Soaring fertiliser, fuel prices leave Arakanese growers questioning viability of continuing to farm

By DMG 28 May 2022

DMG Newsroom
28 May 2022,Sittwe 

Farmers across the country, including in Arakan State, are finding it difficult to grow paddy due to the skyrocketing prices of both fertiliser and fuel this year. 

Two years ago, the price of a bag of fertiliser was only K35,000, but now has risen to more than K100,000. The price of diesel has risen from around K200,000 per barrel two years ago to more than K500,000. 

“How can we grow paddy if fertiliser and fuel prices continue to rise? Considering the agricultural costs, it is time to consider whether growing paddy [is financially feasible],” said U Aye Thar Aung, a farmer from Ngapyitet village in Pauktaw Township. 

“All the farmers are struggling to grow paddy this year,” said U Maung Htwee, a farmer in Kyauktaw Township. 

There are approximately 1.2 million acres of arable farmland in Arakan State, but tens of thousands of acres have gone uncultivated in recent years due to conflict, displacement and rising agricultural expenditures, according to figures from the Arakan Farmers’ Union. 

Sown acreage declined by more than 50,000 acres last year in Arakan State due to the aftereffects of two years of military conflict and the rising cost of agricultural inputs, according to the Arakan Farmers’ Union. 

“Today, farmers are reluctant to grow paddy,” said U Aung Kyaw Mra, a spokesman for the union. “With the prices of fertiliser and fuel rising three or four times, it is very difficult for farmers to grow paddy. If this stays the case, the number of paddy farmers will decrease.” 

Last month, the Arakan State military council distributed 6,000 bags of fertiliser to the agricultural offices of five townships, and local farmers were told they could purchase the fertiliser at a subsidised price of just over K30,000 per bag. 

The Myanmar Agricultural Development Bank, meanwhile, has not disbursed agricultural loans to farmers who have not repaid their debts from previous years, said farmers in Arakan State. Only 7 percent of Arakan State farmers have paid back agricultural loans that they took out last year, according to the state branch of the Myanmar Agricultural Development Bank.