Agriculture Ministry prepares for both drought and floods this year

The Agriculture Ministry is taking steps to deal with both drought and floods during this year’s rainy season, as the volume of rain is expected to be similar to that of last year.

Sedthakiat Krajangwongs, the ministry’s deputy permanent secretary, met the centre for monitoring agricultural disasters at the ministry on Tuesday and announced the planned measures after the meeting.

He said the measures were based on the Meteorological Department’s rain forecast. The department has predicted that there will be little or no rainfall from mid-June to mid-July in many parts of the country.

This lack of rain will cause water shortage in several areas, especially those repeatedly hit by drought and those located outside the irrigation zones, Sedthakiat said. However, he added, lots of rain has been forecast for the months of August, September and October, which will possibly leave many farming areas flooded.

To deal with the drought, he said, the ministry will manage water resources efficiently and will reserve food for farm animals which will be distributed to affected farmers. Farmers in areas expected to be hit by drought will also be informed in advance.
Food will also be reserved for distribution to farm animals in flood-hit areas and the ministry will dispatch teams with heavy machinery to help drain floodwaters, he said.

Officials will also be sent out to survey damages caused by floods and help treat polluted water and rehabilitate damaged soil so they can replant their crops as soon as possible.