Gov't can't afford to ignore farmers

It is not only workers in the financial and industrial sectors who are feeling the pinch; Thai farmers are also suffering from the international economic crisis, with the prices of commodities dropping. The rice price in Nakhon Sawan province, for instance, has dropped by one-fourth since September, while rubber prices plunged in reaction to the woes of the international automobile market.

The affects of the current economic recession are widely predicted to be comparable to those of the financial crisis in 1997. Thai commodities then enjoyed a boost in exports largely because of the sudden depreciation of the Thai baht, which made Thai products cheaper overseas. However, this time around, the Thai farming sector is unlikely to enjoy such a boost because the baht has moved in line with other regional currencies. And there is no obvious advantage of the Thai baht against the US dollar.

Besides, the world demand for Thai commodities such as rice, rubber, sugar cane and tapioca has decreased compared to 1997 levels when the economies of Thailand's major markets, such as the US, the European Union and Japan, were in good shape.

Consequently, the Thai farming sector is likely to absorb migrant workers who have lost their jobs, as the sector did in 1997. Thai farmers have been suffering from wild price fluctuations of commodities since early this year.

According to figures from the Agricultural Economics Office, around 22.7 million people are in the farming sector, accounting for 35 per cent of the total population, a decline of 1.87 per cent compared to 1998. At present, farmers who are 65 or older account for almost 10 per cent of the total farming population, confirming that the ageing population in the farm sector is increasing.

Although ninety per cent of the farming population is registered in local village households, this figure is likely to decrease. Migrants account for an increasing ratio of the agricultural workforce. The average wage for these farmers is around Bt129 per day, which is lower than the minimum wage in the industrial sector. In 1998/1999, the average farming wage was Bt7,585 per person per year, compared to a 2006/2007 figure of Bt33,524 per person annually.

The survey from the Agricultural Economics Office also showed that agricultural output among families where the head of the household received a higher education is better than those with lower education. This finding shows that knowledge and education will help improve the competitiveness of the Thai agricultural sector in a sustainable manner.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva faces a daunting task in improving the standards of living among Thai farmers. He will have to prove his critics wrong that he failed to reach out to the grassroots demographic, which was the electoral stronghold of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his now-defunct Thai Rak Thai Party.

The Democrat-led government will thus have to tackle the problems faced by farmers by providing them with sufficient knowledge, providing new opportunities for the younger generation, and providing a social safety net or social welfare at a comparable level to those in the non-farming sectors.

The immediate problem for farmers in Nakhon Sawan, a major centre for rice cultivation, is the high cost of production necessities such as imported fertiliser. Farmers are now faced with lower paddy prices at harvest time, even though they had to fork out a lot of money for fertiliser when they planted.

The Democrat-led government should also look into finding new markets for farmers in order to offset the declining demand in traditional markets. It needs to seriously address the problems facing the farming sector, which is the backbone of Thailand's economy. The future of the Party will depend on its ability to help the sector. After all, farmers are the most powerful voter group for any party wishing to win the next general election.