BANGKOK, 7 November 2013 Buriram is pushing its officials to speed up for the 2013/2014 rice pledging program, with an aim to keep corruption at bay.
Buriram Governor Thongchai Lue-adul, who is supervising the province’s rice mortgage scheme, has convened a meeting with farmer representatives and rice pledging program staff stationed at 19 rice mortgage spots across the province. The governor went through rules and procedures with them at the meeting in a bid to prevent all possible frauds by both the farmers and the authorities themselves.
Among the 19 rice mortgage stations, 9 of them have already been opened, while the other 10 stations are still awaiting an approval and a contract. Only 5 farmers have so far registered under the program, pledging a total of 45 tons of rice. The reason why there are only a small number of farmers joining the program is that it is still in the harvest season, added the Internal Trade Office of Buriram Province.
