Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday he opposed an Agriculture Ministry's plan to hand out Bt1,000 in cash to farming families affected by drought.
He said a better plan would be to offer manufacturing-material support.
Abhisit said when the Agriculture Ministry first came up with the plan, it proposed the handing out of manufacturing materials to distressed farmers.
"We have no intention of giving cash in this case," Abhisit said yesterday.
His government has called on farmers to postpone the start of their farming activities in the face of the drought to the middle of next month, indicating a plan to offer some compensation for the co-operative farmers is being prepared.
"But if we cannot find an appropriate form of compensation, we may not go ahead with it," Abhisit said.
He was speaking in response to reports the Agriculture Ministry would seek a Bt1billion budget for the plan to give Bt1,000 to each farming family.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Sanan Kachornprasart looks set to revive a project to construct the Kaeng Sua Ten Dam in Phrae.
"I will look into its feasibility and its environmental impact," he said.
The project has long been shelved due to opposition from many quarters, but now Sanan suggests the drought has highlighted a need for more dams.
"We may scale down the size of the project," Sanan said.
In response to non-governmental organisations' complaints the project site would cover the country's last golden-teakwood plot, Sanan said the golden teakwood trees there were all gone by now.
"The dam, if constructed, would deliver huge benefits. The number of people to benefit from it would be greater than those negatively affected by its construction," Sanan insisted.