Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research
Websites/Multiple Documents
Description:
A3 printed atlas (120 pages) collecting the most important maps, associated tables and derived charts extracted from the Digital Agricultural Atlas of the Union of Myanmar.
The Atlas contains general datasets from international data providers and agricultural-related datasets generated from 2001-2002 statistics at State/Division and District level. Main maps are displayed at 1:6 000 000 scale while other ancillary maps are displayed around 1:12 000 000 scale.
The atlas aims to act as reference and guide to those wishing to understand more clearly the opportunities and challenges facing the agricultural sector in Myanmar.
Next is a selection of pages from the atlas. Click on the picture to open the full size (pdf, A3) file.
Source/publisher:
Digital Agriculture Atlas
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-25
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
Agriculture in Burma (officially Myanmar) is the main industry in the country, accounting for about 60 percent of the GDP and employing some 65 percent of the labor force. Burma was once Asia?s largest exporter of rice, and it is remains the country?s most crucial agricultural commodity. Other main crops include pulses, beans, sesame, groundnuts, sugarcane, lumber, and fish. Moreover, livestock is raised as both a source of food and labor.
Source/publisher:
Wikipedia
Date of entry/update:
2012-08-20
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
''The Agriculture sector encompasses Crop production, Livestock breeding, Fisheries and Agro-Forestry. It contributes 32% of the GDP, 17.5% of the total export earnings and employs 61.2% of the labour force (FAO 2009-2010). As such it is the main source of livelihood and income for the majority of the population in Myanmar. This page contains information on all aspects of agriculture including Fisheries, Livestock breeding and Forestry/Agro-Forestry, including needs and activities across Myanmar. The aim of this page is to provide actors across the sector with information that will enable greater coordination, transparency, and efficiency of operations in agriculture. Information on this page includes situation updates and analysis, information on inter-agency coordination and activities under implementation, relevant thematic maps and publications, and also key technical guidelines and resources related to this sector...''
Source/publisher:
Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU)
Date of publication:
1970-01-01
Date of entry/update:
2019-02-07
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
Research, policy, analysis - 31 files.....To access some files, users may have to take out a (free) subscription to MYLAFF at https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/mylaff
Source/publisher:
MYLAFF
Date of entry/update:
2016-06-08
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
"The Agriculture sector encompasses Crop production, Livestock breeding, Fisheries and Agro-Forestry. It contributes 32% of the GDP, 17.5% of the total export earnings and employs 61.2% of the labour force (FAO 2009-2010). As such it is the main source of livelihood and income for the majority of the population in Myanmar. This page contains information on all aspects of agriculture including Fisheries, Livestock breeding and Forestry/Agro-Forestry, including needs and activities across Myanmar. The aim of this page is to provide actors across the sector with information that will enable greater coordination, transparency, and efficiency of operations in agriculture. Information on this page includes situation updates and analysis, information on inter-agency coordination and activities under implementation, relevant thematic maps and publications, and also key technical guidelines and resources related to this sector."
Source/publisher:
Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU)
Date of entry/update:
2015-09-04
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Biotechnology Country Profiles, FAO-BioDeC (Biotechnologies in Developing Countries), Maps,Reports and Statistical Data and some publications from FAO
Source/publisher:
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
Date of entry/update:
2010-09-02
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
Agroecology & Sustainable Agriculture - 5 files...
Conservation Agriculture (DMC/SCV) - 2 files ...
Fisheries - 2 files...
Irrigation Management - 1 file...
Organic Farming - 1 file...
Pest Management - 0 files...
Shifting Cultivation - 23 files ...
Small Holder Plantations - 8 files...
System of Rice Intensification (SRI).....To access some files, users may have to take out a (free) subscription to MYLAFF at https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/mylaff
Source/publisher:
MYLAFF
Date of entry/update:
2016-06-15
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Shifting ("swidden", "jhum", "taungya") cultivation - Burma/Myanmar
Language:
English
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Description:
Lists back to 2005
Source/publisher:
Lift fund, partners etc.
