BANGKOK, 19 Feb 2015, The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC) has proposed to the Cabinet that the government write off the debts of farmers in order to help alleviating their burden.
According to the ministry’s preliminary survey, over 26,000 farmers and more than 1,000 agricultural organizations will benefit from the plan, as 4.5 billion baht of debt will be cancelled. The proposed plan was approved of in principle at the economic cabinet meeting on February 16th. Under the plan, related units will be assigned to find ways to deal with the agricultural debt structure, and report their progress to the cabinet every quarter.
Initially, the MOAC has set basic criteria for the plan as follows: Debts must be incurred a result of the government’s failing agricultural projects; victims of natural disasters or violence in the south; debtors whose debts have expired, and those whose debts are more than 10 years old.
Furthermore, the campaign will also help debtors without any assets, debtors who have died, or have gone missing, and debtors who are senior citizens, or disabled, or suffering from mental illnesses or chronic diseases.
The ministry will also help debtors with low income who are unable to pay their debts, and those whose debts are under 10,000 baht.
