Monsoon paddy farmers face adversity

15 Jul 2019

Wun Tha (Maungdaw) | DMG

15 July, Maungdaw

Farmers from Maungdaw district in Arakan State this year are encountering appallingly difficult circumstances to grow monsoon paddy.

The main challenges for farmers are the lack of agricultural equipment and high production costs, said U Maung Thar Hla, a farmer from Mawrawati village.

“Even if we can buy an ox, we cannot use it for cultivation if it does not have experience performing cultivation work. And labour shortages are a problem for transplanting paddy,” he said.

Farmers said that few farmers grow monsoon paddy this year because of a labour scarcity for farming since a large number of local people have been displaced in Maungdaw after the 2017 violence.

Abu Husaung, a farmer from No.5 ward in Maungdaw town, said: “We have been facing a big challenge doing cultivation. We can’t get labour easily and the expenditures for labour are expensive. The daily wage for a worker is K 15,000 (US$ 10). So, farmers are facing financial losses. We wish the government would help us solve these problems.”

U Tha Kyaw, manager of the Department of Agriculture in Maungdaw district said that the district’s monsoon paddy crop targeted acreage would not be met this year due to labour shortages and fighting between opposing armies.

“Last year, we cultivated only 50 percent of the target acreage for monsoon paddy. The monsoon paddy cultivation in Buthidaung met the expected quota this year, I think it is likely to be lower than previous years because of the fighting in the region. Farmers have been forced from their homes so paddy cannot be grown,” he said.

Monsoon paddy crop was sown in 67, 348 acres in Maungdaw district last year while 59,517 acres were harvested in Buthidaung Township.  Currently, the monsoon paddy can be grown on 259 acres in Maungdaw town and 2021 acres in Buthidaung Township up to 15 July.