Bangkok:Mr. Decharat Sukkamnerd, head of the Shadow Cabinet team on quality of life, has urged the government to revise the criteria for flood relief for farmers. He criticized the current compensation as being both low and delayed. Decharat proposed that central government funds should be allocated for urgent recovery efforts.

According to Thai News Agency, He highlighted that the 2026 floods severely impacted the agricultural sector, affecting over 154,000 farmers across 47 provinces. The damage included more than 1.74 million rai of agricultural land, with rice paddies, field crops, and fruit trees among the hardest hit. Furthermore, up to 12.5 million livestock were affected, along with significant damage to aquaculture areas.

Former Chanthaburi MP Warayut Thongsuk attributed the severity of the flooding to poor government management, citing a lack of preparedness and inadequate water management strategies. This was echoed by local farmer Wongstharn Sarana, who suffered extensive losses to his durian orchards due to the unexpected severity of the floods.

Decharat identified five major shortcomings in the current relief process, including long delays in subsidy payments, low compensation rates that do not match the actual damages, and unrealistic compensation ceilings. He also noted a lack of support for recovery efforts and insufficient financial measures to help farmers restart production.

To address these issues, Decharat suggested revising compensation criteria, using advanced technology for damage assessment, and empowering field personnel to speed up compensation payments. He also recommended financial measures such as debt restructuring and crop insurance to support affected farmers in their recovery efforts.