Dairy farmers celebrate as the Cabinet approves a 600 million baht allocation from the Rehabilitation Fund to support liquidity for the Dairy Farming Promotion Organization (DPO). Watcharapol declared himself a paperwork runner ready to alleviate their hardships.
At 12:15 p.m. on 28 Apr 2026 GMT+7 at the Government House, Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Watcharapol Khawkhum spoke after the Cabinet meeting about approving funds from the Agricultural Assistance Fund for the DPO's raw milk purchasing project. He explained that the money comes from the Agricultural Rehabilitation Fund, which since the previous government had considered using these funds to boost the DPO's liquidity. He had received complaints from several dairy cooperatives that they lacked funds to pay for raw milk and engaged in discussions with multiple cooperatives to find solutions, leading to today's budget approval to assist dairy farmers from the Rehabilitation Fund.
The Rehabilitation Fund holds over 2 billion baht in total, so withdrawing 600 million baht will not cause any adverse effects. Regarding the planned road closures announced by dairy cooperatives on 21 Apr, Watcharapol had begun negotiations with farmer representatives on 19 Apr, pledging to handle the paperwork personally and liaise with all relevant agencies to address the issue as a relief measure for farmers. With the Cabinet's approval now secured, he extended congratulations to the dairy farmers. While the exact payment date involves procedural steps, he anticipated no significant delay.