Rangsit University is accepting grain as payment.
BANGKOK, THAILAND — Rangsit University in Bangkok has come up with a unique way to try and balance the country’s grain surplus with the need for higher education.

 

According to an article from Bloomberg, the private university is accepting grain as payment, allowing students to pay for school fees with rice.

The decision to accept rice as payment comes against a backdrop of domestic oversupply and crowded export markets in Thailand. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture indicated that Thailand’s rice production forecast for market year 2016-17 was expected to total 17 million tonnes, up 8% from 2015-16.

Meanwhile, Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce has reported lower rice exports throughout the year as foreign buyers have limited their purchases.