A sliver of hope for farmers


New season: Farmers preparing to plant padi seeds at a rice field in Chainat province. — Reuters

AFTER finishing her latest rice harvest, Sripai Kaeo-eam hurriedly cleared her fields and planted a new crop in late August – ignoring a government advisory to restrict further sowing of the grain this year to conserve water.

“This crop is our hope,” said the 58-year-old farmer in Thailand’s central Chai Nat province, pointing to her green padi seedlings only a few inches tall.

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