Date of entry/update:
2016-08-01
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
ဤစာမျက်နှာတွင် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတလွှားရှိ စိုက်ပျိုးရေး၊ အသက်မွေး ဝမ်းကြောင်းလုပ်ငန်းများ နှင့် စားနပ် ရက္ခာဖူလုံရေး လိုအပ်ချက်များနှင့် လုပ်ငန်းများ၏ သွင်ပြင် လက္ခာများနှင့် ပတ်သက်သည့် သတင်း အချက်အလက်များ ပါဝင်ပါသည်။ ဤစာမျက်နှာ၏ ရည်ရွယ်ချက်မှာ အဆိုပါ ကဏ္ဍများတွင် ပါဝင် ဆောင်ရွက် နေကြသော သူများကို သတင်း အချက်အလက်များ ပံ့ပိုးပေးရန်ဖြစ်သည်။ ဤသို့ ပံ့ပိုးပေးခြင်းဖြင့် စိုက်ပျိုးရေး၊ အသက်မွေး ဝမ်းကြောင်းလုပ်ငန်း များ နှင့် စားနပ် ရိက္ခာ ဖူလုံရေးတို့တွင် လုပ်ငန်းများ လုပ်ကိုင် ဆောင်ရွက်ရာ၌ ပိုမို၍ ညှိနှိုင်း ဆောင်ရွက်မှု၊ ပွင့်လင်း မြင်သာမှုနှင့် စွမ်းရည် ပြည့်ဝမှုတို့ ရှိလာစေမည် ဖြစ်သည်။ ဤစာမျက်နှာရှိ သတင်း အချက်အလက်များတွင် နောက်ဆုံး ရရှိသော အခြေအနေများနှင့် သုံးသပ်ချက်များ၊ အဖွဲ့အစည်းများ အချင်းချင်းကြား ညှိနှိုင်း ဆွေးနွေးမှုများနှင့် အကောင်အထည် ဖော်နေသောလုပ်ငန်းများ၊ သက်ဆိုင်ရာ အကြောင်းအရာများကို ဖော်ပြသည့် မြေပုံများနှင့် ထုတ်ဝေမှုများ၊ အဆိုပါ ကဏ္ဍများနှင့် ပတ်သက်သည့် အဓိက နည်းပညာဆိုင်ရာ လမ်းညွှန်ချက်များနှင့် အရင်းအမြစ်များ လည်း ပါဝင်ပါသည်။
Source/publisher:
MIMU
Date of entry/update:
2015-09-04
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
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Individual Documents
Description:
"By United Nations Development Programme
FEBRUARY 28TH, 2024
Three years on from the military takeover in Myanmar, stories across the country chronicle the danger and desperation that continues to mark each day for many. The deepening conflict and crisis has plunged the country’s economy into turmoil, taking incomes and jobs with it, and collapsing public services. The impact of it all is wearing on millions of people, as they struggle to make it through each day.
The economy has entered a phase where the growth rate has reached rock bottom, showing no signs of recovery. The World Bank has downgraded the growth projection for 2024 from three percent to one percent.
Farm incomes are hardest hit, and states and regions where the conflict has intensified are the worst affected. Migration is rampant, often the only lifeline for people who have exhausted all other options. For development and humanitarian agencies knowing where to focus their efforts, under such precarious circumstances, has become a challenge.
Yet despite incredible hardship, Myanmar's people are resiliently pursuing ways to make life better for themselves and their neighbours -- from starting new businesses to fighting to protect the country's precious mangroves. UNDP is supporting their efforts, particularly among the most vulnerable.
A joint UNDP and UN Women survey found that in this dire environment, women face a disproportionate share of negative consequences as incomes fall, employment opportunities decline dramatically, unpaid work burdens increase, and insecurity and fear rise.
Daw Tin Mar Win, who even before the present crisis struggled to find enough work as a day labourer, has now branched out into goat farming and is already passing on her skills to her children.
"UNDP's support has been a lifeline, providing me with a reliable job and income," she said.
"I had no experience with goats and lacked confidence. UNDP's training boosted my confidence and taught me how to start my goat farm."
Insecurity is both physical, due to widespread conflict, but it is also about the vulnerability that arises from the lack of social safety nets, money, and livelihoods. Without these, many are eating less, forgoing healthcare, taking on unsustainable debts, and selling assets.
The country's small farmers have been grappling with additional challenges, particularly in Shan State, where most of Myanmar's food is produced. Among other things, seed and fertilizer prices have risen and supply chains have been disrupted. UNDP is working with farmers to provide the extra solar-powered irrigation needed for growing rice, garlic, tomatoes and chillies, and techniques to reduce the amount of fertilizer needed for healthy crops..."
Source/publisher:
UN Development Programme (New York) via Reliefweb (New York)
Date of publication:
2024-02-28
Date of entry/update:
2024-02-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
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Description:
"Foreword
As we publish this 2024 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP), escalating fighting, surging displacement and extreme protection threats are now impacting vast swathes of the country, compounding the devastating impacts of Cyclone Mocha in May, and placing the people of Myanmar in increasing peril.
Three years on from the military takeover, the humanitarian landscape for 2024 is grim with a third of the population – 18.6 million people – now estimated to be in humanitarian need. Children are bearing the brunt of the crisis with 6 million children in need as a result of displacement, interrupted health-care and education, food insecurity and malnutrition, and protection risks including forced recruitment and mental distress. The economic situation is placing families in increasing financial distress and coping capacities are stretched to the limit. Interruptions to agriculture and rapid inflation are making it increasingly difficult for people to access and afford adequate food, raising the spectre of climbing malnutrition. The health system is in crisis and millions are without safe shelter or drinking water.
