The end of May ushers in busy weeks for farmers in Myanmar as they prepare to grow paddy with the monsoon rains. But in war-torn Arakan State, farmers are reluctant to go to their fields.

As extreme heat and severe water shortages are taking a heavy toll on people in many parts of the country, with record-breaking temperatures in some townships in central plains, many are eagerly anticipating the rains. But not everyone.

Casualties have been reported in Mrauk-U, Minbya, Kyauktaw, Ponnagyun, Myebon and Ramree townships. Minbya Township has been hit hardest by the junta’s airstrikes in terms of civilian casualties.

After Myanmar’s military regime lost control of nine towns in Arakan State and Chin State’s Paletwa, it began to oppress not only local people in Arakan State, but also Arakanese people in mainland Myanmar.

Pauktaw, a once peaceful town in northern Arakan State, has become a battlefield in the latest fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA).

Many Muslims were killed and houses were torched when the Myanmar military conducted its so-called area clearance operations in response to Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) attacks on more than 30 border guard police outposts in Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung townships on August 25, 2017.
 

Currently, there are no military activities in the Yoe Chaung area, and neither side has deployed troops there. Despite the calm, displaced people from Yoe Chaung settlements have refused to return home, as they have access to healthcare services and education at the displacement camps where they currently live — in contrast to their home villages, where they have no public services.

The apparent river was in fact paddy fields that were flooded in early August. At places, water stood five feet above the ground in paddy fields, utterly submerging many of the rice stalks.

Despite reports that the international community has provided significant aid to the junta for distribution to those in need, effective aid has reportedly failed to reach many storm-affected people on the ground.

Myanmar’s military government, which is a signatory to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, has committed human rights violations against both ordinary people and the disabled.

As more than 90 percent of businesses in Myanmar are MSMEs, the growth and decline of the country’s economy is directly tied to the success or failure of MSMEs.

Written by Gaung

“Every crop grown in this soil turns into a bumper harvest, and rice and fruits are abundant in the land of Arakanese people.” 

So goes a lyric from the song “This is the Arakanese nation, this is Arakan land,” written by Arakanese composer Ko Than Maung, describing how fertile the soil is, and how successful the agriculture industry is, in Arakan State.

But things are quite the opposite in Arakan State today, with the agriculture industry on...

The fact that Arakan residents are buying and consuming produce shipped in from mainland Myanmar at higher prices underscores the dearth of domestically grown fruits and vegetables.

“If the military regime wants to hold elections in Arakan State, it depends on the ULA/AA,” the ex-legislator told DMG. “At this time, there is no political solution, and the military council is facing armed revolution, no matter which election system is used to hold the election.”

Annually, villagers in northern Arakan State face danger from wild elephants that often come to eat their rice plants at night. As the pachyderms wander through paddy fields in search of tasty grains, the rice plants are inevitably trampled.

Local farmers in Arakan State say the quality of paddy is poor due to lack of rainwater when the plants most need it, as well as farmers not being able to use fertilisers as liberally as they would prefer due to rising costs.

Many political analysts and average folk who thought that the fighting between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army (AA) would only further intensify during the dry season were taken aback by the news of an unexpected ceasefire recently.

As soon as they heard the explosions, teachers and students in their white-and-green uniforms rushed to take cover under desks close to the walls in their classrooms.

The rapidly expanding access to smartphones saw Myanmar leapfrog into the mobile internet age, which improved the socioeconomic lives of millions of people in many parts of the country. But Phadu villagers were left behind.