{
  "id": 1211145,
  "title": "Super El Niño drought forces Korat farmers to replant rice",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/16/super-el-nino-drought-forces-korat-farmers-to-replant-rice",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-16T05:45:38.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Khaosod English",
    "slug": "khaosod-english",
    "url": "https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2026/08/16/super-el-nino-drought-forces-korat-farmers-to-replant-rice/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "NAKHON RATCHASIMA — 16 August 2026, A 67-year-old rice cultivator in Sikhiu district has been severely impacted by what she described as a harsh drought caused by Super El Niño, leading her to replant rice twice by hand in a desperate attempt to save her crop. Ms. Muay Singkhon, a resident of Ban Huai Takaeng Tai in Nong Bua Noi subdistrict, Sikhiu district, explained that a prolonged dry spell had significantly depleted local water resources, rendering it impossible to sufficiently irrigate her rice fields. \"I planted jasmine rice on seven rai, but the drought caused almost all of the rice seeds not to sprout. Only small patches have emerged,\" she lamented. Rainfall has been scarce in the region for nearly a month, with only intermittent light showers that are insufficient to deeply penetrate the soil. Ms. Muay also reported minimal success from the government's artificial rainmaking initiatives, as no substantial rain has reached her fields. Consequently, she has resorted to manually sowing rice seeds in vacant patches following two unsuccessful planting attempts. \"The lack of water caused the seeds to dry out and shrivel, preventing them from growing. I don't know what else to do,\" she expressed. Ms. Muay had anticipated harvesting enough rice this year to sustain her family and generate income, but the severe drought has inflicted substantial damage, even though it is still the planting season. \"At this point, I just hope to obtain enough rice to satisfy my family's needs,\" she stated, adding that she had planned to draw water from a natural canal into her fields; however, the water level had plummeted to an unfeasible extent for pumping. Ms. Muay implored the government to intensify artificial rainmaking operations and alleviate the high costs of agricultural inputs. \"The prices of herbicides and fertilizer remain excessively high. I urge the government to further reduce them. Farmers are already grappling with elevated production costs,\" she emphasized.",
  "summary": "NAKHON RATCHASIMA — 16 August 2026, A 67-year-old rice farmer in Sikhiu district has been badly affected by what she described as severe drought linked to Super El Niño, forcing her to sow rice twice and replant by hand in the hope that some of the crop will survive. Ms. Muay Singkhon, a farmer from […] The post Super El Niño drought forces Korat farmers to replant rice appeared first on Khaosod…",
  "key_points": [
    "Super El Niño drought severely impacts rice crops in Korat, forcing replanting.",
    "67-year-old farmer replants rice twice by hand due to failed attempts.",
    "Government's artificial rainmaking initiatives yield minimal results."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}