Budget for farming shelved

Despite its endorsement, the Budget Scrutiny Committee has shelved an agriculture ministry budget to finance projects on integrated farming and to restructure agricultural production for lack of details.

Ronrithichai Kanket, the committee spokesman, said the panel supported in principle the 175-million-baht integrated farming project to promote self-sufficiency, and the agricultural restructuring project worth 517 million baht.

However, he said, the projects needed to be fleshed out, and the Office of Permanent Secretary for Agriculture in charge of the projects had so far failed to provide details.

Mr Ronrithichai said the permanent secretary should explain the integrated farming project to the committee himself in the wake of reports of irregular budget-spending in the past.

The committee insisted it would resume its scrutiny only when the office could come up with a concrete budget plan for project management.

Surasak Nitivuttivorarak, a Chart Thai MP on the committee, said as far as he knew, the fund for integrated farming would be spent to build small fishing ponds on farmland to supplement earnings from cash crops.

The permanent secretary's office will find suitable sites before channelling the fund to such farming operations.

As for the restructuring of farm production, Mr Surasak said, the office intended to use part of the budget to offset interest on overseas loans provided to farmers and cooperatives through commercial banks.