Women, girls, persons with disabilities and stateless Rohingya people are among those impacted the most by this dangerous environment. Development gains are concurrently under extreme threat with poverty now back at levels not seen for 15 years.
This Plan paints a deeply disturbing picture that demands global attention and a dramatic increase in funding. Humanitarians require almost a billion dollars to reach 5.3 million people who have been prioritized for urgent assistance. We cannot afford a repeat of the gross underfunding seen in 2023 with only 29 per cent of requirements received. This lack of funding and severe access constraints meant that an estimated 1.9 million people who had been prioritized for support missed out on assistance altogether, while most of the 3.1 million people who were reached with some support did not receive the intended multi-sectoral assistance required to fully meet their needs. Brave aid workers – the majority of them local organizations on the front line of the response – remain committed to staying and delivering and have scaled-up wherever they can over the past three years. However, de-politicization of aid, as well as significantly expanded access and greatly increased funding will be critical to preventing the suffering of everyone prioritized for support in this Plan.
Complementary funding is also needed across the nexus to address the persistent growth in humanitarian needs. The absence of large-scale preventative and resilience-building interventions by the broader development community is placing unprecedented pressure on humanitarian caseloads. To reverse current humanitarian trends, greater funding is simultaneously needed in 2024 for broader community development.
We thank our generous donors for their ongoing solidarity with the people of Myanmar as needs continue to spiral. But in 2024, we need donors to dig deeper and speak louder to amplify the voices of affected people on the world stage. Millions of lives are at stake and we all must do everything we can to prevent Myanmar becoming a forgotten emergency..."
Source/publisher:
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (New York) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2023-12-18
Date of entry/update:
2023-12-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Education in Burma/Myanmar - general, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Public Health, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
7.3 MB (95 pages) - Original version
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Description:
"Executive Summary
The primary objective of this CAR Assessment on Sagaing Region is to support the Nexus Response Mechanism (NRM) and its partners in assessing current needs, priorities, and dynamics for the purposes of response planning.
However, it is also designed as a public document, to be made available to the wider Myanmar aid community to better enhance understanding of local contexts, present community perceptions, and identify thematic and geographic dynamics and issues. It is not intended as a comprehensive or project-level needs assessment - it is instead intended as a broad and holistic assessment of the humanitarian, development, and political situation and operating environment in Sagaing Region.
Prior to the February 2021 coup, the predominantly Bamar Sagaing Region was largely peaceful, and although it was underdeveloped and impoverished it was also highly agriculturally productive. Since the coup, Sagaing Region has become one of, if not the, epicentre of the Myanmar crisis. Sagaing Region’s population was heavily supportive of the National League for Democracy (NLD), and mass protests against the coup quickly turned to SAC crackdowns, and anti-coup armed group formation in the form of NUG-aligned People’s Defence Forces; indeed, Sagaing hosts more PDFs than any other region in the country. Now, the region is characterised by widespread violence, daily human rights abuses, regular village raids and burnings, and one of the largest ongoing displacement crises in the world.
Responding to this context should be considered one of the paramount challenges facing the international Myanmar aid community; this is complicated by the fact that Sagaing region poses one of the most severe access challenges in Myanmar. Direct programming in Sagaing region is complicated not only by ongoing conflict conditions, but by political barriers imposed by the SAC and the fact that the large majority of pre-conflict CSOs in Sagaing Region have been dissolved. However, local responders do exist; albeit in a variety of forms. New CSOs have been established throughout Sagaing, with varying capacities, and largely funded by local and international private donations.
New NUG-aligned revolutionary governance structures also exist, having largely supplanted SAC structures in many parts of the region, and vary widely in capacity, authority, and reach. New education and healthcare networks have formed, although they operate under considerable constraints and should by no means be considered sufficient for the needs facing the population.
There are three key thematic considerations in Sagaing Region:
› Sagaing region hosts the largest number of displaced people in Myanmar. Much of this displacement is temporary, with IDPs fleeing from their villages during conflict, raids, and crackdowns. Much of it is not; hundreds of villages have been fully or partially destroyed, and many displaced people will not return to their villages of origin for the foreseeable future. The displacement situation in Sagaing region is now a long term concern, with few prospects for durable solutions.
› Local livelihoods have been devastated by the conflict; that said, there are still opportunities to contribute to local livelihoods provision, and doing so is essential. Agriculture is the cornerstone of Sagaing’s economy. Producers are under significant pressure due to skyrocketing costs and access restrictions, and many are wholly unable to farm their fields due to conflict and displacement. That said, Sagaing region is still producing agricultural goods, and markets do remain largely functional even in areas that have fallen out of the control of the SAC; indeed, some parts of Sagaing region are exporting crops to other parts of Myanmar. These functional local agriculture systems are critical to not only the population reliant on them for livelihoods, but the population of IDPs that are now reliant on locally produced agricultural goods.
