It's not rice 'pledging'

Published: 4 Oct 2012 at 16.52
Online news: Opinion

The name itself, the rice pledging scheme, is misleading. It is not at all a pledging scheme because every grain of harvested paddy "pledged" by farmers is actually bought by the government.

There is no requirement that farmers redeem their rice. And what farmer would be foolish enough to take back his crop when he is already being paid well over the market price for his grain?

It should rightly be renamed the rice purchasing scheme. And because of this mega-generous scheme, the Thai government has ended up being probably the world’s biggest rice buyer and the biggest rice stockpiler, with about 16 million tonnes in warehouses and no serious buyers on the horizon.

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geoffo
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Discussion 5 : 04 Oct 2012 at 19.005
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D1 ,which farmers benefit. What about the others.

The author says call it what it is, a purchasing program

Do you ever think about who pays for this.
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bikeme
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Discussion 4 : 04 Oct 2012 at 18.534
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Khun Veera nails it on the head in paragraph 6 "they believe they are always right and can do no wrong." This type of attitude will never lead to progress, peace or reconciliation.
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jacksprat
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Discussion 3 : 04 Oct 2012 at 18.343
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Never let the facts distract from what the government says.
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englishbob
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Discussion 2 : 04 Oct 2012 at 18.082
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Pretty much sums up the situation exactly...

It's difficult to see how anyone can argue that the policy is terribly flawed or that this government and its supporters believe an electoral victory is carte blanche to do anything.
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bula
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Discussion 1 : 04 Oct 2012 at 17.491
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It is a scheme - a pledging scheme. You can twist, spin and distort the purpose and intention of the scheme you want. To begin with, our rice farmers have the right to better quality of life. They also have a role to play - food security. Our rice farmers and would be younger generation farmers need to be encouraged to stay on farming. The whole agriculture industry and land use need 'revolutionary' thinking. This will not please the already rich millers, exporters and landlords.
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It's not rice 'pledging' | Bangkok Post: opinion