The cabinet has approved a cash injection of up to 15,000 baht each for more than three million rice farmers nationwide as part of its 364.5-billion-baht stimulus package launched yesterday.
The package approved by Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha's cabinet is aimed at boosting the economy over the next three months.
The cash injection to low-income rice farmers worth 40 billion baht is crucial in helping stimulate the economy, said Deputy Prime Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula who oversees economic affairs.
"This measure will really boost the economy since we will directly pay cash into farmers' deposit accounts," he said.
Under the scheme to be paid by Oct 20, some 1.8 million households, each possessing no more than 15 rai of farmland, will get the one-time aid for cultivation costs at a rate of 1,000 baht a rai.
Another 1.6 million households, each of which owns more than 15 rai, will get 15,000 baht per household.
A total 3.4 million households are eligible for the aid.
They have already registered and have accounts with the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC).
"This is not a populist scheme. It simply helps stimulate the economy and helps farmers cope with their financial burden," MR Pridiyathorn said.
"We don't want to gain popularity among farmers but we want to help those who really need help," said the deputy prime minister.
He said the value of rice is currently low at around 8,000 baht per tonne and it tends to drop lower once supplies from the new rice crop enter the market in November.
Prime Minister Prayut said economic indicators had been less than ideal over the past few months on the heels of the sluggish world economy.
The government was trying its best to solve the country's problems systematically, he added.
"We're tackling the issues no government has ever dared touch. If this backfires on us, so be it," he said.
"We have to keep in mind our problems are deep-rooted and we're trying to address them sustainably," he said.
Other stimulus measures include expediting payment of 129 billion baht from the 2015 investment budget across all ministries.
Another 147 billion baht will be spent on projects under the 2014 Budget which are slated to be implemented in the last three months of the present fiscal year.
Another 23 billion baht from the remaining Thai Khem Kaeng project will be spent on repair work under the Education and Public Health ministries as well as on irrigation projects.
The spending will include construction and repair work for 8,000 schools, thousands of hospitals throughout the country, damaged roads caused by the 2011 floods, and the dredging of canals and waterways.
"This measure is aimed at creating new jobs nationwide which will boost people's purchasing power, particularly in rural areas," he said.
The government would also accelerate the spending of money left over from budgets since 2005 worth a total 24.9 billion baht.
"These measures should be able to drive Thailand's economic growth for the rest of this year and into next year," MR Pridiyathorn said.
He projected next year's economic growth will be at 4-5%.
The Thai economy has struggled over the past few months, with exports dropping by 7.4% in August, the largest decline in 32 months.
Inflation was at 1.75% in September, the lowest level this year, mainly due to lower oil prices, the Commerce Ministry reported yesterday.
In another development, the State Enterprises Policy Commission, chaired by Gen Prayut, resolved yesterday to have the second-phase development of Suvarnabhumi airport be the first state enterprise project to use the the Construction Sector Transparency (CoST) system.
The system was jointly designed by the United Kingdom and the World Bank to promote transparency and accountability in the construction sector.
Kulit Sombatsiri, director-general of the State Enterprise Policy Office, said the commission assigned the agency to apply for membership of CoST on Sept 22.
The board has agreed to use this system to promote transparency in construction, procurement projects and joint investments for large state enterprises.
