Farmers won’t feel low rain pain, says RID

Farmers living in the irrigation zone, especially along the Chao Phraya River basin, will receive enough water for irrigation despite a predicted rainfall shortage in the next two months, says the Royal Irrigation Department (RID).

Sanchai Ketworrachai, the RID’s chief, yesterday said the amount of rainfall this year will increase around 5% on the 30-year average baseline.

But there will be a rainfall shortage between next month and July.

The department has reduced water volumes discharged from four main dams along the Chao Phraya River basin from 43 million cubic metres by about one fourth per day, to ensure adequate water for farmers along the basin during the next two months.

“We have prepared the water management plan for this year, limiting the impacts of flooding. With the plan, we are confident farmers won’t be affected by the floods,” he said.

The department earlier this year told the farmers to start their plantation schedule early, to prevent possible damage caused by the floods.

The department suggested farmers living in upper Chao Phraya River basin, working on about 265,000 rai in Bang Rakam district of Phitsanulok province, start rice planting in April, instead of the usual early May, and harvesting yields by the end of July.

The same measure was also adopted in the lower Chao Phraya River basin with 1.15 million rai of low-lying areas which had rice plantations in the first week of this month.

Meanwhile, the rest of the 6.19 million rai, which is in an elevated area, has been under plantation since May 14 — the date on which the rainy season was announced by the Thai Meteorological Department.

The harvest period is expected to finish before the flooding season which usually hits the region in September to October.

Those vacant fields will be turned into a water retention zone holding volumes of 1.9 billion cubic metres, to help prevent floods in the Central region.

Currently, 920,000 rai are planted in rice fields of 1.15 million rai set aside for rice plantation in the low-lying area, while 700,000 rai of 6.19 million rai set aside for rice have been planted in the elevated area of the Chao Phraya River basin.

According to the Meteorological Department, at least two storms are likely to hit between September to October, leading to heavy rain in the North, Northeastern and Central regions.

The department’s deputy chief Thongplew Kongchan, said 12.4 billion cubic metres of water could be stored in the four dams by the end of October, more than the previous year in which kept 9.7 billion cubic metres was stored by this time.

In the case of no storm, around 10 billion cubic metres may have been stored.

He said better management will allow more water storage in dams.

The country will enter a mild El-Nino event two months before the rainy season ends, which means floods are unlikely.

He also said the flooding situation in Kamphaeng Phet, Loei and Sukhothai provinces has now returned to normal.