BANGKOK, 12 March 2012 – Starting on April 1, farmers across Thailand will be able to start using credit cards to purchase production materials.
Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) President Luck Wajananawatch has revealed that on April 1, the bank will start the distribution of 1 million credit cards to farmers across the country, following a successful trial run among 5,500 farmers in five pilot provinces. Mr. Luck added that another 1 million credit cards will also be distributed in 2013.
The program, which will be officially launched on March 20, allows holders of the credit cards to purchase key inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides, and plant seeds from the 2,000 approved stores. However, the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister has assigned the BAAC to explore options to add other items to the program, such as rice, farming gear, water pumps, gasoline for farm products transportation and machinery use.
At present, the bank boasts over 4 million in the number of clients, 2.7 million among whom are farmers. Mr. Luck, however, has expressed concerns that farmers might misuse their credit cards for the wrong objectives; for example, taking out cash instead of purchasing production key inputs. Thus, all BAAC branch managers have been instructed to strictly monitor the use of the credit cards. Those found to have breached the rules and regulations, be they farmers or shopkeepers, will be disqualified from the program as well as blacklisted.
