Public Policy: The Rice Pledging Scheme

Abstract

The rice pledging scheme that has so far become chronic problems originates from the only objective to help rice farmers. It was intended to create the history by using the word to the extent that it would pledge every grain of rice. Despite the fact that it was impossible, but the then government had promised to pledge rice with no limitation of quantities, which it had never before happened in the history. As a result, it was advantageous in that their rice price has not been exploited as the same as the past intervention. At last, their rice pledging scheme had achieved its goal as there were a great number of rice millers rendering pledging services. In practice, it prompted rice farmers to have their choice. Thus, it had become a great success in the history of it.  The rice pledging scheme was one of populist ones. The essence of it was to pledge every grain of rice at 15,000 Baht per ton. From this very policy, it became an important factor for a political party to win the general election and immediately implemented it when the government took their administrative helm. When the government implemented the policy on rice pledging scheme in the production cycle years of B.E.2554/2555 and 2555/2556, it could pay farmers, but they could not afford in B.E.2556/2557 as the fund used in the scheme did not suffice. Still worse, the government sold only a marginal volume. Also, it was found that there were a lot of such problems that caused rice farmers unable to receive money from the scheme as corruptions, excessive numbers of real production units, rice of a foreign origin, and rice with low qualities. For all the problems mentioned, it was government’s burdens to further solve problems arising out of the rice pledging scheme in urgency.