Agricultural reform necessary, PM
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said Friday that reforms must be introduced in all agricultural sectors, from rice, rubber, palm and cassava to sugar cane.
Agricultural zoning will be adopted, and monopolies will be eradicated. Seedlings will be provided to farmers by the Rice Department, and rice strains will be studied and developed by farmers’ cooperatives in local areas, Prayut said during his weekly TV programme.
The government “sees the problem and will address it accordingly”, he stressed.
“We cannot leave this problem unattended. Thailand is a country engaged in free trade. Please understand this fact. We are expediting our efforts to make you stronger,” he said.
In addressing the problem of low prices of agricultural commodities, the government has to persevere and implement new methods, he said, adding, “Money cannot be excessively spent – too much borrowing would create a public-debt problem. This figure already stands at about 47 per cent [of gross domestic product], and we will not be able to handle 60 per cent.
“Some countries can cope with a 200-per-cent public-debt ratio because they are more developed than we are and they have ways to recoup the investment. It would be risky for us because we have not prepared as many risk-mitigating measures,” he told the TV audience.