Farm debt moratorium more trouble than it’s worth
Executive Director, Institute of Future Studies for Development
This article was first published in the Bangkok Post on December 24, 2000, the final period of the general election campaign to be held in January 2001. The 3-year farmers' debt moratorium was a notable policy that Thai Rak Thai used during the election campaign. After they won the subsequent election overwhelmingly, they implemented the policy as they had promised. However some conditions of this policy were changed and as a result the number of farmers who joined the project was less than expected. The government subsequently announced the operational performance of the project, after three years, was successful; reduced debt burdens, and increased the number of farmers with savings. Nevertheless, there is a suspicion that farmers' debt in the system decreased due to an external loan used to compensate the debt. If this did happen, it shows the extent and seriousness of the problem for the poor right throughout the country.
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