CityNews – Several offices of the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) have begun terminating their support for the rice pledging project, as most participating farmers have been paid.
Most of the rice farmers in Ang Thong province have already withdrawn or are in the process of withdrawing their payments from the BAAC to fund planting for next season. The bank transferred funds into the accounts of farmers on June 12th.
The Ang Thong branch of the BAAC has paid 92% of the total amount owed to farmers, currently amounting to 1.451 billion baht. BAAC officials have stated that remaining debts amounting to 126 million baht would be paid by tomorrow, June 18th. The bank’s Udonthani branch has also announced the termination of its rice pledging project, and has since paid all 13,470 farmers for their 20,897 receipts of previously pledged rice warehouses.
The national Council for Peace and Order has announced that it will now promote a shift to more traditional organic farming to reduce production costs and raise farmer income.