SURIN -- While rain has nourished crops in most parts of the country, more than 20 villages in Tha Tum district of this northeastern province are watching their rice crops discolour and wither after about two months without any rain at all.
The 20 villages in tambon Krapho and nearby tambons of Tha Tum district usually reap healthy crops of fragrant hom mali rice.
Instead, farmers there are facing the most difficult time in many years because about 1,000 rai of their planted rice fields have turned yellow and are dying because of the lack of water.
Farmer Teerasak Klakhaeng, 30, of tambon Krapho, looked helplessly at the fragrant rice planted on his 11-rai farm, which is yellow and dying. He and other farmers can only pray rain will come in time to save some of the crop.
It would be good if the government could help by sending a rain-making unit to the area and hopeully save their crops, he said.
Thawil Seesanngam, 68, of Ban Nong E-dam in tambon Krapho, said her 12-rai of hom mali is also turning yellow. She is also placing her hopes on artificial rain making.
In the Central province of Phichit, the situation is completely different from that in Surin.
Continuous rain has flooded more than 400 rai of paddy fields in Moo 4 village in tambon Khamang of Phichit's Muang district, overwhelming the rice crop.
Tawee Krutsri, 58, of tambon Khamang, said the entire 60 rai of his farmland is now under water. He estimated damage to the fields and crop at 100,000 baht.
Farmers have resorted to using boats to harvest their crops prematurely to cushion the damage.