Chainat Farmers Abandon Over 1,000 Rai of Land, Unable to Bear Rising Fuel and Fertilizer Costs as Rice Prices Plummet
Over 1,000 rai of rice farmland in Chainat province sits abandoned as farmers halt planting due to soaring fuel and fertilizer costs coupled with plummeting rice prices that make production economically unviable.
April 24 – A reporter flew a drone over rice paddies in Thammamoung subdistrict, Muang district, Chainat province and found that over 1,000 rai of farmland had been abandoned by farmers who chose not to plant the next rice crop. Interviews with local farmers revealed they cannot afford the soaring production costs. Diesel fuel for water pumping remains expensive, while chemical fertilizer prices have skyrocketed from the normal 650-700 baht per sack to 1,150-1,200 baht per sack, making it impossible to bear these expenses. Additionally, open burning bans prevent farmers from burning rice straw to prepare soil for the next planting season. Although authorities have promoted straw composting as an alternative, farmers say the additional costs of flooding fields to soften straw, combined with two rounds of plowing, nearly double their expenses. With fertilizer, pesticides, and diesel all remaining at elevated prices with no signs of declining, combined with the stubble burning prohibition and collapsed rice prices currently at just 6,300 baht per ton, farmers have decided to suspend farming operations to avoid mounting losses.
