Victims to pledging

Local Concerns: The collapse of organic rice

Published: 19 Mar 2013 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

There is no doubt about it. The rice pledging policy is overwhelmingly popular with rice farmers. Why shouldn't it be? The paddy price offered by the Thai Rice Association is only 10,500 baht a tonne when the price offered by the government is 15,000 baht. The market paddy price for Hom Mali jasmine rice is 15,000 a tonne while it is 20,000 baht from the government.

A rice art project by Greenpeace shows an organic rice field featuring a pattern created by using two different types of rice. Organic rice farmers are facing the threat of bankruptcy because of the government’s rice pledging scheme. ATHIT PERAWONGMETHA

In other words, the government pays the farmers 4,500-5,000 baht a tonne more than market prices. This cost does not include other expenses such as warehouse rent, transportation and rice polishing, to name just a few.

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mdssr
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Discussion 6 : 19 Mar 2013 at 22.446
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"This is what a rice merchant who once owned the country's biggest paddy market in the upper North said about the rice pledging scheme: "It is like a den of thieves. No one can reveal the dirty business others are doing because they are also involved in it."

That says it all !!
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DonAleman
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Discussion 5 : 19 Mar 2013 at 19.075
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I don't believe anyone, anywhere, opposed the initial plan but almost
everyone, everywhere, knew it was failing but didn't recall the Kenny Roger's famous hit " Know when to hold em, know when to fold em" and it really wasn't about poker.
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lungstib
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Discussion 4 : 19 Mar 2013 at 15.144
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Drive north out of Fang and after 6 kms you come to a whole village dedicated to rice storage, drying, milling etc. In the last 18 months there has been a massive amount of building work extending and renewing the systems. Suddenly everyone has money for new buildings. Where did the money come from? I think we know.
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bangmodken
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Discussion 3 : 19 Mar 2013 at 12.493
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D2 : I doubt the consequences are unintended,exactly because it strengthens the big middle men by eliminating the community and cooperative competition. If it did not,perhaps you could point to lack of planning/incompetence. But this case is just too obvious.

I would also love to hear from some rice farmer who acually got the price (15,000 per tonne) pledged by the government.
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pjt
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Discussion 2 : 19 Mar 2013 at 09.042
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During the course of this fiasco a number of posters have suggested development of cooperatives and community mills as a way to help rice farmers balance the power of the middle men and retain more of the income for their effort by adding value locally. It seems that the rice scheme has the unintended consequence which is exactly the opposite and strengthens the big middle men by eliminating the community and cooperative competition. Cynics might say this is intended as another reward to the Shinawatra elite - reality is it is probably the usual failure to think things through that characterises so much of what PT does
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oldairman
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Discussion 1 : 19 Mar 2013 at 07.571
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Never mind the quality as the government will buy any old rubbish they grow and with taxpayers or borrowed money.
This in turn will destroy the reputation of Thai rice worldwide and once destroyed it will take many years if ever to recover.
It will not affect the government or the people involved as they will be rich and unaccountable.
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Victims to pledging | Bangkok Post: opinion