Farmers at Ban Don Rak wins award for best water usage

BANGKOK, April 22 (TNA) -- Farmers from Ban Don Rak village of the southern Pattani province has grabbed home the award for best irrigation water usage by agricultural institutions in 2017. Royal Irrigation Department (RID)'s Deputy Director and spokesman Thongpleaw Kongchan said that the RID has selected the irrigation water management group of Ban Don Rak in Pattani as the winner for this year's award for best irrigation water usage by agricultural institutions. The representatives of the group would receive a royal plaque on the Royal Ploughing Day or May 12 at Sanam Luang ceremonial ground in Bangkok. The Ban Don Rak irrigation water management group in Tha Dan subdistrict, Nong Chik district of Pattani, has a total of over 420 members, comprising mostly of farmers. Over 2,200 acres of the land in the area are provided with irrigated water. Local farmers have been using water to push out salt water from the area to prevent flooding, a knowledge given by the RID. They also used the 'bottom to top' technique in relaying water which helped all agricultural areas to be receiving water efficiently and fully. The farmers have also used the GPS system to inspect for water sources in order to sustainably manage water usage in the area. (TNA)