Former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra has launched a new campaign to promote the consumption of a variety of rice products as a way to drive up paddy prices.
This follows her direct rice sales which have drawn criticism after claims she is undercutting rice prices.
Ms Yingluck launched the latest campaign, entitled "Help farmers, create Thai value-added rice and boost rice consumption", at her Bung Kum home Thursday.
More than 50 dishes made from rice products were displayed at the event, including kanom jeen nam ya, kao tang, khao kriap pak maw, rice pizza and pudding.
The campaign seeks to promote a wide range of rice dishes which could help reduce the domestic rice supply and push up prices.
Several Pheu Thai politicians joined in the event, including acting party secretary-general Phumtham Wechayachai as well as former deputy premiers Kittiratt Na-Ranong and Niwatthamrong Bunsongphaisan.
Ms Yingluck early this month went to the northeastern provinces where she bought 10 tonnes of rice from farmers suffering from falling prices. She later resold the grain at a shopping mall in Bangkok at 20 baht a kilo, the same price at which she purchased it from the growers.
Former Democrat Party MP Warong Dejkitwikrom immediately heaped criticism against Ms Yingluck and questioned her ability to have so much rice -- about 10 tonnes -- milled and packed in so little time before the grain went on sale in Bangkok.
He added the sale also distorted the market price of the rice which is more than 20 baht/kg.
He said a former Democrat MP also helped purchase 12 tonnes of fragrant rice from farmers for resale and it took more than half a month to mill the entire stock before it was delivered to Bangkok.
Ms Yingluck said people should be glad that so many are trying to help farmers.
Meanwhile, the government has been urged to focus on developing rice quality as part of sustainable measures to shore up prices. Speaking at a seminar in Bangkok on the issue of rice Thursday, National Institute of Thai Traditional Medicine director Kwanchai Wisithanon said two-thirds of domestically grown rice is of poor quality and it cannot be exported at high prices.
He said several governments have placed emphasis on rice price intervention, a measure he said cannot address the problem in the long run. The solution lies with producing more quality rice, such as the hom mali, or fragrant (jasmine) variety, which fetches higher prices.
Yoon Kaewhom, a Surin farmer, said rice growers lack the knowledge needed to help themselves amid falling prices.
Many farmers are dependent on the government's loan scheme and spend money from rice sales to pay off loans they took to grow the rice. They then have to borrow again for the next crop, and the cycle continues.
Thanittha Janthanaruek, a member of a Thai rice consumer network, called on the government to help develop rice quality, which should help boost customer confidence in the product.
She said law enforcement must be stringent in curbing the use of chemicals in rice cultivation.
Farmers should come together and form a network or cooperative. Help is needed so the farmers can adjust themselves to the market and reduce production costs, she added.
Meanwhile, rice farmers in Chai Nat are working fast to harvest paddy to sell to millers after rice prices improved over the past week.