› SAC education and healthcare systems have largely collapsed in much of Sagaing Region. NUG-linked systems and local education and healthcare networks are functional in many locations, and are attempting to fill gaps; private clinics also remain functional in some locations. However, their capacity is limited by both funding and access constraints. Moreover, both alternative healthcare and education providers appear to be seen by the SAC as indistinguishable from local armed revolutionaries; as such, they are regularly targeted by security forces. These systems are under severe pressure and face numerous risks; however, they are also critical to meeting skyrocketing needs..."
Source/publisher:
Center for Operational Analysis and Research
Date of publication:
2023-11-01
Date of entry/update:
2023-11-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Education in Burma/Myanmar - general, Public Health, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
4.04 MB
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Description:
"The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) provided emergency assistance to over 1,500 displaced families who are currently living in Myaning Gyi Ngu, Ohn Taw, Khamamaung town and their surrounding areas in Kayin State, Myanmar.
Displaced families face the devastating consequences of armed conflict every day, including the loss of their homes and livelihoods, along with limited access to essentials like food, water, education, medicines and health care.
"Some days, I just want to disappear like smoke. It is too much of a burden for me and my family to bear," says Daw Pu*, a mother who fled from her town with her five children to escape the violence.
"We had to flee using boats, and it took us approximately eight hours to reach this place. This is a small town with few job opportunities, and despite my best efforts, I struggle to support my family," explains Daw Pu*, who now resides in Ohn Taw.
Yet, escaping from the violence is not the only challenge for these families.
In early August 2023, many displaced families and host communities were impacted by floods due to the heavy rain. "I lost all the stocked rice and had to move from our current place because the water level rose above my height," she recalls. "We stayed at other people's homes for 19 days, borrowing their clothes and eating what they would offer to us."
Many displaced families have to similarly rely on support from the host communities and local and international organizations.
"Our emergency distribution lasted six days," says U S.See Lwin, an ICRC team leader for Kayin distribution. "Many of the displaced families have been here for nearly two years. We provided them with rice, oil, peas, salt and mosquito nets. Additionally, for those who arrived in 2023, we provided water buckets, hygiene kits, rope, tarpaulin and seed to grow vegetables," he adds.
Because of the ongoing threat of landmines and other explosive devices, our team also conducted week-long Risk Awareness and Safer Behaviour sessions. We also conducted assessments of communal hand-dug wells as the communities residing in Khamamaung area face water shortage during the dry season.
"Through this support, families will be able to cope with some of the hardships and endure harsh weather," says U S.See Lwin.
Humanitarian access remains a crucial need in Myanmar. People made vulnerable by armed conflict must be given access to essential services such as health care, education, sustainable livelihoods as well as humanitarian aid..."
Source/publisher:
International Committee of the Red Cross
Date of publication:
2023-10-23
Date of entry/update:
2023-10-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
more
Description:
"This Situation Update describes events occurring in Htaw Ta Htoo (Htantabin) Township, Taw Oo (Toungoo) District during the period between September and December 2022. This report outlines the struggles of villagers from five areas: Kaw Thay Der, Khoh Hkee, Maw Nay Pwa, Per Htee and Day Loh. The State Administration Council (SAC) arrested travellers, extorted their family members, and increased military movements causing major obstacles for children and teenagers to attend school. Villagers struggled due to a lack of enough income to cover their daily expenses. Many villagers also developed seasonal sicknesses that remained untreated.[1]
Introduction
This report describes the situation in five areas in Htaw Ta Htoo Township, Taw Oo District, between September and December 2022, namely Kaw Thay Der, Khoh Hkee, Maw Nay Pwa, Per Htee, and Day Loh areas. Villagers reported State Administration Council’s (SAC)[2] increased military activities and livelihood, education, and healthcare challenges.
SAC military activities
After the SAC seized power in Burma, various human rights violations occurred [again], such as fighting, threats, killing, looting, daily indiscriminate shelling, and arbitrary arrests at checkpoints. Additionally, the SAC arrested local villagers travelling and extorted their family members. This caused a great problem for villagers. The SAC indiscriminately fired artillery weapons and conducted air strikes into villages. [Moreover,] landmines were planted on public roads [leading to villagers’ plantations]. These placed villagers’ lives at high risk.
An incident happened on December 15th 2022, in A--- village, Maw Nay Pwa area, Htaw Ta Htoo Township, Taw Oo District. At 1:00 pm, an air strike was conducted [by the SAC] unexpectedly while some villagers were gathering to greet and bless each other [for Christmas]. Children and elderly villagers had to [flee and] hide near the village. A--- village has 63 houses and a population of 439 [villagers]. Many villagers were displaced after the incident and were living far from their plantations. [During December 2022,] they had to travel long distances to purchase and trade food and to bring patients to the hospital.
