Vietnamplus

More farmers in Thailand have registered for subsidies and occupation shifting allowance from the government.

Thailand is expected to export 11 million tonnes of rice this year, much higher than the figure of 9.5 million tonnes earlier forecast by the Thai Rice Exporters Association (TREA), said a government official on August 13.

The Thai Government has approved a rice aid package worth 97.95 billion THB (2.94 billion USD) for the 2018-19 crop, aiming to encourage farmers to delay their paddy sales and improve harvesting and price quality.

Thai Labour Minister Adul Sangsingkeo held talks with the Israeli ambassador to Thailand about a temporary employment programme of Thai farmers in Israel.

The Government of Thailand has approved a programme to help farmers reduce second crop rice planting of 2018 and grow other plants instead.

The Thai Government needs to find the right markets for organic rice before encouraging farmers to increase the cultivating area from 300,000 rai (48,000 hectares) to 1 million rai in 2019, said President of the Thai Rice Exporters Association Charoen Leothamatas.

The Thai Government has launch three additional initiatives to support farmers, which were approved at the August 4 meeting of the National Rice Policy and Management Committee.