Thai government to assist drought-hit farmers

BANGKOK, September 23 (TNA) - Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha has promised assistance for drought-hit farmers, while urging them to grow plants that consume less water, instead of second-crop rice at the moment. The prime minister suggested on Wednesday that, due to limited water reserves, it is necessary for local farmers to grow the right types of plants so that they can survive the dry season. The prime minister stressed that agencies concerned, including the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, will work out water management plans for people in the Mekong and Chao Phraya River Basins. According to the prime minister, his government will also find markets for crops that consume less water and compensate for any possible damage. Meanwhile, Thai Government Spokesman Major General Sansern Kaewkamnerd reported that water reserves have amounted to 2.5 billion cubic meters in the Chao Phraya River Basin, 4.3 billion cubic meters in the Mekong River Basin and 7.8 billion cubic meters elsewhere in the country. The spokesman told journalists that drought might be critical in the Chao Phraya River Basin, where there are 10.7 million rai of farmlands and 470,000 households of farmers. However, the spokesman said, the Thai government has not banned the second crop of rice, stopped water supplies for local farmlands or issued any special measure because it should be raining in the North and the Northeast in the next few weeks, while artificial rainmaking has been continuing. (TNA)