Bangkok: The Cabinet has sanctioned a financial assistance package totaling 45.204 billion baht for farmers cultivating dry-season rice in 2025 and wet-season rice during the 2025/26 production year.
According to Thai News Agency, the approval follows recommendations from the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. The Cabinet has agreed to waive non-compliance with a previous resolution from November 21, 2023, which discouraged subsidies or direct price guarantees for agricultural products, particularly rice. The new financial support will be funded by reserve funds from the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC), targeting both dry and wet season rice projects.
The dry-season rice project for 2025 will receive 7,286.77 million baht, while the wet-season rice project for the 2025/26 production year will be allocated 37,917.23 million baht. Assistance for the dry season is set exclusively for 2025, and both projects aim to replicate the objectives and operational methods of the previous 2024/25 rice farmers' support initiative.
The initiatives are designed to alleviate financial hardship for farmers, ensuring sufficient income to sustain their livelihoods. They aim to reduce rice cultivation costs and incentivize efficiency and quality improvements in rice production. The dry-season project targets 0.861 million households, and the wet-season project targets 4.63 million households, out of approximately 5.491 million registered farmers. Each household will receive 1,000 baht per rai, with a maximum limit of 10 rai or 10,000 baht per household. The BAAC will manage the transfer of these funds directly into the farmers' savings accounts.