BANGKOK, 30 October 2013 Deputy Spokesperson of the Prime Minister’s Office Pakdeharn Himathongkham revealed the cabinet has approved a 1.9 billion baht fund for the rice mortgage scheme, to be specifically allocated to farmers who could not pledge their rice in time for the 2012/2013 harvesting season. The amount of rice under this scheme is estimated at 899,000 tons.
He said that the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives has been assigned to request necessary funding from the Budget Bureau. The Deputy Spokesperson stressed that this amount is separated from an earlier approved budget of 500 billion baht set for the 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 seasons.
Mr. Pakdeharn stated that eligible farmers must possess certified mortgage registration document for the second batch of the 2012/2013 pledging season and must be farmers who could not harvest their crops before the September 15 deadline.
He explained that the move is a show of responsibilities by the government which had earlier asked farmers to delay their cultivation in order to release lesser irrigation water into the system.
Nonetheless, qualified farmers who wish to join this special round of rice mortgage scheme, must register for the program again with the ministry. By doing so their crops would be permitted to be pledged at 2,121 baht per ton. Mr. Pakdeharn further stated that no more than 33 tons can be claimed for assistance by each farmer, the same regulation being applied for flood-affected rice growers.
