BANGKOK, 14 February 2012 – The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) has announced a two-month extension to the debt moratorium programme, currently participated by 300,000 farmers.
BAAC Executive Vice President Boonthai Kaewkhuntee has announced that the expiry date of the debt moratorium for farmers, whose debt is under 500,000 baht each, has been postponed from 15 February to 15 April, given that there are still up to 180,000 clients who have yet to join the programme. Mr. Boonthai stated that the BAAC will work hard to ensure that all farmers have access to the assistance measures provided by the government.
Currently, 340,000 farmers have joined the debt moratorium programme, with around 43 billion baht’s worth of debts.
Meanwhile, a reconstruction and development project will be set up for farmers participating in the debt moratorium. The two-year project, which will take place from 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2015, will be carried out through a model community, based on self-sufficiency and New Theory Agriculture, as well as the 3,500 knowledge centers soon to be established. The BAAC has targeted that at least 70% of the debt moratorium participants will join the reconstruction and development program.
