BANGKOK, July 23 — Thailand’s Rice Department is gathering opinions on how to improve its rice and rice grower development fund bill that includes a plan to offer pensions to the farmers themselves.
Director-General Chanpittaya Chimpalee said most rice growers had low incomes and high costs and could not make ends meet, so pensions are planned with the bill.
He said bill would have rice growers who are members of the rice and rice grower development fund contribute 3 per cent of their incomes to the fund and the government will also contribute to it.
After the retirement age of 60 or 65 years, each member would receive the monthly pension of about Bt4,000 that will be enough for their life after retirement.
Wichien Puanglamjiek, president of Thai Rice Farmers Association, said that rice growers should enjoy welfare like that offered to people in other professions and it was good time to realize the law to offer sustainable help to rice growers.
Somsak Kangtheerawat, senior executive vice president of the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, said a survey on farmers nationwide in June found that Thai farmers were very happy as their average happiness score stood at 3.10 out of total four.
The happiest were fruit growers, followed by sugarcane growers and meat chicken farmers.
The survey also showed that rice growers were very happy after receiving money for their pledged rice. Their average happiness score stood at 3.35 out of total four and the score made a new high.
