PM threatens to halt subsidies to farmers for burning harvest leftovers

PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra threatens to stop subsidies for farmers burning harvest leftovers, part of measures to tackle PM2.5 pollution.

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Tuesday threatened to halt subsidies for farmers who do not stop burning their after-harvest by-products, a practice partly blamed for PM2.5 air pollution.

Speaking to reporters after the weekly Cabinet meeting, Paetongtarn said the suspension of subsidies was among several measures the Cabinet had considered and approved for implementation by the relevant ministries to reduce the PM2.5 air pollution that has been choking several parts of the country.

As part of the measures, the Agriculture Ministry was assigned to ensure that no farmers would burn their after-harvest by-products, the prime minister said.If farmers are found to use burning to clear their fields or farms after harvest, they will be prohibited from receiving any subsidies from the government between June 1 this year and May 31 next year, Paetongtarn added.

She stated that the Interior Ministry would issue a circular to provincial governors, who would then issue announcements to farmers in their provinces, instructing them to bury corn plants and dried sugarcane leaves after harvesting instead of burning them.

Governors will also be instructed to encourage farmers to make compost from after-harvest leftovers or use machines to compress their dried rice plants after harvest.The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry and the Agriculture Ministry were also tasked with joining forces to combat forest fires, the prime minister added.

She said the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry would use funds from the central emergency fund to hire more staff to monitor forest fires.

The Social Development and Human Security Ministry was also assigned to care for vulnerable groups affected by PM2.5 dust.
The ministry was instructed to distribute N95 masks, capable of filtering out PM2.5, to vulnerable groups.

In cases of severe air pollution caused by rising PM2.5 levels, the Social Development and Human Security Ministry must provide clean rooms where ailing people and children can take refuge, the prime minister added.

Meanwhile, the Transport Ministry will continue the measure allowing people in Bangkok and surrounding provinces to ride electric trains free of charge to reduce PM2.5 levels.

The prime minister said the current free-train measure, which has been implemented for seven days from Saturday, has reduced the number of vehicles on Bangkok’s streets by 500,000 per day.

"You can feel much less traffic congestion in Bangkok because of this measure," Paetongtarn said.

The prime minister added that the Industry Ministry has also been working to gain cooperation from sugar millers to reduce their purchases of sugarcane from plantations that use burning as a method to cut harvest costs.

Paetongtarn said the Industry Ministry reported to the Cabinet that this measure has been successful, with sugar millers buying sugarcane from burned plantations for only 10% of their daily purchases, well below the ministry's ceiling of 25% per day.

The prime minister also mentioned that the Industry Ministry had encouraged thermal power plants to buy sugarcane leaves from farmers to use as fuel.

Finally, Paetongtarn said the Foreign Ministry had been tasked with cooperating with ASEAN nations to tackle transborder haze.

(2025/01/28-00:00)