Farmer Hit Twice: Drought Ruins Rice, Thieves Steal Cassava
A 52-year-old farmer in Uthai Thani province lost crops to both drought and theft, with thieves stealing 300 kilograms of cassava worth over 1,000 baht while his rice field suffered severe damage from dry conditions.
On September 13, farmer Somai, 52, from Nong Bom Kluay village in Ban Rai district, Uthai Thani province, reported serious hardship after his 10-rai rice field suffered drought damage affecting about 5 rai. In addition to rice farming, Somai grows cassava on 10 rai of land approximately 9 months old, located about 7 kilometers from his home. He discovered that thieves had illegally dug up mature cassava roots, pulling plants and severing heads before packing them into 10 fertilizer sacks weighing approximately 300 kilograms. The thieves escaped with about 7-8 sacks, leaving 2 behind, with cassava stumps scattered across a wide area, causing damage valued at over 1,000 baht.
Somai reported the incident to the village headman for investigation and documented the scene with photographs. He believes the culprits are locals who know the field access routes well and likely struck during late night or early dawn hours. Thieves may have been motivated by cassava prices, which have risen to about 3.30 baht per kilogram or over 3,300 baht per ton—the highest in several years—making it attractive for sale or processing into cassava noodles.
Somai appealed to the perpetrators to stop stealing, noting that cassava takes 9-10 months to mature for harvest and that this year's erratic rainfall has already damaged yields. He has reported the drought damage to the village headman to seek government assistance. Besides farming, Somai also sells government lottery tickets as a supplementary income source.
