BANGKOK, 4 August 2015 – Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, after the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, expressed concerns over the ongoing drought disaster and the newly emerging floods in different parts of Thailand, saying the Cabinet today approved seven billion baht to help farners affected by the drought.
With the new fund, the Interior Ministry and the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry will together work out a cultivation guideline for the upcoming agricultural season and the employment of farmers on out-of-farm jobs pending the new planting season.
The prime minister suggested that the hiring of farmers in such jobs should be project-based, which gives higher productivity and generate wider income distribution than hiring on an individual basis.
To deal with flooding in northeastern provinces caused by overflow from the Mekong River, the prime minister has urged provincial authorities in the region to well manage the situation. He suggested they should divert and keep the overflown water in dams for use during the dry spell which is predicted to recur later this year.
Gen Prayut also expressed his worry towards severe floods in Thailand’s neighboring Myanmar, saying that the government would hold a campaign in Thailand to raise fund to help Myanmar in line with the humanitarian principle.
The issue of homeless people was also discussed in the Cabinet meeting. Gen Prayut said that the cabinet approved housing plans for four million homeless families, especially those living by the riverside. The project will take 5-10 years to complete.
The Ministry of Social Development and Human Security will seek deserted empty lands possibly owned by the state, on which the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry will build permanent living quarters for landless families.
The ministry has already built houses for 1.3 million impoverished families who used to live on encroached riverside land.
