Regional Environmental Technical Assistance 5771
Poverty Reduction & Environmental Management in Remote Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Watersheds Project (Phase I)

Upland Agriculture

Myanmar

By

Eija Pehu

1. FEATURES OF THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR

1.1. Background

Myanmar is the largest Asian mainland country excluding India and China. Its land area is 676 577 sq. km divided into seven states and seven divisions. The population is estimated at 46 million, of whom 75% live in rural areas. Agriculture dominates the economy constituting 36% of the GDP in 1998 and 35% of export earnings. There is great potential for expansion of arable land. In 1998 only 12 million of the available 18 million hectares were cultivated. Rice, beans, pulses and sugar cane are the principal crops. Rice alone accounts for 25% of the GDP in Myanmar. The per capita GDP is 220 USD (in 1995) and makes Myanmar one of the Least Developed Countries. But the country has substantial human resources and economic potential including underdeveloped arable lands, resources to expand irrigation and energy supply capacity as well as natural gas, marine resources and mineral wealth (Myanmar Information Gateway, 1999).

1.2. Agro-ecology

The winter temperatures range from 21 to 28° C. However, in the Shan Plateau the temperature can drop below zero. In March and April temperatures reach as high as 45° C. The rainy season begins in May and extends through October. Myanmar can be divided into four north-south regions: the Arakan Coastal strip in the west, western mountain belt, the central belt and the Shan plateau in the east. Because of the range in climatic and agro-ecological conditions, over 60 crops are cultivated. The major interest for the RETA project is the Shan Plateau in the North, which averages about 1000m altitude. The cooler temperatures and higher elevation resemble a sub-temperate climate, enabling the area to grow many species of fruit, vegetables and citrus crops. Field crops include rice, peanuts, potatoes, tea, tobacco, coffee, cotton and opium.

The Golden Triangle encloses most of the eastern part of the Shan Plateau. Upper Burma has about 600,000 ha of irrigated rice production area, whereas the delta area of lower Burma has1.5 million ha of irrigated land area for cotton, tobacco, peanuts, sorghum, sesame, beans and corn and an impressive 3.6 million ha of wet rice. Until the 1960’s Burma was world’s greatest exporter of rice. Exports declined dramatically in the 70’s and 80’s but have now reached a level of 1 million tonnes as a result of improved varieties, land reclamation and improved irrigation systems. Other export crops include cotton, sugar cane, rubber, tea and jute. Slash-and-burn cultivation is practised in the uplands and it has been estimated that 2.5 million people are engaged in swidden agriculture

2. TRENDS IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION

2.1. Open-door policy and foreign investment

The open-door economic policy, started in 1989 after isolation since 1962, has attracted some foreign investors. Annual growth rate of the economy since 1996 has been about 6-7%. The processing and manufacturing industry has grown quite fast, but the private sector is still rather small and agriculture remains the major sector, accounting for 47% of the GDP. Overall foreign investments amounted to 6.4 billion USD in 1997 from 22 countries. 49% comes from the ASEAN countries (Myanmar Information Gateway, 1999).

2.2. Potential to increase exports

The primary goals of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation are to increase the production of principal crops, particularly paddy rice and to expand irrigated crop production and intensify land reclamation. Sale of rice has been changed whereby the farmers can sell to private merchants. Through crop diversification, beans and pulses are grown throughout the country. These crops are also seen as potential export crops and the target is to produce 3.5 million ha of pulses and legumes. Accordingly, production increased by 250% from 1990 to 1996 (Myanmar Information Gateway, 1999) (Table 1).

Table 1. Production trends of selected crops in Myanmar (‘000 ha)

Good trading partners for Myanmar in the region are China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand. The terms of trade are beneficial to Myanmar as there is high agro-processing capacity in these countries but increasingly high wages due to economic growth. Potential crops include rice, unmilled maize, vegetables, tea, spices and animal feed to China and Thailand. Given the land availability, and the dominance of the private sector in agriculture, the business potential with Thailand and China is considerable. Other crops with export potential include fruits, vegetables, spices, tea, rubber and coffee. Many of these are upland agriculture commodities. There is also growing opportunity in figs, grapes, onions, potatoes and plantains (ESCAP, 1996).

2.3. Situation at the farm-household level – case-study from the Shan State

There is a large number of landless or farmers with less than two hectares of land, which is the bare minimum to support a household. It has also been estimated that about half of the rural population lives in subsistence.

A case study from the Southern Shan State reports that the major crops grown include sugar cane, lowland paddy, maize, nigar, cheroot leaves and sunflower. In the homestead gardens close to the holding, various vegetables are cultivated for sale. With fertiliser the rice yields are very good and can be sufficient to produce a surplus. However, in most households the rice lasts only for 6 months. In terms of rotation, maize is grown for three years followed by a pulse crop followed by a sugarcane plantation for several years. In the upland plots, sunflower or maize is grown alternating with nigar. The land is prepared by buffaloes and the seed sown.

The major production constraints of the small farmers are insufficient water supply during the dry season and lack of funds to purchase fertiliser. The farmers have identified decline in soil fertility as a serious constraint. Erosion is already displayed as gullies and landslides are rather common during the rainy season. Farmers collect NTFPs to supplement their food and to generate income. The buffaloes for land preparation are either owned, or in most cases, rented by the farmers.

Most of the surplus sold by the farmers is sold to brokers from towns. Traded products include rice, maize, nigar and sunflower. The traders grant loans for their suppliers at the beginning of the season to buy fertilisers and rent buffaloes. For paddy production most farmers get government loans supplemented by loans from private sources. Communities accessible by roads can also benefit from government services such as loans, fertilisers, livestock vaccination, etc. Agricultural extension network is weak (Nan Mon, 1997).

3. Concluding remarks

Of all the GMS countries Myanmar has the greatest potential to expand its agricultural production area. There is also great potential for increasing exports of field and horticultural crops. The policy framework encourages foreign investment in the sector and promotes export-driven agricultural sector growth. This creates an enabling environment for diversifying and intensifying agricultural production, which is of benefit to the remote watershed development initiatives of concern to us. Major issues to consider in planning an upland development initiative relate to access to support services in the agricultural as well as social sectors. Access to production inputs (seed, fertilisers, livestock, machinery, etc.), and rural services such as credit, markets and agricultural extension vary and have a significant impact on the development potential of a community.

References:

Myanmar Information Gateway, 1999.

www.infogate.com.mm/Business/Agriculture.

ESCAP, 1996.

Myanmar, trade and investment potential in Asia. Studies in Trade and Investment 19.

Nan Mon, 1997.

Outstanding gender issues and human development initiatives in Myanmar. International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Kathmandu, Nepal.