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Meeting
between Thai and West African rice growers :
Why
is it so hard for farmers
to earn a decent living from their
work ?
From
November 26th to December 6th I was in Thailand
together with rice farmers from Ghana, Mali and Burkina Faso. We
had been invited by Thai rice producers, who took part in the
World Forum on Food Sovereignty in Mali last February. We were all
eager to meet those farmers, the very ones who have submerged West
African markets with their rice.
When arriving in
Thailand, we had the idea that rice producers are doing well and
that they make a decent living from their sales. Therefore, it was
quite a shock to learn in the Chai Nat province (about 150 kms
from Bangkok) that nearly all of them were indebted. Most of them
even had had to sell off land to reimburse loans. At present only
20% of farmers still own their land.
We tried to
find out why.
The farmers we
met told us that they had become indebted, because in their region
there were three harvests per year. Once the first harvest was
over, they had to sell a substantial part immediately to earn cash
to buy inputs for the new crop, chemical fertiliser and
pesticides. But as their assets were not sufficient, they also had
to take bank loans. If then, for one reason or another, the
harvest turned out to be less than expected, they were unable to
pay back.
We expressed our
surprise at this, because we had believed that a guaranteed
minimum price for paddy rice (rice with its husk) was set each
year by the government. The farmers told us that such a price
existed, but that it was not satisfactory, for two reasons. First,
it was too low, often less than 70 CFA francs/kg, or 11 Eurocents,
and secondly it was set too late, after the harvest, when farmers
had already sold most of it, in their urgent need for cash, in
particular those who brought in three harvests a year! It should
be added that the guaranteed price is established in agreement
with banks and traders – but not with the farmers!
The following day
we headed north, to the Nenkam district, with farmers who grow
rice on land with rainfall as the only water supply (therefore
only one harvest a year, alternating with sugar cane.
Here as well
farmers told us of their debts. Paddy rice sold for a very low
price, 5-6 baht per kg (67 - 80 CFA francs). Moreover, they were
entirely dependent on the local processing plant for their sales
of sugar cane.
In fact, every
farmer grows sugar cane on his land and delivers it to the local
plant, which dictates the price. One farmer explained that last
year he received 800 baht (about 16€) for 100 kg (?) but this
year the only offer was 600 baht. The explanation for the price
drop was an increase in production, as a result of the
announcement of the opening of a new plant for converting sugar
cane into fuel. But the plant has still not opened!
During
our return, while talking over supper, we exchanged impressions of
what we had seen and heard. We came to the conclusion that farmers
all over the world are having a difficult life. There is a keen
interest in their production, but little willingness to pay a fair
price for it. And not just in this day and time. Did not Voltaire
(1694-1778) already say “Smart
policy has the knack of letting those starve to death, who labour
the land to feed the others”?
Is
there a single country in the world which really stands up for its
farmers?
We also found
that it is necessary to unite to defend our interests better. And
to work out alternatives together, not just within a country, but
at international level. All along our trip back, our wish to
develop stronger links between Thai and West African farmers
intensified. This quest for co-operation grew even stronger on the
day when we met a farming community, which had abandoned all
chemical products (fertiliser, pesticides) to turn to organic
farming instead – with remarkable success. This will be the
subject of a forthcoming bulletin.
Koudougou,
16th December 2007
Maurice Oudet
Director,
SEDELAN
Returning from Thailand
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