No water to grow any plants, farmers say
PROVINCIAL agriculture offices in areas hit by drought have noted that there is absolutely no water for farmers to grow any plants, not even those that consume little water.
Suwit Arjnawang, director of Lop Buri Provincial Agriculture Office, revealed that the drought situation in the province was so serious that farmers cannot water any plants.
Earlier, the Royal Irrigation Department’s measures to ensure there was enough water for tap-water production, by restricting farmers’ use of water, worsened the water shortage in the Chao Phraya River basin.
“Now the office is surveying the drought affected area to measure the crop damage to prepare remedies for farmers, according to the disaster compensation regulations,” Suwit said.
He said the office had also set up teams to talk to and encourage farmers for the sacrifices they are making – by not using water for their farms.
Worachun Lakkrot, director of Pathum Thani Provincial Agriculture Office, said it had been proposed that farmers should grow other kinds of plants that require less water instead of rice – but the farmers claim there is no water to grow any plants.
Worachun reckons approximately 2,500 rai in seven districts in Pathum Thani have been badly affected by drought, as the water level in irrigation canals numbers 9 to 14 has all gone dry.
“We can only visit the farmers to survey and discuss the problems with them, but we have not yet received any help from the government yet,” he said.
Agricultural Extension Department’s deputy director Pairat Wungdee said the government could not do much other than compensate affected farmers because water supply in the Chao Phraya River Basin was very limited.
However, he said, there were fewer damaged fields compared to last year because the government had told farmers to delay cultivation since May.
“Currently, we are looking for cultivation in the next season, whether we should alter our crop production to suit weather conditions,” he said.
In order to relieve the hardship of more than a million affected farmers, Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) has offered to extend the repayment period for loans by a year as well as increase the credit line for both short- and long-term loans. It has earmarked Bt60 billion for the effort.
Jakkrit Jessadaphan, deputy director of BAAC’s Uttaradit branch, said up to 90 per cent of farmers in the province were unable to make their payments on time because they had no income as they cannot grow rice this season.
