"Suriya"Acknowledges cancellation of the biofertilizer and bioproduct procurement project for farmers after the Audit Office deemed it inappropriate. Plans to support installation of solar panels in irrigation systems to reduce fuel use for water pumping.
Suriya Juangroongruangkit, Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, revealed that following the Office of the Auditor General's urgent letter to the Ministry of Agriculture's Permanent Secretary, the ministry's plan to request supplementary budget to procure biofertilizers andbioproductsamounting to 6 billion baht was challenged because the project did not qualify as an urgent special budget case. Consequently, the Ministry of Agriculture withdrew this issue from the Cabinet meeting agenda on 19 May. After reviewing, the ministry decided to cancel the project for the time being.
Regarding other measuresthat willassist farmers in lowering production costs, the ministry plans to propose using part of the 400 billion baht emergency loan budget, specifically 200 billion baht allocated for immediate relief, to support economic stimulus projects. This includes upgrading irrigation infrastructure by replacing fuel-powered water pumps with solar-powered electric pumps, supplying energy for agriculture. This initiative is expected to help reduce farmers' production costs. Further details will be discussed soon, with clarity anticipated shortly.
Suriya said that after appointing five subcommittees to drive urgent policies (Quick Win), including teams for measures addressing the Middle East conflict, managing agricultural exports and domestic consumption, water management for agriculture and citizens, soil and land management, creating a new generation of Smart Farmers,and disaster and PM2.5 problem-solving,he has set a three-month timeframe to produce tangible results. He will closely monitor progress to ensure the government’s policies benefit the public as quickly as possible.
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