PM urges farmers not to grow rice during off-season

BANGKOK, Nov 5 (TNA) -- Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-ocha on Thursday urged farmers again not to grow off-season rice because of the severe drought that hit Thailand during the just ended rainy season and because there is not much water left in major dams. Blaming concerned officials for releasing a large amount of water from dams across the country during the previous government-sponsored rice-pledging scheme, Gen Prayut told journalists he was informed by responsible government agencies on water stored at each dam on a regular basis. Gen Prayut said his government has asked for cooperation from farmers not to grow rice during off-season, but his request was ignored. Currently, there is about 4.1 billion cubic metres of water left in four major dams in the country, slightly over earlier projection of 3.6 billion cubic metres, he said, adding that it is still insufficient to grow rice during off-season. To date, the amount of water stored at dams is less than the volume of water in 2012 because of the rice-pledging programme and worries over flood, Gen Prayut added. (TNA)