Keeping Farmers Covered

The Income Guarantee Scheme for Thai farmers is an important policy of the Democrat Party. It was one condition that the Party considered crucial before it made the decision to join the current government. This policy has been in implementation for the last three years (2020-2022). The scheme covers five categories of farm products: rice, palm oil, rubber, tapioca, and maize—crops that drive Thailand’s economy.

Cultivation is risky as it means dealing with a lot of uncertainties. As a result, farmers—who make up one-third of the Thai labor force—have often faced losses. The government then sought ways to help alleviate their suffering. The Income Guarantee Scheme oversees farmers and provincial households covering the entire country. In hard figures, this translates into about 7.92 million households with an average of four members each, which means the scheme covers an estimated 31.68 million people.

The scheme’s principle, however, is such that it is also one of the channels for injecting money into the economy. The government compensates farmers, which then causes money to circulate and benefit many others. When the farmers spend, shops, markets, and communities get revenues that stimulate the economy and lead to GDP expansion.

During the three years that the Income Guarantee Scheme has been in effect, it has injected some THB 450,000 to 500,000 million into the economy. Not surprisingly, there have been no farmer mobs calling for the government to fix prices on agricultural products. To help keep the scheme corruption-free, a rigorous vetting process involving all parties has been in place. Compensation for eligible farmers also go directly into their accounts with the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, where farmers register and open accounts.

DP plans to move next toward high-value agriculture with technology and innovation. Bio-economy will be the driving force that will increase Thai farmers’ incomes some more.

DEMOCRATIC PROGRESSIVE PARTY