Private sector on board with govt’s PM2.5 crackdown policy
Thai Feed Mill Association members agree not to buy corn from producers who burn fields but say govt must help with supply chains
Operators in the animal feed and livestock industry have agreed to cooperate with the government's measures to tackle PM2.5 air pollution by not buying corn from plantations that burn stubble after the harvest.
“We will not buy crops that are cultivated by burning, either in Thailand or neighbouring countries, and are willing to meet with the PM to discuss suitable solutions,” Pornsilp Patcharintanakul, chairman of the Thai Feed Mill Association, said on Thursday.
He said the association and operators in livestock industries are willing to cooperate with the government, as long as measures are provided to ensure adequate supply of corn for animal feed.
Pornsilp pointed out that Thailand already faces a shortage of feed corn of around 4 million tonnes annually. He called upon the government to remove prohibitions under the WTO framework to allow imports from countries that are far away and therefore pose no environmental burden to Thailand.
“By not buying corn cultivated by burning, we will be short by up to 2 million tonnes. Of this figure, 0.5 million tonnes come from domestic growers, and 1.5 million from growers in neighbouring countries,” he said. “Measures need to be implemented to prevent the impact on the livestock industries, which bring more than 200 billion baht of revenue to the country.”
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said that she had ordered relevant bodies to come up with measures to cope with the problem of air pollution, which tends to rise in the cold season due to air stagnation.
The PM stressed problems related to the agricultural sector, saying she would discuss a ban on purchases of crops that are cultivated by burning with the Agriculture Ministry to control PM2.5 at the source
PM2.5 refers to dust particles 2.5 micrometres or less in diameter, long-term exposure to which is linked with chronic diseases including lung and heart problems.
Three main sources of PM2.5 are industrial factories, traffic emissions, and outdoor burning. The latter occurs naturally like forest fires, or by human activity like burning harvest leftovers, seen as a cheap way to prepare fields for the next round of planting.