Due to SAC military operations, some villagers [displaced persons coming from other areas in Southeast Burma], who were also sheltering in villages [located in Maw Nay Pwa area], did not dare to return to their hometowns. In addition, securing livelihoods got much harder for villagers as they were not able to find jobs. Villagers [sheltering in the area] were able to eat only when someone [local villagers] provided them [with food]. Every month, local [Karen National Union (KNU)[3]] authorities arranged [to distribute] essential food supplies.
Armed conflict and livelihood challenges
Between September and December 2022, villagers from the [abovementioned] five areas in Htaw Ta Htoo Township, Taw Oo District, were struggling to secure their livelihoods. Some villagers live in hill areas, while others live in plain areas. Per Htee area is a plain area, while Khoh Hkee, Kaw Thay Der, Maw Nay Pwa and Day Loh areas are situated on the hills. [Villagers from hill areas] grow durian, betel nut, cardamon, and Kaffir lime [for their survival].
From September to December 2022, villagers worked [on their plantations] under danger [at risk to their lives, due to the SAC attacks]. [Due to the climate,] villagers did not harvest good [quality] fruit. Some villagers struggled [to have enough] rice, which is the main food [basis of their diet]. The price of rice also increased. [In addition, villagers had] difficulties in carrying rice [home from shops because the SAC set up check points] on the road.
Following fighting [between the SAC and a resistance armed group] in [these] areas, some civilians were afraid [to stay in their villages], so they moved [fled to a new place]. Villagers had to work despite having unsafe [working] conditions. Villagers [felt] worried and burdened due to fighting, air strikes, and shelling. Some villagers encountered difficulties in carrying food as they lived far away from [food markets]. [Villagers had trouble with] purchasing and trading food. Dry food prices were rising, while fruit [that villagers harvested from their farms] could only be sold at low prices [in the market]. Villagers’ income and expenses were not a match. [Villagers had low-income streams and their expenses outweighed their income streams]. Various difficulties followed villagers in their [daily] livelihood activities. Villagers also worried about military operation activities.
Farmers from Per Htee area complained about the unstable weather to grow beans and to farm. Farmers had no other income other than from farming. So, some farmers started working abroad [to increase their income]. Villagers [in the area] encountered threats, arbitrary arrests, and physical abuse committed by SAC soldiers while they travelled. Day labourers had to work under dangerous circumstances. Stealing also increased in the [local] area.
The five areas all had different [high] prices [in markets]. Villagers had to pay [tax] in various ways [at SAC checkpoints].
Education challenges in Taw Oo District
From September to December 2022, the KECD schools that operate in Htaw T'Htoo Township, Taw Oo District are Bu Hsa Hee School which located in Kho Hkee area, Ler Htaw Doh School, located in Maw Nay Pwa area and Htoh Lwee Wah School, located in Htee K'Waw. SAC military activities [in the Township] increased, becoming an obstacle for children and teenagers [to attend school]. Parents worried for children who lived far from the school because SAC soldiers fired [guns] indiscriminately [while the students travelled to schools], resulting in decreasing enrolment during this period.
Students who lived in dormitories [at boarding schools], like Ler Htaw Doh school from Maw Nay Pwa area, had difficulties purchasing [a sufficient amount of] food because the price of food was high. As a consequence, some students stopped enrolling in school [,unable to afford the school fee]. Some locally established [community self-funded] schools had connections with the three high schools, [therefore, students could easily attend the high schools after completing their schooling at the locally established schools]. Teachers were teaching [in the community-run schools] at risk to their lives, as SAC soldiers [often] came into schools to patrol. SAC patrolling also brought out worries for teachers to continue teaching and became an obstacle for children and young teenagers to access education. Danger will [continue to] occur to villagers due to the conflict that takes place in the area. Many graduated students went to other countries to seek out job opportunities.
Healthcare challenges in Taw Oo District
As it was the winter season between September and December 2022, sickness increased, including flu, headaches, and [other] illnesses. When villagers from Khoh Hkee, Kaw Thay Der, and Maw Nay Pwa areas got sick, they were sent to a [nearby] hospital. SAC soldiers patrolling [on the roads] created difficulties for villagers to travel and posed a danger. Some [sick] children did not receive treatment. In addition, many [children] did not receive vaccinations [at all]. Pregnant women also did not receive proper healthcare.
Similarly, in Per Htee area, a day labourer who got sick was unable to go for a check-up [at the hospital due to travel restrictions]. Some sick villagers were [only] lying in bed [at home] due to this strict situation. Villagers faced rising travel costs and restrictions, as well as the inability to make extra income. Parents needed money [additional financial support] to look after and take care of disabled children. Communities from the area of Htaw Ta Htoo Township, Taw Oo District did not receive healthcare [treatment].
Villagers from the five areas in Htaw Ta Htoo Township, Taw Oo District, expressed their desire for [KNU] authorities to notice their needs [support services such as safety, health care, livelihood, and education in response to SAC abuses]..."
