With soaring food prices and the rapid expansion of energy crops worldwide, the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry is considering zoning farmland to set aside areas for food and energy crops.

Agriculture Minister Somsak Prissananantakul said the cabinet had on April 22 approved the ministry's proposal to develop a strategic plan to deal with the problem.

The proposal is to set up a panel to develop a strategic plan for the management of food crops and also energy crops, which are now reported to be taking over areas previously used to grow food.

The minister said Thailand is not facing a food crisis, but it is necessary to ensure that crops will be properly managed and any crisis averted.

Thailand has about 130 million rai of farmland. About 63 million rai is rice fields, while about 17.4 million is for energy crops, mainly cassava, sugarcane and oil palm.

The remaining land is farmed for fruit and other products.

Mr Somsak said the area planted in energy crops, excluding oil palm, is expected to increase from three million to 5.5 million rai.

That would be maintained, but the ministry planned to improve land use efficiency to boost yields.

''Zoning is one of the priorities as this would help the agencies plan more efficiently. The details of the plan are being worked out,'' he said.

The ministry is also looking for ways to protect farming areas under threat from expanding industry, real estate and other development.

This requires extensive cooperation from all parties involved, including the Interior Ministry, which oversees integrated city planning and designates different areas for different uses, he said.

In addition to land-related issues, the ministry is considering taking care of farm production input.

This includes developing water supplies, which irrigate only about 27 million rai of farmland at present. The ministry wants to see the area being irrigated expanded to about 60 million rai.

Witoon Lianchamroon, a member of the National Social and Economic Advisory Council, said the government has made the right decision in dealing with the food and energy crisis, which has affected communities worldwide.

However, he doubted the plan would be put into action, considering the unstable political situation which had slowed political will.

He also urged the government to ensure public participation in the drawing up of the zoning plan.

The Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute recently revealed findings that the use of food crops to produce energy in some major countries, including the United States, is continuing as oil prices continue to soar. That means lower food production around the world.

Food prices have been rising continuously, according to the same agency.