Rising fuel costs, stagnant rice prices push farmers to brink

Surapol Suksupaet, an 82‑year‑old rice farmer in Pathum Thani province, warns that rising fuel costs and stagnant rice prices are pushing smallholders to the brink.

Farming since age 20, he says soaring input costs, low paddy prices and mounting debts mean many producers are working at a loss and “at 6,000 baht a tonne, we’re as good as dead.”

He urges the government to raise support or risk losing a generation of farmers.