Agriculture Minister Pitipong Phuengboon Na Ayudhaya said after a meeting of the cabinet that the PM had aired his concern that aid should reach the right people.
He said every time aid had been delivered, there was always feedback from people that it had not reached them.
He then came out with suggestion that all income earners be registered so that the government will know exactly who needs help.
The prime minister stressed that the registration was not aimed at collecting more tax from people currently flying below the taxman’s radar, but was intended purely to enable the government to know who needs state assistance, and where they live.
Registration must include ID and addresses so that aid will definitely reach them, Mr Pitipong said.
The PM wanted all people, not just farmers, but also vendors, merchants, traders and labourers, to be registered.
He urged the Interior, Finance and Agriculture ministries to work together to register all income earners by the end of the current fiscal year, which ends September 30.
This was to ensure that after the rice or rubber harvesting season, any aid scheme would be clear-cut, with no “leakages” of assistance funds, Mr Pitipong said.