Arakan State not ready to grow monsoon paddy

By Thet Naing 12 Jun 2019

Thet Naing | DMG

11 June, Sittwe

Since ongoing conflicts between the Tatmadaw and the AA are escalating in Arakan State, farmers are not ready to grow monsoon paddy on nearly 100,000 acres of land, according to All Arakan State Farmers Union.

The union met with U Kyaw Lwin, minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, to see if it’s possible to grow paddy in timely manner, but no significant responses have been made so far, said U Kyaw Zan, chairperson of the union. 

 “We met with Arakan State minister for Agriculture to ensure paddy grown in time. But he did not express any plan for the situation,” he said.

Currently, the number of IDP in Arakan State has reached nearly 40,000, most of them are farmers.

U Thein Saw Maung, an IDP who fled from Thapyay Seik village in Buthidaung Township, said: “We are farmers. If we can’t grow paddy, we will face rice shortages that could lead to potential famine. For the wellbeing of our people, we’d like to grow paddy. If clashes continue in the region, we will not be able to grow paddy. So, we’d like to request an end to the fighting. We want regional stability.”

The Farmers Union has arranged to make sure paddy grows in time, but it needed the aid of the proper authorities, the union said.

U Oo Hla Saw, Pyithu Hluttaw representative for Mrauk-U Township said that the regional economy would be hurt if monsoon paddy cannot be grown and members of parliament were concerned about the situation, but ministers from the state cabinet were actually responsible for it. 

“Currently, villagers are afraid of going to their farms to do cultivation even though it is time for growing paddy. Previously, they have started to plough in this season. Farmers don’t think of doing cultivation work because military columns pass through the farmland. They are afraid of being questioned,” he said.

“If they can’t grow paddy, which is the main business in the region, the economic situation in the region will be bad. The central government and the regional government need to consider this.”

Arakan State is a region that mainly relies on agriculture and fishing. And, people from rural areas depend on agricultural for their living. So, farmers hope help will come from the appropriate authorities so farmers can grow monsoon paddy in a timely manner.