Shorter growing period, seed shortage challenge rice

The flood has forced farmers to shorten their rice-growing period, while at the same time they will find it hard to access high-quality rice seed, says an expert at Bayer CropScience, the agricultural-chemical arm of German chemical and pharmaceutical giant Bayer.

Thorsten Schwindt, country head for Thailand and Sri Lanka of Bayer CropScience, said the most important matter was how much the flood had changed the pattern of pests and diseases. The inundation eradicated much of the insect-pest population, which could benefit farmers. On the other hand, if the flood waters stayed too long on the soil, fungal diseases could result.

"Fungicide use may be crucial to secure yield for the next season," Schwindt said.

In addition, the overall farming pattern will be changed from the North to the South. Planting in the lower Central region has been seriously delayed and farmers will have less time than normal to grow two crops.

Schwindt said new crop plantation had just started, so it would take until March or April to monitor the pattern changes in rice fields, particularly in the Central region, which suffered the main damage.

Another important challenge is that the time to grow rice will be shorter than normal, as it has been delayed by six weeks, Schwindt said. As a result, concerned agencies will have to wait for farmers to identify the challenges before offering the right solutions.

He added that farmers were facing both short- and long-term challenges, one of the biggest of which was the availability of rice seed, as it was also damaged during the flood. They may not be able to obtain seed of the same high quality. This is an important factor to ensure a successful crop and good income for farmers.

"They need not only high-yield seed but also seed that has resistance to certain pests and so on," said Schwindt, adding that the government had recognised this and was helping affected farmers obtain seed.

Another challenge for farmers is financial support, as they want to make new investments to benefit from higher rice prices established under the government's pledging scheme. Moreover, farmers need new infrastructure, particularly irrigation systems.

"After six months we will see the problems," he said.

Schwindt also proposes that Thailand form an alliance among concerned agencies, universities and academics to work with the farming community to offer solutions to the government.

The company has offered a programme in the Central area whereby it recommends a certain chemical spraying method, which has been proved to increase yield by at least 10 per cent. The programme will encourage farmers to use the right quantity of chemical spray at the right time.

Furthermore, in partnership with international research institutions such as the International Rice Research Institute, Bayer CropScience is developing new hybrid rice seeds combining high yield potential, good grain quality and improved resistance to pests, bacterial diseases and other stresses. The aim of the programme is to improve rice quality and yield.