BANGKOK (NNT) – Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister, Jurin Laksanawisit, has held a meeting with members of the Farmers Rehabilitation and Development Fund, the Thai Bankers’ Association and representatives of the agricultural sector to discuss assistance for 150,000 debt-ridden farmers.
The Deputy Government Spokeswoman, Dr. Ratchada Thanadirek, said the combined debt of the 150,000 farmers is around 54 billion baht. Deputy Prime Minister Jurin instructed the three sides to find a mutually satisfactory solution for restructuring the debt and blamed the issue on miscommunications and a lack of mutual understanding. Conclusions reached by the three sides will be presented to the Farmers Rehabilitation and Development Fund on January 23 and then to the cabinet. The fund was tasked with redrafting its regulations on repurchasing land lost in the course of mortgaging, and to compile a list of its debtors divided by debt type as well as a rehabilitation plan for each individual. It will also negotiate a delay in processing the 1,340 farmers with the Thai Bankers’ Association.
At the parliament building on Kiakkai Road in Bangkok, a group looking to amend fishing laws handed the Speaker of the House of Representatives a letter calling for changes to the 2015 Royal Decree on Fishing, which after four years has resulted in inequalities in the fishing sector and has not met with the intentions of anglers. The Secretariat of the House of Representatives said today the proposal would be studied before being put to the legislature and any inaccuracies would be corrected first.
