Rice Today - adron.sr

ARIEL JAVELLANA (2)How much are rice farmers in Asiabenefitting from higher prices? With differentgovernments trying different strategies,Rice Today looks at the situation in Thailand.MOUNDS OF RICE at a parboiling rice mill.Shaking theby Bob HillMany of Thailand’s 3.7 millionrice farmers are unhappy. Asthe producers of the world’sbiggest rice export crop,they believe their share of the 2008rice price bonanza should have beena lot bigger. They now see the highprices slipping away before they cantaste the sweetness of new wealth.Early in June, they threatened torally in Bangkok if the governmentdidn’t make some effort to halt theslide of rice prices from their peakin May, back toward “normalcy.”What the Royal Thai governmenthas done to prop up the high pricesis now a controversial part of thepolitical turmoil that grips thecountry and that tangles all aspectsof Thai life in a soap opera ofintrigue, suspicion, and accusation.World rice prices, which began toskyrocket in late 2007, were spurredby high demand and a decision bysome exporting countries to optout of the world market for the sakeof their domestic food security.A distinct minority of Thai ricefarmers—those who would normallybe regarded as wealthy; they cultivateirrigated land and produce as manyas five crops in two years—struck itrich. Others have been able to meettheir debts this year, while manypoorer Thai farmers in the rainfed(non-irrigated) environment haveyet to see any benefit at all. Ricemillers and any exporters who werenot badly burned in the explosivemarket of early 2008 (see TroublingTrade, on pages 13-17 of Rice TodayVol. 7, No. 2) are believed to havebeen the main beneficiaries.For most farmers, who are ableto grow only one crop per year, the26 Rice Today October-December 2008RT7-4 (p24-44)_FA.indd 2610/9/2008 8:27:31 AM