Thai Government Panel: ADB Loans Harming Nation's Agricultural Sectorby Phairath Khampha 12 October 2001 Thailand's government was asked to stop seeking loans and academic assistance from the Asian Development Bank as it had become obvious it had forced Thailand to manage water resources in a manner which harmed the agricultural sector even though the policies greatly benefitted mainly western agro-business conglomerates. A report by a panel tasked with solving water problems for northern farmers suggested that financial and academic aid from the ADB, especially the agricultural sector programme loan, (ASPL) be ended. The report was be submitted to Praphat Panyachartrak, deputy agriculture minister on October 6, 2001. Montri Chantawong, the panel's secretary, said the government's decision to seek US$600 million worth of loans from the ADB had forced unfair management of water resources and turned water into another "commodity" and as such benefitted only those who could afford it, that is, the country's economic adn political elite and western agro-business corporations while at the same time it further marginalized Thailand's rural population. The rural population forms over 70 percent fo Thailand's population.. "The industrial sector and urban society can be sure they have access to water simply because they can pay and they can use water to make economic values far greater than those by the agricultural sector," he said. As an example, he cited a 30-year concession granted to East Water company to supply raw water to the industrial sector in the eastern region. The firm buys raw water from the Irrigation Department at 0.50 baht per a cubic metre and sells it to the industrial sector at 4 baht per cubic metre. But if the agricultural sector wants to use water, it can buy at a price of 3 baht per cubic metre. Mr Montri said this was an attempt to reduce water consumption in the agricultural sector to supply the industrial sector and the urban community. Other conditions imposed by ADB's loan programme included tariff on irrigation water and privatisation of tap water agencies. He also said the national water resources committee set up in April 2001 should be disbanded as there was no representative from the public sector and despite all the talk by the ADB as it set up the controversial Thailand Water Resources Capacity Building Technical Assistance wherein a condition in the Terms of Reference during the calls for proposals from international engineering consultants had demanded that farmer's groups and the public be involved in a public consultation process. Duringthe course of the technical assistance, business groups and members of government and the politicial and economic elite who had interests in water resources strove to ensure no members of the public were in fact involved in the public consultation process. The ADB was either naive and therefore unware that this took place, or it diplomatically turned a blind eye. The consultnats retained by the ADB, the British firm Halcrow Water and TEAM Engineering of Thailand, similarly were completely naive of this fact, or euqally guilty of turning a blind eye and looking towards not ruffling feathers in the halls of power and with the ADB in order to garner downstream projects arising outr of the technical assistance--or at least it looked that way. There were many in government, including former Agriculture Minister Pongpol Adireksan, who had wanted a firm selected that could field international engineers who were fluent in spoken as well as written Thai because they felt the tecnical assistance would have been more successful and determining what the true needs and aspirations for most of the water users were, that is, the agricultural and rural masses that make up the majority of Thailand's population. Decharut Sukkumnerd, an economist at Kasetsart University, said Thailand cannot make farmers pay for irrigation water. Under the ADB loan, the system would increase costs borne by beneficiaries of new investment to 30% in 2001 and up to 50% by 2003. The ADB in March 2000 contracted the British firm Halcrow Water and TEAM Engineering of Thailand to carry out a technical assistance to set up this restructuring of water resources management in Thailand. The selection of Halcrow and TEAM by the ADB was seen by many Thais as tainted as it apparently was connected with whether or not the Thai government would accept the irrigation charges as a loan condition. The selection of these two firms sparked off massive controversy and the sacking of former Agriculture Minister Pongpol Adireksan by Banharn Silapa-archa in the following April as he had been claimed to be the main ebenficiary of the venal schemes behind how the loan would be spent by the Thai government. It had been claimed by many Thais in the street that TEAM would ensure that Banharn's wishes were met. For reasons of diplomatic expediency, that ADB was said to have selected the team of Halcrow and TEAM to ensure that its own objectives were met without alienating Thailand's power broker, Banharn. "Farmers make use of natural resources to support themselves because they can't seek welfare benefits from the state." RELATED STORIES
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