Flood-hit Thai farmers assisted by government

BANGKOK, July 24 (TNA) - The Thai government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, has fully assisted flood-hit local farmers. Deputy Prime Minister and Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Yukol Limlamthong told journalists on Wednesday that he has ordered officials concerned to urgently survey farmlands damaged by floods and to hand out full assistance to affected farmers, including those in heavily-flooded Nakhon Ratchasima and Chantaburi provinces. Yukol acknowledged, however, that floodwater in the northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima Province, caused by continual torrential downpours earlier, has been generally receding since last Sunday, so has floodwater, generally, in the eastern Chantaburi province, despite remaining floods in many provincial areas, thanks to the province's improved water drainage to the sea supported by his ministry. According to the minister, he has also instructed his ministry’s staff to work with disaster prevention and mitigation officials in flood-hit provinces to fully provide relief assistance to affected locals, in parallel with accelerating surveys of damaged farmlands, cattle and fishery farms to provide appropriate assistance to them as well. (TNA)