War on PM2.5: Farmers burning their fields to be denied subsidies

Farmers who burn their harvest leftovers to prepare for the next cultivation may no longer receive government subsidies in a move aimed at reducing PM 2.5 pollution.

Crop burning and forest fires are among the primary causes of PM2.5 – dust particles 2.5 micrometres or less in diameter. Long-term exposure to PM2.5 is linked with chronic diseases, including lung and heart problems.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives on Friday held a meeting among executives and provincial heads to discuss measures to tackle PM2.5 pollution stemming from the agricultural sector. The meeting adopted a Cabinet resolution passed on April 9 that tasked the ministry with considering cutting off subsidies and compensation to farmers who have been found to burn their fields, said deputy minister Atthakorn Sirilatthayakorn. 

He added that the ministry had set up a task force responsible for monitoring the burning in agricultural areas and creating a database of farmers caught burning their fields. The task force had also been authorised to stop the burning they detect to prevent forest fires, he said.

Atthakorn said that agencies under the ministry, including the Department of Agricultural Extension, the Cooperative Promotion Department, and the Agricultural Land Reform Office had been told to educate the public about the environmental impact of field burning, which was also an illegal action. The agencies are also to recommend alternative methods of eliminating harvest leftovers to farmers, such as turning harvest stump into fertiliser or ploughing the fields again.

As a long-term measure, the ministry is in the process of approving the agricultural standard for “PM2.5 Plus” corn for animal feed, which does not require farmers to get rid of stump after harvest, in a bid to promote farming that does not engage in burning, the deputy minister said.