BANGKOK, 24 June 2015 – Prime Minister Prayut Chan-Ocha on Wednesday presided over the cabinet meeting, which focused on the growing crisis of drought in many parts of the country.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment reported during the meeting that the ministry’s request for an additional budget of 84 million baht to assist drought-hit farmers has been approved. Part of the budget will be used to drill up to 500 extra groundwater wells to secure more water for farming.
There are at present 380 existing wells. With the digging of the new wells, around 200 billion cubic meters of water can be supplied to farmers in need. The drilling is set to be completed in July.
The Agriculture Ministry will meanwhile hold talks with the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) to ask for farmers’ cooperation in delaying their off-season harvesting, to encourage farmers to grow less water-reliant crops and to postpone farmers’ debt payment during the drought period.
