กรุงเทพฯ--26 พ.ย.--Burley Tobacco Farmers Association of Sukhothai
More than 200 tobacco farmers from Muang District, Sawankhalok District, Srisamrong District and members of Burley Tobacco Farmers Association of Sukhothai (BTFA) gathered at the open field in Srisamrong District to release 2,000 green balloons and write letters addressing PM Prayuth Chan-ocha in order to voice their concerns and disagreement with the draft Tobacco Consumption Control Act (TCCA) after the Ministry of Public Health announced it would submit the draft law to the cabinet early this week. The bill will affect the jobs and livelihoods of Sukhothai tobacco growers who make a living out of tobacco cultivation for more than 50 years. They asked the government to sympathize with the farmers and not to issue any more laws to worsen the living condition of the farmers especially during the time of economic slowdown like this.
Mr. Sukreep Boonchum, President of the Burley Tobacco Farmers Association of Sukhothai (BTFA) who is also a tobacco farmer said, “The association learned that the Ministry of Public Health will propose the draft law to the cabinet on Nov 25. We gather here today as a symbolic expression. It is the tobacco farmers' civil disobedience act to convey the message to the policy makers that the TCCA bill will severely affect our tobacco farming communities. The green balloons represent our tobacco growing life. Our members who joined today's event have also written letters to the Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha to ask him for sympathy and stop the issuing of this unfair draft law. The TCCA bill is not the government’s priority issues; it goes against the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)'s policy to help the farmers. We, Sukhothai growers will send these letters that speak from our heart and of our concerns to the government.”
The Association also put up the signboards presenting concerns over the bill which was reported to be forwarded by the Ministry of Public Health to the cabinet’s meeting early this week. Mr. Somnuek Yimpin, Manager of the BTFA and farmer added that, “Sukhothai's tobacco farmers have always opposed the draft but to no avail. We are proud of our profession. It is an honest job, which has sustained our families for many generations. Burley tobacco leaves that we sell to Thailand Tobacco Monopoly and to the export sector can generate Bt 700-800 million to the province and the country. Tobacco farming requires a lot of equipment such as agricultural tools, tractors, fuels, mower-conditioners, water pumps. Tobacco farming stimulates the province’s economy. If things don’t go well on the tobacco farms, shops in the provinces are affected. Tobacco is a cash crop here. Today, a handful of people will issue this biased and unfair law, which will make tobacco leaves sales even harder. This will affect many tobacco farmers who are the first in the manufacturing line, the upstream of the industry. Sukhothai is home to 5,000 tobacco farmers' families and can produce 14 million kilogram of dried leaves per year. That's why we have to get together today in hope that our voices can be heard by the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and relevant government units.”
The Tobacco Consumption Control Act B.E… is proposed by the Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health. One of the many provisions includes limited communication between the farmers and the authorities, the prohibition of farmers' representative from participating in committee boards or working groups as well as measures that will affect the industry’s charitable contributions and community support programs.