BANGKOK, 24 September 2012 – The Kasetsart University Office of Agricultural Economics (KU-OAE) Foresight Center has indicated that the flooding in the lower north and central regions have covered over 1.3 million rai of land.
The KU-OAE Foresight Center has reported the finding from satellite images of the Princess Chulabhorn Satellite Receiving Station, saying over 1.3 million rai of farmland in 14 provinces have been flooded.
Around 430,000 rai of rice fields have been damaged. The center predicted that this year’s rice yields will be reduced by 210,000 tons of the country’s overall production, estimated at 25 million tons. Damage is said to be around 2.2 billion baht at the moment.
The KU-OAE Foresight Center urged the government to find a short-term measures, such as low-interest loans,to assist affected farmers.
Meanwhile, a researcher from Princess Chulabhorn Satellite Receiving Station said the 14 flood-affected provinces are in low plains, where floods occur regularly; fortunately, the water just runs through and is not trapped in the fields the way it did in the 2011 flooding.
