will be offered debt restructuring. The BAAC will suspend the repayment of principal for three years, although they would still have to pay interest as usual.
This group will be required to repay the principal within 10 years (extensions will be provided if necessary), he explained.
The BAAC will also lend up to Bt50,000 to each of them to support farming, he said, adding that Bt15 billion was set aside for this additional lending.
The third group comprises 450,000 farmers with high repayment potential who have been affected by factors such as the suspension of off-season rice cultivation due to water shortage or the slumping rubber price; they owe a total of Bt64 billion.
The BAAC will extend their repayment periods depending on each individual’s potential and also waive fines, Wisut said. The BAAC will also lend up to Bt100,000 to each of them, with such additional loans totalling about Bt35 billion.
A report said that as of January 31, the BAAC had 3.52 million customers who owed a total of Bt766 billion – about Bt217,000 per head – and 9.24 per cent of the customers had problems with their debt-repayment capacity.
