Advertisement
Thailand election 2023
AsiaSoutheast Asia

Thailand delays rice bill due to farmers’ objections. Will it open the door for the Shinawatras?

  • March 24 elections will be the first since 2011, heralding a return to democracy after a military junta took power in 2014
  • Support in Thailand’s rural northeast was central to Shinawatras’ electoral success, relying heavily on subsidies to rice farmers

Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0
A supporter of Pheu Thai Party wearing a T-shirt of former prime ministers Thaksin Shinawatra and Yingluck Shinawatra. Photo: AP
Laura Villadiego
Rice is once again at the centre of Thai politics after a controversial bill was postponed indefinitely due to opposition from farmers who make up one of the country’s most influential voting blocs.

The proposed rice bill would have established a board controlled by the government to oversee the industry, granting the state sole authority to license certain strains of rice seeds for sale.

The bill passed the first reading in the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) in January but was postponed last week due to growing opposition from rice farmers who claim it would exclusively benefit large-scale producers by banning the distribution of rice seeds not approved by the proposed new board. The bill will be reconsidered after elections on March 24.

“It has been a miscalculation of the timing and the political consequences,” said Thanapan Laiprakobsup, a researcher on rice policies in Thailand at Chulalongkorn University, who noted farmers, millers and exporters found rare common cause in opposing the bill.

“[The military junta] didn’t think there would be such a big opposition … but this time all the stakeholders [except the big corporations] agreed in opposing. The rice industry wants assistance but not direct intervention.”

The March 24 elections will be the first since 2011, heralding a return to democracy after a military junta took power in 2014.

However, the junta has its own proxy, the Phalang Pracharat Party, which has nominated Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the now-retired general who led the 2014 coup, to retain the top job. The opposition to the rice bill could hurt his chances, though, Thanapan said.

Advertisement