CityNews— Rainfall from last week raised the level of water in the Mae Taeng damn and provided some relief to local farmers. Chiang Mai Regional Irrigation Office also released water into Mae Taeng-Sanpatong damn to aid farmers in that area.
Officials observed that farmers in the Suthep, Maeha, Hang Dong and Sanpatong districts were able to pump water from irrigation canals and into their fields and that the fields were being ploughed in preparation for sowing rice later in the year.
Som Tulapap, a 67-year-old farmer from Hang Dong district’s Sala village, said that even though the rainfall from last week was not much, the water from the irrigation canals was helpful in allowing them to cultivate rice. However, all farmers are still in shortage of water, and will continue to have problems if the drought continues into the year.