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group
Date of publication:
2023-10-19
Date of entry/update:
2023-10-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Education in Burma/Myanmar - general, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Public Health, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
441.15 KB
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Description:
"Changes in context
Almost three years since the February 2021 military takeover, the people of Myanmar remain exposed to an unrelenting political, human rights, economic and humanitarian crisis. The dire situation is posing grave protection risks for civilians, limiting access to vital services including health and education, and driving deep food insecurity. The deteriorating humanitarian situation continues to have severe consequences for millions of civilians who are bearing the brunt of widespread insecurity, escalating attacks and clashes, mass displacement, and limited access to critical services. Forced recruitment – including of children – is being increasingly reported. The use of heavy weapons, including air strikes and artillery fire, continues to claim lives and pose risks to the safety and security of civilians, while raids, random searches and arrests are of grave concern. The destruction of civilian properties, particularly homes, combined with the protracted fighting, is prolonging the displacement of IDPs and further degrading people’s already fragile living conditions. The ongoing conflict combined with spiraling inflation, is disrupting livelihood activities and depleting coping mechanisms, resulting in record humanitarian needs this year.
In May, the situation was further exacerbated by extremely severe cyclone Mocha, the worst natural disaster on record for Myanmar in nearly a decade. The cyclone and the ensuing flooding devastated communities across Rakhine, the Northwest and Kachin with thousands of homes, productive assets, vast swathes of farmland, and critical infrastructure such as hospitals and schools destroyed or severely damaged. It added an additional 500,000 people to the humanitarian target for 2023 (now 5 million people) and worsened the needs of 1.1 million people already targeted within the HRP..."
Source/publisher:
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (New York) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2023-10-17
Date of entry/update:
2023-10-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Education in Burma/Myanmar - general, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Public Health, Human Rights and international relations
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pdf
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1.52 MB
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Description:
"The majority of the population in Myanmar relies on farming as their primary source of livelihood. However, decades of armed conflict, other violence and natural disasters have destroyed farmland and forced people to flee their homes.
Given the protracted consequences, the need for humanitarian assistance in the region is greater than ever before.
Since 2017, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been helping local farmers in Myanmar by giving them seed to grow staple crops, farming tools and organic fertilizers to improve agricultural productivity. We have also been organizing training programmes to build the capacities of the famers and develop sustainable means of livelihood.
"Our teams in Myanmar distributed seed, farm tools and fertilizers to over 92,728 people from January to June 2023."
Kachin State
In Kachin we distributed paddy seed and organic fertilizers to over 1,500 families in Myitkyina, Waingmaw, Hpakant, Mogaung and Mansi townships.
"The past years have been very tough for me and my family. Ensuring that we have enough to eat has not been easy," says U Dan Htawng, a father of four children, who is currently living in a camp for displaced people in Hpakant township. "I believe the ICRC's support will help us get back on our feet this year," he adds.
Rakhine State
Over the past months, our teams in Rakhine distributed paddy and vegetable seeds to 13,884 families who were most affected by Cyclone Mocha and had to rebuild their lives in Mrauk-U, Ponnagyun, Rathedaung, Pauktaw, Minbya, Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships.
"My house was damaged by the cyclone. Our crops were also destroyed, and we were concerned about further losses during the planting season," says U Win Maung, a farmer from Yoe Ta Yote village.
Many families also struggled to buy seed because of the rising cost of living. "Now that the ICRC is providing paddy seed in time for the monsoon, we can go back to our farms and start cultivating," says Zakariya, from Myo Thu Gyi village in Maungdaw.
Shan State
"Part of our work in Myanmar involves helping the most vulnerable families to meet their basic nutrition needs during emergency situations and to be able to support themselves in the long term," explains Martin Samtan, an ICRC staff member from Lashio.
During the monsoon when it's time to plant, our team in Lashio distributed paddy seed and groundnuts to over 1,250 families across Kutkai, Lashio, Namtu, Namhkam townships in northern Shan State.
"Through this support, the community will be able to provide for itself and continue farming for a sustainable livelihood." Martin Samtan
Families can now earn an income from their own farms as well as consume better quality food..."
Source/publisher:
International Committee of the Red Cross
Date of publication:
2023-10-17
Date of entry/update:
2023-10-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Flooding in Burma/Myanmar, Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Cyclones - regional
Language:
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Description:
"MYANMAR
Ongoing fighting in several states and regions across the country has resulted in additional new displacement and an increase in humanitarian needs, particularly in Kachin, Mandalay, and the Northwest. In Kachin, continued armed clashes and heavy military deployment have forced another 200 families (more than 1,100 people) in Shwegu township into displacement, bringing the total number of newly internally displaced people (IDPs) in this township to nearly 20,000 since early March 2023. In Mandalay, nearly 10,000 people have been displaced since mid-July due to continued fighting in Thabeikkyin township and are especially in urgent need of food and healthcare. In the Northwest, more than 7,150 IDPs in four townships in Sagaing are in urgent need of food, water, shelter, and hygiene kits. In addition, at least ten houses and a church in eastern Bago, Chin, Kayin, Mon, southern Shan, and Tanintharyi were reportedly destroyed during the reporting period.
