A white harvest turns into gold

For the last three decades or so, like many other Thai farmers, Iam has been in debt.

Last week, another harvest from the same 16 rai brought her a windfall - Bt13,000 per tonne.

"I am very excited about it!" beams Ai, one of the nation's 15 million farmers, to whom even small increases in profits can make a big difference.

"I have farmed this land for as long as I can remember and I have never witnessed such a phenomenon," says Iam Ruengchuamuan, Ai's 76-year-old uncle.

Three weeks ago Iam sold 12 rai of rice for Bt140,000, or 12,000 per tonne - one rai produces about one tonne of rice. His field yields two crops every year. The price of the fertiliser and oil he needs have risen, but that's more than offset by the even higher cost of rice.

One way he's reduced costs is by gradually turning to organic fertiliser, which costs Bt10,000 per tonne and produces similar yields to chemical fertiliser, which costs Bt20,000.

For the last three decades or so, like many other Thai farmers, Iam has been in debt.

"We owe about Bt300,000 to a government agricultural bank and the black market," he says, but with rice prices skyrocketing, he's happier than he's been in a long time.

"If the price of rice is steady like this, I should be able to pay off my debt in a few years."

Most of their five kids only completed primary school. "I know a farmer is always poor," Iam says, "but this is what my ancestors have done and I don't know what else I can do."

Last year, he underwent bypass surgery under the Bt30 scheme. "My wife Somjit is worried about me when I'm working in the fields. With extra money I can hire someone to help take care of the rice," he smiles.

Two weeks ago, the couple planted fresh shoots and they'll harvest the crop in August, though Iam is hoping it comes sooner while the price is still high.

One money-lender in the province says several of her customers have repaid their loans over the last month, while other clients have converted their shrimp farms into rice fields, clamouring to take advantage of the price increase.

"Two weeks ago, I converted my potato field into a rice paddy," says Udom Intaramany, 41, who doesn't have any land of her own, and rents it for Bt500 per rai per year. That may rise in the near future, though.

The increase in the cost of rice and other grains has been blamed on everything from higher oil prices to the demand for biofuels to climate change.

Prices for rice and other basic foodstuffs are expected to remain high in the foreseeable future.

News reports say that the price may fluctuate or fall to old levels. Regardless, there will be winners and losers. So far the headlines have been dominated by the global protest over higher food costs.

But for now, poor Thai rice-farming families are happy with their golden harvest.