Hundreds of fruit farmers in Trat rallied outside the provincial hall on Wednesday to pressure authorities into speeding up efforts to solve water shortages.
The farmers, from several tambons in Khao Saming district, said their orchards have been hit hard by drought and a poor harvest was likely if no action was taken to alleviate the problem.
They also demanded to meet the provincial governor to voice their plight in person.
The rally coincided with a meeting among provincial officials chaired by Trat deputy governor Supamit Chinsri to discuss drought relief measures for Muang, Bo Rai, and Khao Saming districts.
Sa-ard Bussayapinit, from tambon Sator in Khao Saming district, said time was running out for fruit farmers there to save their crops.
Mr Supamit was met with boos and jeers when he appeared and tried to talk to the protesters. Khao Saming district chief Pirawat Wangratkul, meanwhile, tried unsuccessfully to persuade the farmers to disperse.
It was reported that provincial authorities and local administrators locked horns at the meeting over what action to take.
Local administrators wanted drought-hit areas to be declared natural disaster zones so emergency funds could be allocated to address the issue, but provincial authorities disagreed.
Meanwhile, several livestock farmers in Ban Non Khum, in Nakhon Ratchasima's Phimai district, were forced to take their thirsty animals to a nearby village for water.
They also claimed that their animal feed stockpiles were running low.
Cattle farmer Wisit Thongtham, 45, said this year's drought has been especially bad and was taking its toll on water and food supplies.
He said the situation was likely to grow worse next month and called on authorities to come up with measures to tackle the drought problem for livestock farmers.
In Surin's Samrong Thap district, second rice-crop farmers in tambon Koh Kaew were being urged to stop drawing water onto their farms now that the effects of the drought were getting worse and locals were starting to struggle.
The farms cover about 2,000 rai of farmland.
They were told that the Ban Koh Kaew reservoir, which is the locality's main water supply, was drying up.
Dejkol Ardam, head of Samrong Thap district, said cooperation was needed otherwise there would not be enough water for household use.
