Agriculture
From The Report: Myanmar 2020
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Myanmar boasts diverse ecological conditions, fertile soil, and promising fisheries and aquaculture. The current administration has centred its vision for future economic prosperity and its drive to alleviate poverty around agriculture. Demonstrating the sector’s significance, agriculture accounted for 38% of GDP and 70% of the workforce in 2018. While Myanmar was once the world’s largest exporter of rice, the post-independence era saw state support for agriculture decline and productivity levels drop. Today, however, efforts to enhance crop diversity and increase output are being introduced, bolstered by the June 2019 opening of the Myanmar Productivity Centre. Even so, major upgrades to storage and processing facilities, rural electrification and transport infrastructure are needed to strengthen the position of producers in the farm-to-market value chain and help them gain additional revenue. This chapter contains an interview with U Ye Min Aung, Secretary-General, Myanmar Rice Federation; and Managing Director, Myanmar Agribusiness Public Corporation.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Plough to plate: Improved access to finance and technological upgrades support increased crop yields and higher-value production
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Myanmar boasts diverse ecological conditions, fertile soils, and promising fisheries and aquaculture. The current administration has centred its vision for future economic prosperity and its drive to alleviate poverty around agriculture. Underlying the sector’s significance, agriculture accounted for 38% of GDP and 70% of the workforce in 2018. While Myanmar was once the world’s largest exporter of rice, the post-independence era saw state support for agriculture decline and productivity…

Interview

Theory to practice: U Ye Min Aung, Secretary-General, Myanmar Rice Federation; and Managing Director, Myanmar Agribusiness Public Corporation, on diversification and leveraging technology
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Interview:U Ye Min Aung In what ways can Myanmar diversify production? U YE MIN AUNG: Diversification is great in theory, but it is difficult to achieve. It requires state support and economic strength. If we examine regional trends, it took Thailand and Vietnam decades of commercial rice farming to gather the financing and technical ability to diversify at scale. On top of that, our market has unique issues to overcome. Before diversification can truly take place, we need to study our ecology…

Analysis

Tools for the job: Increased mechanisation and efforts to support sustainability are set to boost crop productivity
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Shortfalls in irrigation and low rates of the use of machinery have led to low productivity in Myanmar’s agricultural sector. A 2016 World Bank report found productivity was behind that of the country’s regional counterparts. During the monsoon months, for example, one day of work would generate 23 kg of paddy in Myanmar, compared to 62 kg in Cambodia, 429 kg in Vietnam and 547 kg in Thailand. “Myanmar has a very low yield for agricultural goods – under 50% that of Thailand,” U…

Overview

Making every drop count: Governments and the private sector tackle water scarcity through policy reform, technology adoption and infrastructure investment
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Global food demand is expected to increase by between 59% and 98% by 2050. However, global freshwater resources are already overstretched due to climate change and soaring population growth, and it is unclear how agriculture will keep up with these challenges. In recent years climate-induced water shortages in urban areas have brought water scarcity to the forefront of public debate, as major cities such as São Paulo, Cape Town and Barcelona find themselves on the brink of major water crises. In response, policymakers have started to scrutinise and reform existing agricultural practices, which on average consume 70% of fresh water supplies…