Thailand promotes development of organic rice

The Thai Government has urged relevant agencies to step up the promotion of organic rice to raise the income of farmers and create sustainability in the agricultural sector.

According to Boonyarit Kalayanamit, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, as Chairman of the National Rice Policy Committee, recently ordered related agencies to rev up promotion of the second phase of the organic price promotion plans for 2022-25.

The PM also assigned responsible agencies to focus more on research, plant breeding and rice technology to upgrade farmers' income and quality of life, while the government should be able to lower its financial burden for the price guarantee scheme over the long term, Boonyarit said.

There is 700,000 rai of organic rice, mainly planted in the Northeast (a rai equal to 1,600 square metres).

In a related development, the National Rice Policy Committee approved 146 million baht (4.2 million USD) to support organic rice farming this year./.

VNA