Thai govt's rice program to go on

Thai political crisis threatens budget, rice scheme

BANGKOK - Thai acting premier Yingluck Shinawatra reaffirmed on Tuesday to keep her government's rice- pledging program going on in favor of farmers nationwide though anti-government protesters have tried to stand in the way.

In a public statement broadcast on TV, Yingluck confirmed that the populist rice program will be continually implemented so that the farmers will be paid $500 for a ton of their purchased rice via the state-owned Bank for Agriculture & Agricultural Cooperatives.

The state-owned Krung Thai Bank and Government Savings Bank already agreed to loan the BAAC a combined $1.3 billion to finance the rice program which has been implemented since the last two years, according to the acting premier.

Of that amount, about $166 million was handed out from the BAAC to the farmers in the lower northern region on Monday.

The acting premier said the BAAC's borrowing of the money from the state-owned banks was endorsed by a cabinet resolution and suggested the National Anti-Corruption Commission may investigate any scandal pertaining to the rice program to see if and how it might possibly occur at policy level.

"All the loan money has been legally provided for and will not be spent up in illegal, inappropriate fashion," she said.

However, she added, the anti-government protesters have obviously tried to thwart the rice program and pressed executive Krung Thai and GSB officials to stop providing the money for the BAAC.

"There has been currently a political conspiracy aimed at deposing the elected government and virtually holding the farmers hostage. The anti-government protesters have tried to obstruct the lending of the money from those banks to give to the farmers.

"I'm personally sorry for such protests which are adversely affecting the rice program and I have to apologize the farmers for that. But the government will remain undaunted and will continue to fight for the farmers," said the lady premier.

She was referring to the farmers who had not only urged the government to settle the overdue payments for their purchased crop under the rice program but joined the street protests orchestrated by former deputy premier Suthep Thaugsuban.

GSB executive officials confirmed that they had prepared the money to lend to the BAAC in support of the rice program. But on Monday there was a hectic run of about $1 billion in withdrawals, compared to a sum of about $333 million in deposits, from among the bank's customers.