Groups urge govt to support self-reliance

Pro-democracy activists, farmers and academics have urged the government to put a special emphasis on sustainable agricultural development as they believed this concept would help the country pull through the economic crisis.

About 34 pro-democracy groups and non-governmental organisations, the Forum of the Poor, and academics made their call on the last day of a two-day brainstorming session on ways to rescue the nation from the economic crisis. The session was held at Ban Manangkhasila.

The groups strongly criticised the government's decision to seek financial support from the International Monetary Fund, which they argued has imposed harsh measures on the country in its economic bailout package.

Bamrung Khayotha, adviser to the Forum of the Poor, urged the government to support self-reliance among farmers and allow debt-ridden farmers to delay payments of debts to the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives.

The promotion of the integrated farming system would help local people become economically self-reliant and that local and national economy would gradually improve, said Mr Bamrung.

Srisuwan Khuankhachorn, director of the Foundation for Ecology Recovery, suggested that the government place more emphasis on local economy and decentralise power to local communities to manage their own resources in sustainable ways.

She also called on the government to set aside budget to support local industries such as processed food and herbal plants which would generate income for villagers.

Wittayakorn Chiangkoon, director of Rangsit University's Social Science Research Centre, disagreed to the government's decision to put the country's fate in the hands of the IMF and the World Bank.

Harsh measures imposed by the two international agencies have made the country's economic system become weak, he pointed out.

Suthee Prasartset, of Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Economics, suggested the government turn unused public plots into productive plots by allowing landless farmers or jobless people to cultivate crops on the land.