Fruit yields decline in remote Ponnagyun Twsp area

By Admin 13 Aug 2024

DMG Newsroom
13 August 2024, Ponnagyun

This year's fruit yield in the Tawphyarchaung area of Ponnagyun Township, Arakan State, has declined as a consequence of Cyclone Mocha, which made landfall over Arakan State on May 14 of last year.

Due to the cyclonic storm, many perennial crops including fruit trees were damaged or blown over completely, and even the relatively unharmed fruit trees also had low yields, according to the local residents in the Tawphyarchaung area.

"We rely on seasonal fruits for our livelihoods. Crop yields were completely reduced by the storm," said U Padu Maung, a local farmer from Hsinthel Village in the Tawphyarchaung area.

Seasonal fruits such as djenkol beans, lime, pepper and lemon are commercially grown in the upper reaches of the Tawphyarchaung area.

Local people make their living mainly from farming, and this year's low fruit yields are affecting livelihoods.

"We face livelihood hardships due to skyrocketing commodity prices and the decline in fruit yield. We rely on seasonal fruits for our livelihoods," said U Khin Maung Than, an owner of an orchard in Auyama Village.

Local people from more than 40 villages in the upper reaches of Tawphyarchaung earn a living selling seasonal fruits and this year rely on fruits from other areas due to low crop yields in their area.

There are hundreds of acres of fruit trees in Tawphyarchaung, Laymyochaung, Yoe Chaung, the upper reaches of Kaladan River and the Dar Let Chaung area of Ann Township, but fruit yields are reportedly low for many this year, in part due to Cyclone Mocha and partly due to ongoing fighting between the military regime and Arakkha Army (AA).

Residents in Arakan State also consume local fruits as they can't buy fruits from mainland Myanmar due to junta blockades.

"Residents in Arakan State make extra income by selling local fruits. Fruit yields in Arakan State declined due to the cyclonic storm and the latest fighting. The military regime must support fruit growers in Arakan State," said a businessman in Arakan State.

Some 4,000 acres of crops in Arakan State's Mrauk-U, Kyauktaw, Ponnagyun and Minbya townships were destroyed by Cyclone Mocha in May 2023.