Ingenious

There's really not much to mention in this update ...

All clear

For instance there's the boring news from Thailand: how is the junta trying to tackle the former government?

Bangkok Post (Dec. 19):

'The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has cleared senior Democrat Party figures of wrongdoing in connection with rice sales made in 2009 when the party led the government'. 

The Nation (Dec. 22):

'Former Deputy Commerce Minister Yanyong Phuangrach yesterday voiced doubt over results of the government's audit of the rice-pledging scheme, saying they appeared to have been gravely distorted and that granary owners and surveyors should sue the panel in charge of verifying the state stockpiles'.

The Nation (Dec. 28):

'The director of the Marketing Organisation of Farmers (MOF) has been summoned to explain to the government's newly-established National Administrative Centre against Corruption tomorrow about the disappearance of over 100,000 sacks of rice from the government stock'.

Bangkok Post (Jan. 5):

'Attempts to clear the debts incurred by the rice-pledging scheme continued on Monday with the launch of 100-billion-baht bonds by the Finance Ministry and the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperative (BAAC)...'.

Bangkok Post (Jan. 12):

'An inquiry committee set up by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) to question former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra about the NLA's impeachment motion is expected to focus mainly on the losses under the rice-pledging scheme'.

Cleaning their hands already?

Pressure

While rice farmers see some hope in the current Thai regime, rubber farmers remain dissatisfied (Nation, Dec. 15):

'The rubber industry will today ask the government to compensate farmers for a market price below Bt60 per kilogram after initially seeking compensation for prices below Bt80.

The news comes as the government has revealed that it believes a planned rally by rubber farmers in Phatthalung on Friday in response to falling rubber prices is not an attempt to put pressure on the government but merely an information-gathering exercise.

Domestic rubber prices range between Bt35-37 per kg compared to a peak of almost Bt180 over the past few years.

"If the rubber market price is Bt45 per kg, the government will have to compensate farmers for the Bt15 gap. If the price is Bt60 or higher, the government has no need to subsidise," said Manoon Ouppala, chairman of a network of rubber planters in Surat Thani'.

Meanwhile, pepper farmers are doing well, thank you. The Phnom Penh Post (Jan. 6): 

'The price of black pepper rose from $11 per kilogram in 2013 to $15 this year, while red pepper increased from $15 to $25 and white pepper went from $18 to $26, said Nguon Lay, president of the Kampot Pepper Promotion Association.

“The total harvest is expected to be 40 tonnes, while the total cultivation area has increased from 15 to 20 hectares,” said Lay.

Lay said that a lack of supply to keep up with demand was the reason behind the surge in prices'.

Pepper farmers may be the exception to the rule. In Laos, with prices of agricultural commodities going down, agro-industries are also feeling the heat. Vientiane Times (Jan. 6) reports on cassava farming near the Lao capital.

'Pakngum district Governor Mr Vongdeuan Bounnhaseng told Vientiane Times yesterday, “Farmers here have abandoned the cultivation of cassava and are now planting rubber trees instead.”

Farmers in more than 10 districts of Vientiane and nearby provinces had been growing large areas of cassava in recent years to supply the tapioca factory in Pakngum district, which has the capacity to produce 320 tonnes per day.

But their luck ran out when the company ran up a massive debt to the bank that had given it a loan, and was unable to pay farmers for the cassava they supplied'. 

An answer may be niche marketing. In practice, Vientiane Times (Jan. 3):

'As the main producer of khao kai noi rice in Laos, Xieng Khuang province is not only eyeing up more domestic markets, but also plans to expand into foreign markets.

The province is encouraging farmers to grow more khao kai noi rice using organic methods, hoping to attract the interest of consumers in Japan and France.

According to provincial authorities, prospective purchasers from France and Japan have visited the province to look into the situation ...'.

Smelling a rat?

Achievements in growing hybrid rice are sometimes marginally better than those grown normally. So why not shift the focus elsewhere?

One of the biggest threats to rice productivity are rats. Especially in south Vietnam where rice is grown year round, rats can gobble up as much as 20% of the intended harvest. So it's no surprise that rat catching is big business.

The Bangkok Post (Dec. 19) has a very informative article on what they name Vietnam's rat king, Tran Quang Thieu. Mr. Thieu had developed his own trap with a powerful spring. the article mentions that 30 million of these traps have been sold.

'His five children have all joined the family business and between them they now run six specialised companies to trap rats.

... 

... he's signed contracts to help hospitals, hotels, restaurants and schools to exterminate pests - even the Hanoi police headquarters.

"Once, we trapped some 300 kilos of rats in just one night at a tourist resort in Hanoi," he said proudly.

Over the last few years, the rat population has exploded in Vietnam due to a decline in the population of their natural predators - snakes and cats'.

A very interesting read on domestic ingenuity.