FROM SATURDAY, rubber farmers will be able to register for the Bt1,000-per-rai subsidy and the money should be in the hands of the first batch by mid-November, Agriculture Minister Pitipong Puengboon na Ayudhaya said yesterday.
The move follows an October 21 Cabinet resolution on short- and long-term measures for tackling the low price of rubber, including this Bt1,000-rai-subsidy for a maximum of 15 rai per person, which is expected to cover 850,000 households and 8.2 million rai.
He said every farmer’s qualification and location would be strictly checked, adding that the Department of Agricultural Extension had prepared an action plan to ensure that the procedure is fast, accurate and transparent. He said farmers have until December 15 to register, adding that teams would start checking on the information provided from November 10 to March 31. Payments would be made via the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives and should start by mid-November, he said.
In related news, Pitipong said the ministry would set up farmers’ markets in a bid to reduce the role of middlemen.
The pilot project would be launched in Nakhon Nayok, Mukdahan, Trang, Tak and Uttaradit provinces on November 14 before it is taken to other places around the country by year-end, he said.
– nationmultimedia.com
