Agriculture Ministry seeks Cabinet approval for state land use

The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives plans to request Cabinet approval to utilise lands from state agencies for royally initiated projects. Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Thamanat Prompow announced the proposed resolution during a meeting at the Office of Agricultural Economics focused on assessing these projects.

Royally initiated projects have been prioritised by the ministry as they aim to eradicate poverty and enhance the living conditions of farmers, who make up a significant portion of Thailand’s population.

The 58 year old Thamanat highlighted that 4,910 out of 5,176 such projects, representing 95%, fall under the ministry’s jurisdiction. These initiatives primarily involve creating water sources for remote areas, supporting agricultural practices, and land management.

However, progress on many projects, especially those involving reservoir construction, has been hindered by issues with land use permits. Thamanat pointed to the flooding in his hometown in Phayao province, illustrating the urgent need for reservoir construction under royal initiatives to address such problems.

“I have ordered the Department of Royal Irrigation to stop considering new projects and instead follow the existing royally initiated project guidelines for increasing the country’s water security.

“It is hard to achieve because of land use permits from different state agencies. So, I would ask the cabinet to help unlock the problem.

The Phayao-born politician plans to request a Cabinet resolution to allow the ministry to use lands owned by various state agencies for these projects without needing individual permits. This includes forest land under the Royal Forest Department, military land, and land managed by the Treasury Department.

The expedited use of these lands is expected to accelerate many delayed construction projects. However, Thamanat did not specify when the issue would be submitted to the cabinet for consideration, though it has already been brought to the attention of the Office of the Royal Development Project Board, reported Bangkok Post.