IDP returnees unable to grow monsoon paddy 

By Admin 27 Jul 2023

DMG Newsroom
27 July 2023, Sittwe

Some internally displaced people (IDPs) in Arakan State who returned home at the arrangement of Myanmar’s military regime are reportedly unable to grow monsoon paddy.

Cattle that were left in the village at the time of their displacement have been lost for various reasons and the IDP returnees are facing difficulties due to a lack of paddy seeds, cattle and tractors for farming.

“Previously, we made a living by farming. We currently earn a living as odd-job workers because we lost our cattle,” said Daw Hla Phyu, a local woman from Pharpyo Village in Minbya Township.

The IDP returnees say they are facing livelihood hardships as they are unable to do traditional farming due to the risk of landmines in the forests and near their farmlands.

“We have no cattle or tractors to plough our farmlands. We have no regular income because we cannot grow monsoon paddy,” said U Phoe Aung, a local man from Myauktaung Village in Kyauktaw Township.

Many of the IDPs left their homes due to armed hostilities between the military and the Arakan Army (AA).

“We have depended on farm work since the beginning. Now that I can’t even farm, I’m worried about my livelihood,” said U Win Maung, a local resident from Thazi Village in Ponnagyun Township.

There are more than 7,000 IDPs who returned to their homes under a junta plan after the fighting ceased in Arakan State, most of them agricultural workers.

“Now it’s not easy to get a job. I struggle to make ends meet,” said a local man from Kyaukseik Village in Ponnagyun Township.

DMG contacted U Hla Thein, spokesperson for the Arakan State military council, to find out about arrangements regarding the issue of IDP returnees not being able to work on farms, but he could not be reached.

The total number of IDPs in Arakan State, including those who remain at displacement camps due to the 2018-2020 fighting between the military and Arakan Army, stood at over 60,000 earlier this year.