Junta pledges to give 73,000 baskets of paddy seeds to storm-hit Arakan farmers

By Admin 25 Jun 2023

DMG Newsroom
25 June 2023, Sittwe

Myanmar’s military regime has announced that the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock Breeding and Irrigation will provide 73,397 baskets of paddy seeds to farmers in the storm-hit townships of Arakan State for planting in the next rainy season under the guidance of the Natural Disaster Management Committee.

Paddy seeds for Paw Hsan Hmwe rice and two local paddy varieties will be transported to Sittwe by military-owned vehicles for onward distribution to farmers, the junta-controlled Myanmar Alinn daily reported on Sunday.

According to the regime, more than 70,000 baskets of paddy seeds stored by farmers in Sittwe, Rathedaung, Maungdaw, Ponnagyun, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya and Pauktaw townships were destroyed by Cyclone Mocha, which made landfall over Arakan State on May 14.

Farmers want the military government to distribute the paddy seeds with urgency as they are now ploughing their farmlands, said U Soe Naing, a local farmer from Tin Nyo Village, part of Mrauk-U Township.

“In previous years, hundreds of paddy fields were damaged due to uneven weather. Fertilisers are expensive, so farmers have had a lot of trouble growing paddy. Farmers are having difficulty growing paddy because of the storm this year. We want the junta to help the farmers with paddy seeds as soon as possible,” he told DMG.

Farmers in Rathedaung Township said they would like the Department of Agriculture to help them at no cost as they have struggled financially in the aftermath of Cyclone Mocha.

“We are facing difficulties buying paddy seeds. We have no paddy seeds to grow monsoon paddy. Our paddy seed stocks were destroyed by the cyclone. We would like to urge the Department of Agriculture to provide us with paddy seeds free of charge,” said U Than Shwe Maung, a local farmer from Ngatauktugyi Village in Rathedaung Township.

The regime has not made clear how the seeds will be distributed to farmers.

“Farmers are facing difficulties in growing monsoon paddy. They need tractors and paddy seeds. It will be beneficial for farmers in storm-hit areas if the junta provides them with paddy seeds,” said U Aung Kyaw Mya, chairman of the Arakan Farmers’ Union.

More than 27,600 cattle were killed by the cyclone in Sittwe and Rathedaung townships, the junta said in a statement on May 19.

Hundreds of thousands of farmers in Mocha-ravaged parts of Arakan State will need substantial assistance for recovery as many have lost homes, paddy seed stocks and cattle in the storm.