The government has been trying to tell farmers in the Central Plains for months that they should shift from planting rice to other crops that need less water because of the severe water shortage this season.
But tiny green paddy fields still sprout up in this central province. Most farmers won't stop planting rice as long as they can still find water to pump into their fields, though some are learning to adapt.
Twenty-six year old farmer Orawan Sri-insoodhi and her husband are these days watering their healthy cucumber plants instead of the rice they usually grow on their seven rai of paddy field in Sai Noi district. She invested 30,000 baht to reshape her field into several rows surrounded by water to plant the vegetable.
The Department of Royal Irrigation is reluctant to distribute any more water to the 1.3 million rai of paddy fields in the Central region. It only has enough water in its dams to release about 15 million cubic metres per day for daily consumption and ecological system preservation.
Rice farmers in the Central Plains would need many times this amount if they were to plant their crop. The situation will last until the rainy season comes.
Mrs Orawan said her family concluded there will not be enough water for their paddy field and they decided to change to vegetables, their first try on a large scale.
"I will start up with my seven rai first. If it goes well, I will expand. I have never stopped planting rice before, even in a drought. But this time, if I don't change, I would lose more," she said.
She also plans to sell her produce at the Thai Market in Pathum Thani province without any middleman, in the hope of getting a better price, which would be around six baht per kilogramme. The harvest will come in 40 days, which is 10 times faster than rice plants. But the vegetable needs to be watered every day, unlike rice which does not require daily care.
A woman tends to her bitter gourd farm next to her paddy field in Nonthaburi's Sai Noi district. (Photo by Somchai Poomlard)
The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives had come up with a rehabilitation plan, approved by the cabinet in October to help farmers suffering from the drought. The plan includes equipping farmers with the know-how to grow plants that consume less water, livestock training and other occupational training to generate income and offset losses from rice farming.
The Department of Agricultural Extension is focussing on 155,183 farmers in 22 provinces by giving them "tools" for production such as vegetable seeds and fish species so they could make a livelihood while they suspend their rice growing. The department has received a 356.92-million-baht budget to carry out the plan.
Mrs Orwan is among 4,470 farmers in the province who registered for a programme in which the province offers a package to help farmers survive the drought crisis. It includes occupational training and vegetable seeds.
Somdach Kongkaphun, head of the Agriculture Office in Nonthaburi, said there are 100,000 rai of paddy fields in the province, 70,000 rai of which are already planted. When these are harvested, he hopes there will be no further rice planting because authorities have been telling farmers no water will be released during the dry season that runs from February to May.
However, he admitted it would be difficult for rice farmers to do anything else. This is because 95% of farmers in the province rent land for farming. They could not stop rice plantations even though the risk of loss is high.
"If you don't want to plant rice, the others are going to queue up to replace you. Farmers have no choice, so they continue to plant as long as there is water in the river," he said, adding an estimated 20,000-70,000 rai in the province are still not hit by the drought.
This is the case with Netnapa Intrarith, a 30-year-old farmer in Sai Noi district. She said that because of the investment they have already made, her family has no choice but to continue farming their 10 rai of paddy field. She lives in fear the drought will kill her paddy before it can be harvested, which would leave her family with nothing.
"I have to take a risk. I know the government will not pay compensation. But farmers need to plant rice if there is still water there. I don't think vegetables will make enough money," she said.
She said there is still some water in a canal, but she doesn't think it will be enough for the four months it takes to grow rice. Her only hope now is that rain will come next month.
She doesn't want to change to vegetables as she is afraid that she won't be able to sell them. "Everyone is planting them. The price is going to go down more and more. It is not going to be worth it," she said. Nevertheless, she has planted some vegetables in her paddy fields, as a fallback if the paddy field dries up as predicted.
As if they know the government's campaign to get rice farmers to switch to other crops is not making much headway, authorities say they have not collected any data about a reduction in the rice planting area this season. "We are asking for cooperation at this stage," one official said.
