In contrast to many other parts of Thailand, Lee district in the northern province of Lampang is facing drought, with water in natural watercourses drying up and rice and maize crops withering in the fields.
Som-art Onetala, a maize farmer, said he had spent a lot of money planting his crop, only to see the plants wither and die. He said he expected to suffer heavy losses this year.
Chavalit Suthaya, headman of Ban Huai Sai Khao in Mae Lan subdistrict, said water in a reservoir and natural watercourses had dried up, leaving villagers without enough water for consumption or agriculture.
“I don’t know whether they will have enough rice to eat or not,” he said.
The Mae Lan Subdistrict Administrative Organisation has arranged for solar-powered water pumps to be installed to transfer water from a reservoir into canals, so villagers will have enough water for agriculture.
A subdistrict official said that, as water levels in the canals were low, the organisation would dredge the canals or a medium-sized reservoir to increase their capacity to store water for use during the dry season.
