The Government of Thailand has decided to increase the lending budget of the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) to around 34.8 billion baht (or USD 1.06 billion) from the earlier 17.3 billion baht (or USD 527 million), as part of measures to control price falls in the current harvest season and support farmers’ incomes. The Government will encourage farmers to delay sales of about 2 million tonnes from the upcoming harvest to boost rice prices by providing low-interest loans to farmers to hold their harvest. The loans will be increased to 90 percent of the value of the rice stored from the current 80 percent. The Government will also pay about 1 000 baht (or USD 30) per tonne to farmers to ensure rice is kept in good conditions.