The Politics of Numbers: Controversy Surrounding the Thai Rice-pledging Scheme

Thailand’s rice-pledging scheme has been widely criticized for its unsustainability. While the government argues that the program is beneficial for rice farmers, the opposition points out that the program has resulted in significant losses. Over the past few years, data have been used as a tool to support arguments from both the government and the opposition. However, the reliability of data utilized by both sides is questionable. This paper discusses problems surrounding data collection and usage, both of which have contributed to the controversy surrounding the policy.