Farm-debt write off demand
A group of 2,500 farmers sit outside the Agriculture Ministry yesterday. They want the government to keep its promise to halve the Bt400 million they owe to state cooperatives. The group dispersed late in the evening after caretaker minister Sudarat Keyur
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Angry farmers yesterday morning surrounded the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry demanding it keep its promise to write off half their debt.
More than 2,500 farmers from 26 Central provinces converged on the Rajdamnoen Avenue compound. They claimed the government had reneged on a March promise to buy up half of their Bt400 million in bank debt. Caretaker Agriculture Minister Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan was prevented from leaving the ministry to catch an internal flight until she showed the farmers she had ordered Bt200 million in debt relief. She showed farmers the order to the Fund for Restoration and Development for Farmers to purchase the debt. The farmers later dispersed. Earlier, some farmers confronted police when they noticed officers were armed. The issue was settled after talks. In March, farmers took similar action. Yesterday, they demonstrated to ensure Sudarat would submit the debt plan to the Cabinet for consideration at today's meeting. Farmers' leader Chanin Duangdara criticised caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra for going back on an election promise to have the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives buy back all farm debt.
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