Thailand is the second largest rice exporter in the world, but they are having less rainfall.
To save water for drinking and other important uses, the government is asking farmers to grow crops that need less water and can be harvested quickly.
The lack of rainfall is making it risky to have enough water, and the government is worried about shortages.
They want to make sure there’s enough water for people to drink and also for growing important crops.
Thailand wants farmers to focus on growing crops that come back year after year without needing to be replanted, like fruits and nuts.
Rice, on the other hand, is a crop that needs to be planted again each year.
Rice needs a lot of water to grow, much more than other crops like millet and this is one of the reasons why rice prices are going up.
India, which is the biggest rice exporter in the world, recently stopped exporting a certain type of rice to make sure there’s enough for people in their own country which has affected rice prices worldwide.
Experts say that if Thai farmers grow a lot less rice, the prices could go even higher. However, it’s not certain if the farmers will do that because they might want to take advantage of the high prices of rice in the global market.
Rice prices are already very high, partly because there’s not enough supply of other grains after Russia invades Ukraine in 2022.
Some people say that even though Thailand talks about saving water, it hasn’t made much difference because they don’t have a good system for managing water rights.
However, overall, there’s still enough rice available globally.
Source: PhilNews24 | August 7, 2023
