The Thai Department of Royal Irrigation (DRI) has urged farmers not to do off-season farming asthe amount of rain this year is relatively low.

Deputy Director General Suthep Noipiroj said that farmers should refrain from doing any out-of-season farming starting next month, indicating dams along Chao Phraya River now have low water level.

The stored water was meant for the crops planted during November to December last year and the dams do not have enough water for another off-season farming, he said.

He emphasised that farmers will waste their farming resources during this period, adding that aside from insufficient water for agricultural purposes, farmers should not rely on compensation or assistance money from the interim government.

Suthep said that there are a total of 6.72 million rais of off-season rice field. The dams along Chao Phraya River are planned to dispense water to only 4.74 million rais of land.-VNA