Delayed rainy season ‘will hurt rice farmers’

FARMERS WHO depend on the annual rice crop will face serious problems later this year, as the rainy season is expected to start in August instead of in May or early June as usual, according to academics.

As a result of climate change, the late rainy season could create social conflict unless the government takes precautionary measures and informs rice farmers in advance, said Sujarit Khunthanakulwong, head of the Department of Water Resources Engineering at Chulalongkorn University.

Speaking at a seminar on drought and sustainable water management at the Intercontinental Hotel, Sujarit urged the government to better inform farmers to avoid conflicts.

Last year, most farmers were barred from planting a second rice crop due to the shortage of water. 

A late start for this year’s annual crop will further aggravate their situation since the new rice planting season could be significantly delayed, negatively affecting a large number of farming families.

The ongoing drought is forecast to hit 2.8 million rai (450,000 hectares) of farmland, reducing the country’s rice output by more than 1.1 million tonnes.

Economically, the drought will cause Bt60 billion to Bt70 billion in damage, reducing this year’s gross domestic product by 0.4 to 0.5 percentage point, according to Kasikorn Research.

Other academics told the seminar that stakeholders need to take part in the country’s water resources management with more specific laws to regulate usage, especially in terms of efficiency.

The ongoing drought has affected many areas of the country, including Bangkok, said former Royal Irrigation Department (RID) director Pramote Maiklad.

He said large irrigation projects were not the answer for sustainable water management anymore, while suggesting that the national water policy needed to include all stakeholders to manage the limited water resources in a sustainable way.

“Water management now is 100 per cent in the hands of the RID, which represents the government, but I think water management should be handled by every stakeholder,” Pramote said.

“Everyone should have the right to participate in water management together at the water-basin level and we should develop small reservoirs in every community to reduce the reliance on the central irrigation system,” he said.

Construction of large dams and water irrigation projects depending on international rivers was not a good option because such projects faced strong opposition from the public, he said. Sujarit said the country also needs specific laws to regulate water usage planning instead of relying on frequently changing government policy.

“Good and sustainable water management policy must include consideration of every aspect. All stakeholders should discuss together how to manage the plan for water usage and management of available water resource to increase efficiency in water consumption,” Sujarit said.

Another reason for the water shortage was inefficient use, he said, suggesting that there should be an integrated plan for water management and policy making.

“From my research on water usage efficiency, I found that Thai people use large amounts of water uneconomically. Moreover, it also shows per capita water consumption here is higher than in other Asean member countries,” he said.

“Therefore, even if we receive more water, it would not solve the water shortage in the long run, so my suggestion is a better plan for water usage,” he said.

In the shorter-term water management plan to cope with the drought, Pramote said the RID was headed in the right direction to manage resources until the next rainy season.

“As our available water is very limited during this dry season, it is sensible to preserve the remaining water for domestic consumption and to sustain the ecology.

“However, the government should not be too harsh in banning rice planting by farmers, as I’ve seen that they use the remaining water in the canals very efficiently,” he said.