Drought means no second crop water for Thai farmers
By Jon Fernquest
Nakon
Ratchasima in Isan is facing a severe drought and water shortage this year. The government estimated that the water available for second crops this year before the wet season arrives at 34 billion cubic metres but 20 billion have already been used leaving only 14 billion to last the rest of the dry season until May.
Many farmers have already planted their second crops and might well lose the crops and a lot of money.
That much is clear in today's story.
What isn't clear is whether the government adequately communicated water availability to farmers or whether this shortage was predictable from previous years experience.
Could additional irrigation infrastructure have pulled water from other areas to avert the crisis?
Have certain areas of Nakon Ratchasima reached the maximum level of farming that they can sustain?
What would a rational farmer do if they heard that there was going to be a water shortage?
Facing potentially high rice prices would some farmers act strategically and plant a crop anyway hoping that they could later convince the government to provide the extra water despite the drought?
From another perspective, how could poor helpless farmers adapt? Or could they adapt at all?
Even if water availability was communicated to farmers, could farmers acting individually without coordination and help from the government really solve this problem?
Today's article begins after the vocabulary.
severe
- very serious and worrying ที่รุนแรง ที่น่าเป็นห่วง
drought - a long period of time when there is little or no rain ความแห้งแล้ง
shortage - when there is not enough of something การขาดแคลน
estimated - what people believe an amount will be in the future
season - a period of time during the year ฤดู
dry season - the relatively rain-free period from January to April, Isan usually has a longer dry season (Some students call this "summer" but summer is the US and Europe is very different)
wet season - the long period each year from May to October with continual rain
communicated (verb) - let people know about something before it happens
communication (noun) - let people know about something before it happens การติดต่อสื่อสา
predictable - when you know what will happen in the future
experience - knowledge and skill gained from doing a job or acticity for a long period of time ประสบการณ์
second crop - when farmers grow an extra crop beyond the one crop per year that everyone grows
irrigation - the process of bringing water to land through a system of pipes, ditches, etc. in order to make crops grow ระบบชลประทาน, การชลประทาน
canal - a small man-made river for moving water from place to place คลอง
infrastructure - basic systems needed for operation in a place or organisation, for example the transport, water, electricity and communication systems in a country ระบบสาํธารนูปโภค
avert - prevent from happening ป้องกันไม่ให้เกิด
crisis - an urgent, difficult or dangerous situation วิกฤต
avert a crisis - prevent a crisis from happening
maximum - the most possible ที่สูงสุด ที่มากที่สุด
level - the amount of something ปริมาณ
sustain - continue activity for a long time, keep activity going รักษาไว้
rational - decisions based on reason rather than emotion ใช้เหตุผลตัดสิ
potentially - possible or likely to happen in the future
strategically - acting in a clever to win or gain something
perspective - one way to view or think about an issue
coordination - working together to achieve goals การทำงานประสานกัน
drought - a long period of time when there is little or no rain ความแห้งแล้ง
shortage - when there is not enough of something การขาดแคลน
estimated - what people believe an amount will be in the future
season - a period of time during the year ฤดู
dry season - the relatively rain-free period from January to April, Isan usually has a longer dry season (Some students call this "summer" but summer is the US and Europe is very different)
wet season - the long period each year from May to October with continual rain
communicated (verb) - let people know about something before it happens
communication (noun) - let people know about something before it happens การติดต่อสื่อสา
predictable - when you know what will happen in the future
experience - knowledge and skill gained from doing a job or acticity for a long period of time ประสบการณ์
second crop - when farmers grow an extra crop beyond the one crop per year that everyone grows
irrigation - the process of bringing water to land through a system of pipes, ditches, etc. in order to make crops grow ระบบชลประทาน, การชลประทาน
canal - a small man-made river for moving water from place to place คลอง
infrastructure - basic systems needed for operation in a place or organisation, for example the transport, water, electricity and communication systems in a country ระบบสาํธารนูปโภค
avert - prevent from happening ป้องกันไม่ให้เกิด
crisis - an urgent, difficult or dangerous situation วิกฤต
avert a crisis - prevent a crisis from happening
maximum - the most possible ที่สูงสุด ที่มากที่สุด
level - the amount of something ปริมาณ
sustain - continue activity for a long time, keep activity going รักษาไว้
rational - decisions based on reason rather than emotion ใช้เหตุผลตัดสิ
potentially - possible or likely to happen in the future
strategically - acting in a clever to win or gain something
perspective - one way to view or think about an issue
coordination - working together to achieve goals การทำงานประสานกัน
(Photo on the right of a dried up irrigation canal during the dry season)
Local News
AGRICULTURE
Rice farmers plead for irrigation water
1/02/2010Prasit Tangprasert
NAKHON RATCHASIMA : Farmers growing off-season rice in three districts are crying foul after the flow of water from a dam was halted after the reservoir dropped to critical levels.
