Maize farm fires being tackled

Maize farm fires being tackled

The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry and private companies involved with maize production for animal food have reached an agreement to work together to reduce the haze pollution in the North.

The ministry on Friday invited representatives from relevant state agencies and private operators, including the Thai Feed Mill Association and Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group, the giant food producer, to meet and discuss measures to deal with haze pollution in the region, particularly from fires started on maize farms.

Official information from the ministry shows that 64% of corn farms nationwide are in the northern provinces.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Dapong Rattanasuwan said after the meeting that the ministry and private companies have agreed through a short-term, urgent plan to reduce the number of fires set by farmers at corn farms after harvesting.

Private operators who have signed contracts with the farmers have agreed to discuss the fire issue with farmers and closely monitor their efforts to stop setting fires.

"We have focused on maize farms as more than 50% of hotspots have been found to be at maize farms," said Gen Dapong.

Satellite images have shown that 1,084 hotspots are at maize farms, compared with 316 in the paddy fields and 483 at hilltribe farms.

"If we can control or limit the number of fires at those farms, the haze situation will ease off," said Gen Dapong.

But he said the authorities will not adopt "aggressive" measures against the farmers as they are poor.

Pornsil Patcharintanakul, president of the Thai Feed Mill Association, said that he was aware of the problem and had tried his best to find proper solutions.

He said association members would ask the maize merchants to present documents showing where they get their maize from so the association can know with whom to negotiate.

"Farmer registrations will be a significant step for locating maize farms and owners. This will help us to make direct contact with the farmers and discuss with them how to stop the burning," he said.

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