Bangkok: Support has been rallied for the Agricultural Cooperative Federation of Thailand (ACFT) as 13 state enterprises under the DLA have united to submit a formal request to the government, urging intervention to sustain the dairy farming industry. This move seeks to preserve the business initiated by the royal initiative across the nation.
According to Thai News Agency, the State Enterprise Labor Union of Thailand (SOE), which comprises 13 state enterprise labor unions and is led by Ms. Apsorn Kritsanasmit, along with member organizations supporting the labor union, the Dairy Farming Promotion Organization of Thailand (DPO), and 22 dairy cooperative members, made a significant step by submitting a letter to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, Mr. Phumtham Wechayachai, acting as Prime Minister. The letter, delivered through Pol. Lt. Gen. Surasit Sangkhaphong, assistant minister, calls for discussion in a cabinet meeting to address a liquidity crisis within the DOE, following payments to dairy farmers that have reached nearly 1,000 million baht.
The SOE emphasizes the historical significance of the dairy farming business, which was founded on the royal initiative of His Majesty King Rama IX. The organization is advocating for government support to preserve this legacy. The SOE proposes an integration of efforts among the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry of Education. By streamlining bureaucratic procedures and enhancing product distribution channels through the commerce mechanism, the initiative aims to include plain milk from the ACFT in the school milk project. This strategy is intended to ensure the sustainable continuation of the dairy farming business and support dairy farmers nationwide, in alignment with the royal initiative.