Surprises in Thai
sugar industry – 4

Last week I wrote about the extensive irrigation system that feeds the Thai sugar farms. This is a story of how government supports its agricultural sector not just the sugar industry. As early as late 1980s when I used to visit Thailand as part of my work with the UN-ILO funded projects in Asia and the Pacific, I already noticed the construction of this system. At the time I visited the famous floating market in the north and Chiang Mai up north. The government was constructing canals that looked like blood lines or veins that crisscross the country by a series of dams of their rivers.

The River Kwai, for instance was once a shallow river bounded by a deep ravine, as one might have noticed in the film “The Bridge of the River Kwai” which was constructed to link Thailand (Kanchanaburi) to Burma, just nearby beyond the mountain range. Kwai and three other smaller rivers which are tributaries to Kwai (there is the small Kwai and the big Kwai) were dammed, raising the water level of Kwai to 20 meters, its banks just a few meters from the water level. The water that would have flowed to the Gulf of Siam was trapped and spilled into this series of irrigation canals to the farms and at the same time create roads along the embankment of the dikes.

The sun is scorching in Thailand and water is vital so that this government project insured the competiveness of their agricultural sector – rice and sugar that they export – and assured the nation of sufficient food supply. Now even the cities are linked to this irrigation system through canals. Visitors in Bangkok will notice that there are many creeks – man-made creeks or canals. These canals are sources of the water for the plants within the city like those lining the streets and the parks. In our case we wait for the rain or draw from the taps.

The irrigation canals for the sugar farms are elevated up to over two meters to allow the water to flow freely by gravity into the fields, and as I wrote earlier, free of charge. Our National Irrigation Administration charges fees for rice farms, sometimes collecting for water not delivered. In Thailand the government pays for the cost of construction and maintenance. Need we wonder why they produce so much and with the best quality?

These dikes are well maintained and just like the other farm roads that are either asphalted or concreted. Their farm roads can shame our city streets. Their highways are wide (up to 8 lanes) and well maintained that I was disappointed not seeing a single pothole although we travelled and traversed Ranchanaburi and Nakhom Pathom and nearby towns several times logging probably a thousand kilometers. Ranchanaburi (not to be confused for the nearby Rachaburi) is 231 kilometers from Bangkok. Even the farm roads, including a few interior dirt roads are well maintained by the government– no big rock or hole on the road the BMW that joined us (tagged along) had no problem. This is another free service for the sugar industry.

The irrigation system allows the farmers to produce rice in within the sugar farm. After the area where cane seedling (cane points) are harvested, the area is plowed, the trash mechanically shredded and incorporated into the soil, the area is flooded and cultivated for rice that is harvested after 100 days. Thus the farmer is able to intercrop. After harvesting the rice the area is prepared for the cultivation of canes for seeds (cane points or patdan) alone, not for milling for sugar.

The water catch basins also serve as a pond for the raising of poultry. The poultry houses are constructed over the water and their droppings become food for catfish which is a delicacy in Thailand. I doubt however, if water is drawn from these basins or ponds but they do seep through to the soil. I don’t know how these ponds are drained.

According to the staff of the Suphan Buri Agricultural Research and Development Center the irrigation system results in cane field’s production of from 112-137 tons per hectare. The rain-fed farms produce only 93-106 tons/hectare.  The Center had developed and “relayed” to the farms cane varieties that produce from 100-125 tons per hectare.

The sugar planters receive from the Center free cane points of new variety up to 5,000 points but beyond that the planter had to pay.

Tomorrow let me report on the pricing system which removed the traders and price manipulators and insures the income of the farmers.*

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