BANGKOK, Thailand – An additional 1.3 billion baht has been approved to support farmers affected by flooding during the 2024–2025 season.
Deputy Government Spokesperson Anukool Pruksanusak announced that the Cabinet has approved a 1.309 billion baht emergency fund. The budget will support two main recovery programs proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. These are the 848.66-million-baht fund for general flood-affected farmers in 2024, and the 461.10-million-baht budget for those in southern Thailand impacted between November and December 2024.
Anukool added that the initial 2024 recovery plan, covering July 14th to October 1st, spanned eight projects worth 2.55 billion baht. These included a 1.57 billion baht rice production improvement program by the Department of Rice and a 23.92 million baht aquaculture livelihood project by the Department of Fisheries. However, previous funding proved insufficient and did not include southern provinces affected later in the year.
As a result, the ministry submitted a new request under the Fiscal Year 2025 emergency reserve budget to the Disaster Relief Operations Center (DROC). At its meeting on March 11th, the center endorsed a 1.99 billion baht framework for expanded recovery.
The ministry was instructed to follow relevant laws and procedures strictly, while the Budget Bureau and the Ministry of Finance were tasked with verifying accuracy and preventing duplication. (NNT)
