CHIANG MAI, 16 May 2011 – Farmers in general are satisfied with the government’s achievements in agricultural development although they still think the government needs to show more sincerity in solving their problems, according to a recent survey by Maejo University.
The survey was conducted with a sample of 651 farmers across the nation. The respondents were asked about their opinions on the agricultural reform and problems of Thai farmers, in conjunction with the recent Royal Ploughing Ceremony Day on 13 May 2011.
70% of the respondents indicated that the Thai agricultural sector was developing in the right way because of the implementation of newly launched projects such as the income guarantee scheme for farmers and the promotion of agricultural knowledge while the other 30% did not think so, saying the authorities failed to get to the heart of the problem.
51% of the respondents were satisfied with the agricultural policies of the government while 25% felt neutral. 24% were not satisfied at all.
The rising cost of production factors was cited by the respondents as their priority problem as farmers had to shoulder increasingly high cost of the production capital. Other obstacles included natural disasters, inefficient marketing management, political conflicts and the government’s failure to implement agricultural policies thorougly.
Asked about agricultural solutions, the respondents suggested that the government should be more sincere and put more efforts in its operation, increase crop price guaranteeing fund for farmers, boost production capacity by reducing production capital, improve irrigation systems nationwide, strengthen farmer networks and allocate land for farmers.