As of 14 August, the total displaced people in the country stands at more than 1.9 million across the country, with over 1.6 million people having been displaced since 1 February 2021..."
Source/publisher:
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (New York) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2023-08-23
Date of entry/update:
2023-08-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UN human rights documents on Myanmar, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
2.15 MB
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Description:
"(Myanmar, 17 August 2023) – Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths today called for expanded humanitarian access and increased funding to assist the 18 million people in need of aid across Myanmar.
“Successive crises in Myanmar have left one third of the population in need of humanitarian aid,” Griffiths said at the end of a three-day visit to the country. “They expect more and better from their leaders and from the international community.”
Humanitarian needs in Myanmar have surged in recent years, with the number of displaced persons increasing fivefold in less than three years, from 380,000 at the start of 2021 to 1.9 million at present.
During the visit, Griffiths met with families affected by conflict and natural disasters, including with Rakhine and Rohingya communities and with Myanmar authorities.
Griffiths visited Rakhine state, still reeling from the impact of cyclone Mocha three months ago. The cyclone flattened homes, damaged displacement camps, destroyed farmland, and killed livestock, leaving thousands of people vulnerable.
“Families are struggling to cope after the successive blows of the COVID-19 pandemic, conflict and cyclone Mocha. We stand ready to do more both in Rakhine and nationwide, but we urgently need greater access and more funding to do so.”
In the capital Nay Pyi Taw, Griffiths met with the State Administration Council Chairman, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, with whom he discussed what humanitarians need to scale-up direct aid to affected populations in areas affected by conflict and natural disasters.
“My meetings were an opportunity to raise the need for expanded access,” Griffiths said. “I also expressed my concerns about the protection risks facing civilians in conflict areas and the bureaucratic constraints we humanitarians are facing in reaching them. It is critical for us to have the humanitarian space we need for safe, sustained aid deliveries around the country,” Griffiths said.
Despite rising needs, the humanitarian operation in Myanmar is facing a huge resource gap with just 22 per cent of required funds received more than half-way through the year.
“Over the past three days, I spoke with brave aid workers about their efforts to help those in need. However, a severe lack of funding means aid agencies are forced to make tough decisions about cutting assistance at a time when they should be scaling up even further. This needs to change,” Griffiths said..."
Source/publisher:
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (New York) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2023-08-17
Date of entry/update:
2023-08-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights and international relations
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Description:
"In Rakhine State, Myanmar, the productive fields are left unharvested. Normally teeming with agricultural workers—the majority of whom are women and girls from the local villages—the fertile landscape has become another deadly battlefield.
Landmines, planted after the military coup in 2021, are causing soaring numbers of civilian casualties. Women and girls who dare to venture into rural fields alone, also face threats of sexual violence. A UN Women survey of 2,200 women in Myanmar found that half of them were afraid to leave their immediate neighbourhoods.
In Rakhine and Kachin States, the risks of violence are associated with shrinking mobility of women and girls. But staying at home has its own challenges. Rates of gender-based violence (GBV) are growing in households, as tensions rise over severe hunger and poverty. “There are no opportunities and no income, so the women and girls are beaten,” says Win*, a representative of a local women’s organization in Myanmar.
The lifeline: Only local partners can reach women and girls impacted by GBV
At a time when women and girls desperately need humanitarian support, external borders have been closed to international humanitarian workers. Instead, it is local women-led and women’s rights organizations and other local actors that have stepped up to shoulder the delivery of critical services to crisis-affected communities, often at great personal risk.
Since 2021, UN Women has supported 91 local women’s organizations in Myanmar through training on leadership, representation, advocacy skills, and awareness raising on humanitarian decision-making mechanisms and processes, contributing to increased access to tools and resources available in humanitarian planning and response processes and mechanisms.
The work has been carried out in partnership with UNFPA, through a grant from the Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF). More than 30 per cent of that funding has directly supported local women-led and women’s rights organizations. Without them, says Rowena Dacsig, programme specialist for UN Women Myanmar, women and girls in Myanmar would be missing their last remaining lifeline.
Beyond the military checkpoints of Kachin and Rakhine States, local women-led and women’s rights organizations have delivered critical services to women and girls who have experienced or are at risk of GBV, such as psychosocial counselling and humanitarian items like dignity kits, which include basic sanitary and hygiene supplies.
Local organizations have also been supported by UN Women to provide livelihood services, including financial skills development training and agricultural activities to 4,094 GBV survivors and women at risk, many of whom are now responsible for household income and earnings as husbands and sons are recruited by armed groups.
“Only those organizations which have local partners can carry on with their work”, says Dacsig. “Otherwise, the services to survivors and those at risk of GBV, including in internally displaced persons camps, would have ceased completely. Without these local partners, we’d be totally blind to the needs of women and girls in Myanmar because little to no information is coming out of these communities.”
