As the government's election promise to help rice farmers unravels, outside of Bangkok the populist policies that delivered Pheu Thai to power are coming home to roost.
ON THE EDGE: From right, rice farmer Saard, Thai Agriculturist Association treasurer Thitiwat Kleebmalai and, fourth right, farmer ‘Leung’ Kham. PHOTO: CHAIYOT YONGCHAROENCHAI
"Leung" (Uncle) Dum from Ayutthaya's Bang Sai district is one of those farmers who believes city folk do not appreciate the real need to maintain the rice-pledge ceiling at 15,000 baht a tonne. Reducing it to 12,000 baht a tonne _ effective from tomorrow _ will once again place him and his family at the edge of a financial precipice.
"I grow rice on 30 rai of land," Leung Dum said. "With the 15,000 baht rice-pledging scheme, I can make a profit of 1,000 baht per rai. That means I can earn 30,000 baht for each harvest or 60,000 baht a year.
"I have to feed a family of five and the money is barely enough. Can you imagine what kind of a life we have?"
In the countryside of Ayutthaya, where rice farming is the main occupation, the level of anger varies, but all farmers seem disappointed that the government they believed in at election time has now let them down.
To make matters worse, some of the farmers also took advantage of the government's 100,000 baht subsidy for first-time car buyers.
"There are many farmers, including myself, who took the first-car tax rebate," Leung Dum said.
"If the government lowers the price of rice-pledging, we will not have enough money to pay back the loan."
"My fear is that the bank will come and repossess my truck because I won't be able to afford to repay the loan."
NEVER THE FULL PRICE
Wichien Puanglumjieak, president of the Thai Agriculturist Association, has done the maths and says even with the 15,000 baht ceiling in place, it rarely ads up to a profit for farmers.
Mr Winchen was part of last week's protest by 500 people who handed a petition to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra after rallying at Royal Plaza requesting that the higher ceiling be maintained until Sept 15, when the second rice harvest of the year is complete.
Under the pledging scheme, farmers can sell up to a maximum of 500,000 baht worth of rice per household, he said. But they don't always get 15,000 baht per tonne, and with many different costs involved in rice production, it's very difficult for farmers to turn a profit.
Chief among these expenses are land rental fees, and labour and fertiliser costs. Only 10% of farmers who are members of Mr Winchen's association own their own land. The others rent at a cost of 1,000-1,500 baht per rai.
The association estimates that it costs farmers 9,000 baht per rai to harvest rice, with the other costs including fertiliser (850 baht), insecticide (1,000 baht) and seed (650). Typically, 10 labourers at a cost of 200 baht per worker per day are hired to prepare the fields and harvest the crop; another major expense.
A "humidity" levy imposed to ensure rice does not spoil due to too much moisture can be the biggest drag on profits.
Moisture levels in milled rice are measured when they are taken to government warehouses to be stored. A rice humidity level of up to 15% is allowed, but after that, a 200 baht penalty is imposed for each percentage point over the limit. A humidity level of 30% can mean a 3,000 baht penalty, slashing the maximum rice-pledging price from 15,000 to 12,000 baht a tonne.
"When the humidity is measured, the farmer sometimes loses up to 30% from the full amount because they don't know how to store the rice properly," Mr Winchen said.
"This season, I believe the humidity will be more than 30% due to the weather conditions we have," he said.
"During good seasons when we don't have much rain, the humidity level is between 20% and 22%.
"If the government lowers the price to 12,000 baht, farmers won't get anything from what they have invested this year after the humidity rate of 2,000-3,000 baht is taken into consideration".
Mr Winchen agreed with critics of the scheme who claim it has been exploited by middlemen bringing in cheaper rice from neighbouring countries, claiming it is Thai produced and receiving the full pledge price of 15,000 baht per tonne.
However, he also blamed the illicit imports for spoiling government rice stores, saying the imports were often inferior in quality as they had not been certified by the Food and Drug Administration.
HEADING FOR BANKRUPTCY
"Leung" Kham, 62, also from Bang Sai district, has been a rice farmer his entire life and learned his skills from his father.
All he wants is for the government to extend the ceiling price until September.
"The guaranteed rate is already difficult to live with. But with the adjustment, we'll all go bankrupt," Leung Kham said angrily.
"We have already had one harvest this year and got some money from the first crop. We invested the same amount of money for the second planting, but the government is going to adjust the [pledge] price before the rice is ready to be harvested. I think it is unfair and very inconsiderate."
