Pheu Thai’s promise comes true with distribution of 25,000 land deeds to farmers
Agriculture Minister Thammanat Prompao oversaw the distribution of the first 25,000 title deeds to farmers in 57 provinces on Monday.
This distribution marks the fulfilment of one of the Pheu Thai Party’s election campaign promises, aiming to convert non-tradeable farmland under Sor Por Kor 4-01 documents into special title deeds that can change hands and be used as loan collateral.
Thammanat, accompanied by Deputy Agriculture Minister Chaiya Promma, went to the Bangsai Arts and Crafts Centre in Ayutthaya province to personally hand out title deeds to 1,000 recipients. The recipients were selected from 11 provinces.
Similar ceremonies were held simultaneously in the remaining 56 provinces.
The ceremony commenced with a pre-recorded video speech from Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, who is on an official trip to Switzerland.
Congratulating farmers who received the title deeds, Srettha emphasised the government’s commitment to enabling farmers to use their farmland as assets for obtaining loans and ultimately enhancing their career and life security.
He said he hoped to see farmers leverage the special title deeds to secure loans, promoting long-term farm development for an improved quality of life.
Similar to standard title deeds, those designated for agricultural purposes can change hands on condition that the buyers are farmers certified by the Agricultural Land Reform Office.
The title deeds can also be used as collaterals for loans from the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives or other state banks.
The government also plans to negotiate with other financial institutions to accept the special deeds as collaterals.
Moreover, these title deeds can serve various purposes, including acting as collateral for the temporary release of criminal suspects. They can also be employed as documentation for farmers looking to sell carbon credits for trees planted on their land.
Addressing the recipients, Thammanat expressed happiness at seeing his dream to help farmers come true. He acknowledged the collaborative efforts of the two deputy ministers along with ministry officials and other government agencies.
The minister said he hoped to see a three-fold improvement in farmers’ lives during his four-year tenure.
