April 2, 2008
BANGKOK - The government approved a 399.6-billion-baht (12.7-billion-dollar) loan scheme for farmers to improve the economy, according to Finance Minister Surapong Suebwonglee.
325-billion-baht loans will be distributed to farmers so that they can start growing crops like palm oil and cassava.
Palm oil and cassava are used to make biofuels.
Despite the ambitious scope of the biofuels project, Surapong gave few details on how it would work.
Thailand has actively encouraged motorists to begin using ethanol-blended fuels to lower its hefty oil import bill, according to AFP.
Other major parts of the scheme include a 40-billion-baht loan package to help village-based businesses, nearly 18 billion baht to finance a debt moratorium for small farmers and a 10-billion-baht loan programe for the poor.
The loan package was announced less than one month after the government approved a 40-billion-baht package of tax cuts and other measures to shore up the economy.
Many of the programs approved Tuesday were based on Thaksin’s projects.
The military disapproved of Thaksin's free-spending style, and critics had accused him of using the programs to buy rural votes.
