Thai farmers in drought-affected areas to receive Hom Mali rice seeds

BANGKOK, March 22 (TNA) - Almost 113,500 Thai farmers in seven drought-affected provinces last year will receive, free of charges, Hom Mali rice seeds for their cultivation after this year's Songkran or Traditional Thai New Year Festival next month. Thailand's Rice Department, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, made the announcement in Bangkok on Friday, stating that up to a total of 7,000 tons of Hom Mali or jasmine rice seeds will be handed to the drought-affected farmers in Si Sa Ket, Surin, Buriram, Maha Sarakham, Roi-Et, Khon Kaen and Nakhon Ratchasima Provinces. The department's Acting Director-General, Prasong Prapaitrakul, told journalists that the move is under a joint project, run by his department, his ministry's Department of Agricultural Extension and Office of Agricultural Economics, as well as the Ministry of Interior's Department of Provincial Administration, aimed to maintain the quantity, the quality standard and the unique of the globally-renowned Thai Hom Mali or fragrant rice for its cultivation period of 2019/2020. The senior Thai official stated that Thailand's production of Hom Mali paddy from a total area of 22.74 million rai (2.5 rai = 1 acre) stood at 6.59 million tons totally, or a total of 0.98 million polished Hom Mali rice, in the previous 2018/2019 cultivation period during August 1-October 31, 2018, about 1.5 million tons of paddy short of the official target. According to the senior official, his department will allocate five kilograms per rai of the Hom Mali rice seeds, but no more than 10 rai for a household, to each affected farmer who has officially registered as Thai rice farmers with his ministry's Department of Agricultural Extension. (TNA)