Rice farmers urge PM Prayut to help
FARMERS in central Phichit province have called on Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha for help as their paddy is fetching a low price which they say makes farming worthless, the Thai-language daily Matichon reported today (April 6).
Mr Sinn Thangam, a village headman at Pho Prathap Chang district of this province, said farmers started harvesting their second rice crop in March with this ending end of this month.
However, they are facing hardship because paddy price is being suppressed to 3,900 to 4,500 baht a ton, which makes it futile to invest in farming, he added.
Mr Sinn also said that he sold his paddy for 4,000 baht a ton end of March because he did not know where to store the crop as he had already brought it to the market.
Another farmer very sadly only got 3,900 baht a ton, he mentioned.
Mr Sinn urged General Prayut to help farmers by stabilizing the price and ensure that it does not fluctuate on daily basis.
A trick clever merchants use is to offer a high price in the morning so that these farmers go and tell the others about the good price they got. However, when the others show up in the afternoon, the price is slashed.
Mr Sinn urged that measures be introduced to resolve this problem.
He also said that farmers want 7,000 to 8,000 baht a ton of their crop as they are almost starving and with the new school year starting next month, they would have difficulty paying school fees and buying books.
CAPTION:
Top: A big pile of paddy ready to be sold. Photo: Matichon
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