Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak ordered agencies to rev up restructuring of the farm sector on Wednesday and find more ways to cut production costs, including low-interest loan programmes and tailor-made fertilisers.
Mr Somkid visited the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry and said the government has already allocated 24 billion baht in supplementary budget for fiscal 2018 to finance the farm sector's restructuring.
He urged state agencies to speed up their efforts to help the plight of 3.9 million low-income earners in the sector.
In January, Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong said the upcoming reform would be done on a mass scale, with plans to cut supply and raise crop prices.
The supplementary budget will focus on infrastructure investment such as silos and warehouses, which will let farmers store produce and prevent gluts in the market.
Downsizing farming areas, particularly for rice, rubber and oil palm, is a crucial part of the agricultural reform plan, but the size of the reduction will be determined by the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry.
Mr Somkid told the ministry to consult with the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) to offer loans with interest rates of only 4%, down from 7% now, with the government willing to subsidise the rate.
Luck Wajananawat, deputy agriculture and cooperatives minister, was assigned to discuss with the Finance Ministry and the BAAC a possible interest rate cut.
Mr Somkid pledged to visit the ministry later to monitor progress.
Mr Luck said yesterday that technology and big data would be developed to enable farmers to come up with better management in production and processing.
Mr Luck said the BAAC plans to provide soft loans worth 50 billion baht to low-income earners who want to upgrade the means or quality of production.
The bank will provide another 45 billion baht for those who want to set up small and medium agro enterprises (SMAE).
The ministry aims to promote 1,000 potential SMAEs this year.
Mr Somkid said tailor-made fertiliser is another way farmers can cut costs. The ministry should focus more on this to lend them its support, he said.
The ministry was also assigned to organise a meeting of 1,000 potential agro cooperatives to bolster reform efforts.