Irrigation officials closed the sluice gates at the Lam Phra Phloeng Dam in Pak Thong Chai district on Jan 20 to hold back water for communities to use throughout the dry season .
plead
- to ask for something in an emotional way ขอร้อง, วิงวอน
foul - extremely unpleasant น่ารังเกียจ
crying foul - saying what happened is unfair or illegal
dam - a large cement wall blocking the flow of water in a river, used to generate electricity or to collect irrigation water (See Wikipedia)
halted - stopped
reservoir - a natural or artificial lake where water is stored อ่างเก็บน้ำ
critical - extremely important because a future situation will be affected by it สำคัญยิ่ง
sluice - a canal, a passage carrying water
sluice gates - the gate that starts and stops the flow of water out of an irrigation canal
hold back - stop from going out
foul - extremely unpleasant น่ารังเกียจ
crying foul - saying what happened is unfair or illegal
dam - a large cement wall blocking the flow of water in a river, used to generate electricity or to collect irrigation water (See Wikipedia)
halted - stopped
reservoir - a natural or artificial lake where water is stored อ่างเก็บน้ำ
critical - extremely important because a future situation will be affected by it สำคัญยิ่ง
sluice - a canal, a passage carrying water
sluice gates - the gate that starts and stops the flow of water out of an irrigation canal
hold back - stop from going out
Phanni Thumchimphli, 52, a local farmer, said she had been growing a second crop of rice on 20 rai and was now suffering from a lack of water.
If no water was released from the dam soon, she was worried her paddy fields and those of many other farmers in the area would be damaged, causing huge losses.
local
- in or related to the area that you live, or to the particular area
that you are talking about ท้องถิ่น
suffering - physical or mental pain or problems ความทุกข์ทรมาน
suffering - physical or mental pain or problems ความทุกข์ทรมาน
Chamlong Phinitkan, the director of the Lam Phra Phloeng Dam, said the dam was forced to stop releasing water for agriculture.
The remaining water would only be released for tap water, he added. If not, communities that depend on reservoir water for household use could face shortages before the next wet season begins in May.
Two other districts suffering from a lack of water due to the closure of Lam Phra Phloeng Dam's sluice gates are Chok Chai and Chalerm Phrakiat.
About 10,000 rai of second-crop paddy fields has been affected in the three districts, Mr Chamlong said, insisting that farmers had been warned not to plant a second crop this year.
Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Theera Wongsamut said the Nakhon Ratchasima irrigation office was trying to find ways to resolve the water shortage.
dam releasing water -
when the river water behind a dam is allowed to leave and flow down the
river (to irrigation, for example)
tap - the metal thing on a sink that controls the flow of water
tap water - water used in people's homes (from the tap in their sink)
household - a group of people, often a family, who live together ครัวเรือน
insisting - keeping saying very firmly that something is true, even when other people will not believe you ยืนกราน
resolve - to solve a problem, or to find a satisfactory way of dealing with it แก้ไขปัญหา
tap - the metal thing on a sink that controls the flow of water
tap water - water used in people's homes (from the tap in their sink)
household - a group of people, often a family, who live together ครัวเรือน
insisting - keeping saying very firmly that something is true, even when other people will not believe you ยืนกราน
resolve - to solve a problem, or to find a satisfactory way of dealing with it แก้ไขปัญหา
He said the best solution would be to use the remaining water to cover existing rice farming areas and not allow any further off-season crops in the province.
Government aid for farmers whose paddy fields are damaged by drought would be only 600 baht per rai, he warned.
The maximum area of off-season rice crops recommended by the ministry this dry season is 9.5 million rai. For vegetable crops it is 2 million rai, Mr Theera said.
aid
- help; assistance ความช่วยเหลือ
maximum - the most possible ที่สูงสุด ที่มากที่สุด
maximum - the most possible ที่สูงสุด ที่มากที่สุด
The area is based on the estimated volume of water available, currently 34 billion cubic metres.
About 20 billion square metres of water has been used already, leaving only 14 billion square metres for the rest of the dry season. Land planted with a second rice crop has reached 70% of the recommended figure, Mr Theera said.
cubic metres - a
measure of volume in space (3D)
square metres - a measure of flat surface area
figure - an amount of something จำนวน
square metres - a measure of flat surface area
figure - an amount of something จำนวน
(Source: Rice farmers plead for irrigation water, 1/02/2010, Prasit Tangprasert, link)
