Close this money pit: rice scheme seems to invite corruption

Reading Tulsathit Taptim on the irregularities in the government’s rice pledging scheme made me feel sad for my country.

According to the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), the government has already incurred the loss of more than Bt100 billion on this programme so far this year; 63 per cent of these funds went into the hands of traders and millers – with only the rest going to farmers. TDRI also claims that the price guarantee programme under the Abhisit Vejjajiva government was better and more efficient, since the money was paid directly to farmers.

And since the Yingluck government’s rice price guarantee of Bt15,000 per tonne is way above the world market price, Thailand’s rice exports this year have fallen 45 per cent. Also, the problem of rice overstocking is mounting.

Hence, with so much money spent and with which a scant result achieved, with corruption spreading in such a cancerous manner, and with such a huge loss of Thailand’s competitiveness in the world market, this rice pledging scheme should by all means come to an end.

Vint Chavala

Lamphun