Ministry plans to cash in on misused agricultural land
Deputy Agriculture Minister Thammanat Phromphao said on Wednesday (June 10) that the ministry is planning to generate revenue from lands under the Agricultural Land Reform Office (ALRO) that have been misused by communities, hotels and resorts, and rent them to those who wish to continue using those lands.
“The income from the rent will be added to the Agricultural Land Reform Fund, which currently has around Bt4 billion, to be used for land reform for agricultural purposes nationwide,” he added. “The ministry has no intention to confiscate the land and turn them into farming areas, as that would require a substantial budget to remove the buildings as well as other facilities that the hotel or resort owners have built on those lands.”
“It is better to continue using those facilities and increase their economic value,” added Thammanat. “The rental fee will be within the standard set by the Department of Treasury.”
Thammanat added that lands that fit the criteria are usually in tourist locations such as Phuket and Samui, which have more than 400 hotels and resorts. “The land in front of Mae Fah Luang University in Chiang Rai is a good example,” he said. “This ARLO land has become a shopping district with many retail shops and student dormitories that the ARLO should earn rental income from.”
Thammanat added that the ARLO is planning to reduce the fee for mining contracts on ARLO lands that can no longer be used for agriculture. “Currently the fee is set at a flat rate of Bt40,000, which in some cases is not worth the value of available resources that can be mined from those lands,” he said. “ARLO expects that the review and adjustment of the fee should be completed in three months.”
