Trat rambutan prices crash to ฿6 per kilo, farmers seek government help
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Trat rambutan prices crash to ฿6 per kilo, farmers seek government help
14 Sept 06:10Key points summarised by AI
Rambutan prices in Trat, Thailand, have plummeted to as low as 6 baht/Kg, causing severe financial distress for local farmers.
Farmers are forced to self-harvest their crops to avoid labor costs, which would erase profits amid rising overheads for essentials like electricity, fuel, and pesticides.
Growers are urgently appealing to the government to stabilize prices, advocating for a fair rate of 27-28 baht/Kg to cover production costs and ensure livelihood.
Middlemen face daily price monitoring, needing to buy 1-2 baht/Kg below packing plant rates, reflecting the uncertain market and downward price trajectory.
Thailand's Education Ministry is implementing a four-pronged strategy to address its students' below-average performance in PISA 2025 and tackle significant educational inequality.
The plan prioritizes closing performance gaps by increasing funding for small and low-income schools, overhauling the curriculum to foster critical thinking, and adopting a data-driven management system to reduce teacher workload.
Key initiatives include enhancing school safety, combating cyberbullying, and expanding mental health support through peer-to-peer networks, recognizing the severe impact of distress on academic performance.
An education expert advises verifying if PISA improvements stem from structural changes, advocating for a revived STEM curriculum with practical 'learn by doing' methods, and urging bureaucratic reform to link teacher evaluations to student development.