Winter crops acreage declines in Arakan State on fears of renewed fighting

By Admin 11 Nov 2023

DMG Newsroom
11 November 2023, Ponnagyun

Sown acreage of winter crops in Arakan State’s Ponnagyun, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U and Minbya townships has declined compared to last year, according to local farmers, as an uptick in military activities by the Myanmar military and Arakan Army (AA) has farmers fearing the potential for renewed fighting in the state.

Farmers fear that the crops they have planted will be destroyed in the event of fighting. This year’s winter crop cultivation has been reduced by half in Pyinyaung Village, Minbya Township.

“This year’s winter crop cultivation has been reduced significantly due to the possibility of renewed hostilities between the military and AA. Farmers do not grow winter crops as they expected because their winter crop farmlands were destroyed by the fighting in the past,” said U Maung Hnaung, a local farmer from Pyinyaung Village.

About 5,000 acres of winter crops were planted in the Laymyo Creek area of Mrauk-U Township, where a lot of winter crops were grown last year, but where only about 3,000 acres of winter crops were planted this year.

The farmers want to grow winter crops commercially, but they are planting fewer acres due to fears of renewed hostilities, said Daw Hla Than Nu, a farmer from Layhnyitaung Village in Mrauk-U Township.

“We dare not grow many acres of winter crops due to the possibility of renewed fighting in Arakan State. We mainly grow crops that can be harvested quickly. Both the military and AA have been preparing military activities in recent days,” she added.

The main winter crops grown in Arakan State are eggplant, pepper, corn, sesame, peanut, cauliflower, sweet potato and okra. Farmers are having a hard time consistently engaging in agriculture due to the instability in Arakan State.

The currently planted winter crops are thriving, but farmers are worried that fighting will break out before they can be harvested.

“Farmers are worried about cultivating winter crops due to political instability. I just hope it doesn’t get into a fight,” said U Hsan Saw, a local farmer from Meeyatpyin Village in Kyauktaw Township.

Arakan State is a region with well irrigated lands and fertile soil, but due to the instability of the region, the number of people working in agriculture has been decreasing and consumers are increasingly relying on food products shipped in from other parts of the country.

There are more than 1.2 million acres of arable farmland in Arakan State, of which more than 542,000 acres are winter crops, with the area under winter crop cultivation decreasing by 60 percent, according to the Arakan Farmers Union.