THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

National drought-management plan unveiled

National drought-management plan unveiled

The Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry has announced its 2000-2021 drought-risk-management (DRM) plan in a bid to prevent a repeat of the severe water shortages that hit farmers earlier this year.

Deputy permanent secretary Samran Saraban said the ministry has drawn up a blueprint to combat uncontrolled usage of water which leads to shortages.

The blueprint will help guide government agencies to solve farmers’ drought-related issues, he added.

The “Smart DRM” guidelines will be presented to an agriculture-planning subcommittee considering plans for 5.12 million rai of agricultural land nationwide. Of this, 2.61 million rai will be used to grow rice and 2.51 million rai to grow vegetables.

Of the country’s rice fields, 1.12 million rai will be inside irrigation zones and 1.49 million rai will be outside.

Thailand’s irrigation system currently has 48.38 billion cubic metres of water reserves (64 per cent total capacity), of which 24.45 billion or 47 per cent is useable.

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