Arakan farmers disappointed over military government’s base price for paddy

By DMG 07 Oct 2021

DMG Newsroom
7 October 2021, Sittwe

The basic paddy price set by the State Administration Council (SAC) is a loss-making rate for farmers, according to farmers in Arakan State.

The SAC, Myanmar’s military regime, has set the base price of 100 baskets of paddy at K540,000, according to the October 6 edition of the junta-controlled Myanma Alinn daily newspaper.

Setting the base price at K540,000 per 100 baskets of paddy for standard varieties such as Thiridon, Kaut Chay and Indian rice may be a problem for farmers, said U Soe Naing, chairman of the Danyawady Farmers Development Association in Arakan State’s Mrauk-U Township.

“If we weigh 100 baskets of paddy with our local baskets, there will be 250 baskets of paddy. At the current price of 540,000 kyats, farmers will get only 200,000 kyats for 100 baskets of paddy. If we were to get 700,000 kyats for 100 baskets of paddy, we would be able to cover the money invested in agriculture this year. Otherwise, all farmers will lose money,” he told DMG.

According to the SAC, the current base price for paddy is mainly for 2021 monsoon paddy and 2022 summer paddy. Farmers in Arakan State say that if they can get more than K600,000 for 100 baskets of paddy this year, it will be worth it.

Farmers say prices could rise during the rice harvest this year due to rising costs for fertiliser, other agricultural inputs and fuel.

U Kyaw Kyaw, a farmer in Mrauk-U Township, said the prospect of paddy prices trending downward during the harvest season could result in widespread economic pain for farmers like himself.

“Farmers will likely suffer financial losses and face various hardships due to high agricultural costs. Farmers are also worried that they will not be able to get high paddy yields because they are not using enough fertilisers,” he told DMG.

“Farmers are even frustrated with farming because of rising prices,” said U Kyaw Kyaw Moe, a farmer in Kyauktaw Township.

A meeting will be held to discuss the paddy price set by the SAC, said U Myo Min Aung, a member of the Arakan Farmers’ Union.

“I think the government should buy paddy at high prices because farmers suffer financial losses due to rising prices. We will discuss the matters at the committee’s meeting. We still need to discuss how the committee should cope with the paddy prices set by the military council,” he added.

There are about 1.2 million acres of arable land in Arakan State, but only some 850,000 acres of farmland could be cultivated this year due to the high costs of farming, and because some farmers are still unable to return home, according to the Arakan Farmers’ Union.