Farmers waiting for delayed rice-pledging scheme payments can begin claiming their money from today, coup-makers announced yesterday.
The farmers were advised to bring their rice-pledging certificates to payment points set up at army and air force units nationwide this afternoon, said Col Nathawat Chancharoen, National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) deputy spokesman.
He was speaking after a meeting of the NCPO's economic affairs section, led by air force chief Prajin Jantong, who oversees economic affairs for the military junta, and Col Chatchai Sarikalya, an assistant to army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha.
The meeting was also attended by concerned economic agencies.
At yesterday's meeting, the NCPO stressed that one of its most urgent policies was to find money as soon as possible for more than 800,000 farmers owed for rice under the deposed government's rice-pledging scheme, said Somchart Soithong, director-general of the Internal Trade Department.
The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) has already set aside 40 billion baht to pay the rice farmers.
Another 50 billion baht would be acquired through loans from other financial institutions as soon as possible, Mr Somchart said.
In total, 92 billion baht was required to cover the cost of farmers' unpaid rice-pledging money, said Col Chatchai.
Col Nathawat insisted the issuing of rice-pledging payments would be handled with transparency.
Accuracy of the payments would be crosschecked by the BAAC and the military, he said.
The BACC has a list of farmers eligible to receive rice-pledging money, and farmers are required to prove eligibility to receive the funds by showing the certificate given to them when they first pledged their paddy, said Col Nathawat.
It was expected that all farmers concerned would receive their money within a month, he said.
As for the release of rice pledged under the scheme, Mr Somchart said the Commerce Ministry yesterday informed the NCPO that it could still proceed with the government-to-government sales of pledged rice as long as the prices offered are reasonable.
Selling the rice should bring in more money to fund the rice-pledging payments to farmers, he said.
The ministry had already released more than 558,000 tonnes of pledged rice through the Agricultural Futures Exchange of Thailand (AFET), and obtained about 8 billion baht from the sales, said Mr Somchart.
The AFET sales of the pledged rice, however, would probably have to be suspended at the moment because the National Rice Policy Committee's term has just ended. The committee is responsible for approving the sale of pledged rice.