The residents of Thung Kula Ronghai, an area renowned for its cultivation of Thai Fragrant rice, staged a protest to demand the removal of a sugar factory and biomass power plant from the area out of concern that the facilities will negatively impact their local environment.

On 18 December, the Hug Thung Kula people’s network in Roi Et Province gathered at the Non Sawan subdistrict municipality in Pathum Rat district to demonstrate opposition to a proposed sugar factory and biomass power plant. Some held banners with the messages “We don’t want the sugar and biomass power plants” and “Get out of our home.”

Lertsak Khamkongsak, the network’s adviser, said that the sugar manufacturing company is attempting to have their EIA approved by early next year to construct the plant before the permit expires in 2026. According to Lertsak, the company held a public hearing on the project in a private venue to manipulate votes.

He added that the sugar industry in the country has changed much since the tenure of former prime minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha. In the past, sugar factories were required to be at least 100 Km. apart. However, due to a legal amendment, the distance was reduced to only 50 Km. He stressed that the industry must be controlled.

He said that the sugarcane gient, Mitrphol, is a crucial player in the country’s sugarcane cultivation strategy. The company contends that the Thung Kula Ronghai area has low rice yields and should be converted into a sugarcane plantation.

It has been 5-6 years since the sugarcane factory entered the area. Although it aimed to acquire 300,000 rai of land for sugarcane cultivation, it currently possesses only 14,000. Lertsak believes that the figure indicates local resistance to the change which is likely to disrupt their traditional way of life.

Lertsak stated that the company has no sugarcane plantations in the area and needs to acquire sugarcane from elsewhere. Locals want the factory to relocate.

Kiattisak Kaewpila, a member of the network, expressed concern that the community’s forests would be destroyed by the construction of the biomass power plant. He also worries about wastewater from the factory and the PM 2.5 dust it will generate.  Both could damage rice cultivation areas.

Nupa Pila, a human rights defender with the network, said the key issue the government should prioritise is not the expansion of the sugar factories or biomass power plants but addressing the decline in rice prices. She noted that despite the global recognition of Thai fragrant rice, no government has addressed the issue of low prices.