Leung Kham said the government buckled too quickly after hearing from its advisers that too much money had been allocated for the scheme, which has lost an estimated 136 billion baht since it started late last year.
"There are also corruption problems involved with this project," he said.
"I think that's the main factor in why the government has lost so much money from this project. But whatever the reasons are for its failure, we had nothing to do with it and shouldn't have to suffer the consequences."
Tun, a 48-year-old rice farmer from Ayutthaya's Sena district, said the government should pay farmers a minimum "professional fee" of 2,000 baht on top of the subsidy to produce the rice.
"The cost of living is getting higher while we are earning less money. This is why no one wants to be a farmer," he said.
Saard, a 52-year-old farmer from Bang Sai district, said he had barely made a profit, even with the 15,000 baht pledge price.
"The last time I harvested rice the humidity level was above 30%," he said.
"I lost 4,080 baht of the 15,000 baht. After taking out the 9,000 baht I invested, I came home with 1,920 baht per tonne. I don't even want to imagine what will happen if the government reduces the price to 12,000 per tonne."
He said that the public mistakenly believes that all of the 15,000 baht goes into the farmers' pockets.
"They might think we are being greedy when we complain about the price adjustment to 12,000 baht per tonne," he said.
"But that's because they're outsiders and don't know what we are going through. We don't get the full amount promised by the government and hardly even make a profit.'
Restricted by the rainy season from September to November and the dry season in April and May, most farmers have to make the second harvest count to make ends meet.
Mr Saard told Spectrum that he might not be able to afford to farm rice next year if the ceiling price is cut.
"If the government really wants to lower the rate, we will be in big trouble. We might not be able to produce any more rice in the following years," he said.
The association has asked the National Rice Policy Committee to review the government's decision and extend the 15,000 baht ceiling until mid-September.
While it may appear to be a small demand from farmers, they say it will help them better plan next year's crops by reducing expenses.
''At least we can invest the appropriate amount of money next year,'' Thitiwat Kleebmalai, the treasurer of the Thai Agriculturist Association, said.
''The government promised to help improve farmers' lives with so many projects and policies. But to be honest, I see none of it happening.''
He pointed to another broken promise of the Pheu Thai administration _ a ''farmer credit card'' with a limit of 50,000 baht, which turned out to be restricted in its scope.
''It was understood that everybody was eligible to get one,'' Mr Thitiwat said.
''But only people who have loans with the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives were able to. And the credit is only interest-free for a month. If you don't pay the money back in that time, you have to pay 7% interest,'' he said.
''The farmers didn't get anything from the government except the 15,000 baht guaranteed [rice-pledging] rate. And now they're taking that away from us.''
Mr Tun said no representatives from the Pheu Thai Party had visited since their 2011 election win.
''I remember the time before the election, many Pheu Thai Party representatives came to our village almost every day to campaign and ask for our vote,'' she said.
''Now that we've voted and they're in government, they can't even stop by for 10 minutes to ask us what we want.''
Leung Kham said he had voted for Pheu Thai in the genuine belief the party could lift his family from poverty, but with the ''inconsiderate'' price cut he had lost all faith in them.
''In the last election, I voted for Pheu Thai Party,'' he said.
''Now I realise that not only can they not do what they promised, but they also cause trouble for us. I don't know what to say. I have lost all my faith in them.''
Mr Tun said he will continue to support the government as long as they keep the 15,000 baht ceiling to show they care about farmers, whose annual earnings will fall to 60,000 baht if it is reduced to 12,000 baht.
''That's equal to 5,000 baht a month,'' he said. ''What kind of life do we have with that money? Our children have to go to school, we have to pay off our debts, and we have other expenses.''
Mr Winchen from the Thai Agriculturist Association said support had already evaporated among members for Pheu Thai.
''If there's another election, I would say that Pheu Thai Party will not get any votes from the farmers,'' he said. ''They might think our votes are not important, but trust me, we are the majority who voted for them at the last election.''
If the Democrats or any other party comes up with a better rice-pledging policy they'll vote for them, he said.
Mr Winchen said that if the reduction goes ahead tomorrow, the farmers will consider suing the government and filing a complaint with the Administrative Court.
COSTLY BUSINESS: Farmers in Ayutthaya use a harvester to reap their rice crop. The government is set to reduce the pledging price for the grain by 3,000 baht to 12,000 baht per tonne tomorrow.