In return, she adds, UN Women and UNFPA have also supported local women’s organizations through trainings on topics such as protection against sexual abuse and exploitation, upholding accountability within affected populations, and conducting risk assessments and gender analysis to inform delivery of critical services, for example, in relation to protection and livelihoods.
* Name has been changed to protect the privacy of the individual.
About the CERF Global Grant for Gender-based Violence Prevention and Response
The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) is a United Nations emergency facility established in 2005 to enable humanitarian responders to deliver life-saving assistance whenever and wherever crises strike. In 2021, UN Women and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) were allocated USD 25 million by the CERF Global Grant to strengthen the response to and prevention of gender-based violence in emergencies..."
Source/publisher:
UN Women (New York)
Date of publication:
2023-08-16
Date of entry/update:
2023-08-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UN Women, Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Public Health, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Highlights
The current food insecurity situation is critical due to reduced agricultural production in 2022, intensified conflict, record high food prices and the devastating effects of Cyclone Mocha.
The conflict triggered record-high civilian displacements, currently estimated at 1.83 million people, a three-fold increase compared to the same period in 2022.
Food insecurity could worsen if constrained access to fertilizer and intensified conflict persist, and if the forecast of below-average monsoon precipitation is realized, thus reducing cereal production in 2023.
Acute food insecurity is at critical levels in various parts of the country, mainly due to the shortfalls in 2022 cereal production, intensified conflict and record high food prices. According to the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) published last January, the highest prevalence and severity of acute food insecurity was reported in northwestern and southeastern areas, including Rakhine, Chin, Kayah and Kayin states as well as the Sagaing and Mandalay regions (Map 1 in the PDF). Since mid-2022 the conflict increased in intensity and spread to various parts of the country, causing large-scale displacement, disrupting trade flows and limiting access to humanitarian assistance. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as of June 2023, a record high of 1.83 million people are internally displaced (IDPs), a three-fold increase compared to the same period in 2022 (Figure 1) with most of them being almost entirely reliant on humanitarian aid. In addition, 1.12 million people sought shelter in neighbouring countries, mostly in Bangladesh in Cox’s Bazar District and on the island of Bhasan Char. On 14 May 2023, Cyclone Mocha, a Category 5 event with strong winds and heavy rains, made landfall in northwestern parts of the country, triggering flash floods, and affecting the livelihoods of at least 3.4 million people. The most severely affected areas were the Rakhine, Chin and Kachin states as well as the Sagaing and Magway regions, where 60 percent of the IDPs are located. Food security conditions could deteriorate further if constrained access to fertilizers, persisting local insecurity and if the forecast below-average 2023 monsoon precipitation is realized resulting in lower cereal production in 2023. Given the critical food insecurity conditions, an immediate scaling up of ongoing food and livelihood humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable households is urgently needed. Support for the ongoing 2023 main agricultural season should be provided to farming households to enhance their productive capacity..."
Source/publisher:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Rome) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2023-08-04
Date of entry/update:
2023-08-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Cyclones - regional, Natural Disasters - General
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
396.8 KB
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Description:
"Context
On 14 May 2023, cyclone Mocha made landfall in Myanmar, accompanied by violent gusts, torrential rainfall and flooding. Mocha caused significant disruption to the lives and livelihoods of more than 40 percent of farming households in Ayeyarwady, Chin, Kachin, Magway and Sagaing, and more than 80 percent in Rakhine. The climate-induced disaster struck some of the most vulnerable rural communities at a time when they were already grappling with a growing food security crisis.1 Moreover, agricultural production had been steadily declining, and more than half of farmers reported a drop in agricultural production in January 2023.
Cyclone Mocha damaged approximately 327 000 ha of agricultural lands, wiping out agricultural production worth an estimated USD 22.6 million.3 Furthermore, nearly 13 000 heads of livestock were lost, valued at approximately USD 6.7 million.
Mocha also inflicted severe damage on critical agricultural infrastructures, fisheries, and vital seed stocks.
According to the findings of a household survey conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Ayeyarwady, Chin, Kachin, Magway, Rakhine and Sagaing, half of the surveyed farming and livestock-keeping households reported loss of productive assets. FAO further estimates that nearly half of the fishing equipment in Sittwe (Rakhine state) was damaged.
Additionally, according to the findings of a series of key informant interviews conducted by FAO in 11 townships in Rakhine state, two in every three farming households, two in every five agropastoral households, and more than one in every three fishing households lost their productive assets. Of particular concern, coastal areas in Rakhine are likely experiencing saline water intrusion due to their low-lying locations relative to sea level.
As the multidimensional crisis continues and considering the impacts of Mocha on rural communities, food production may decline further, and more people could lack access to food. With three in four people dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods, emergency livelihoods support to farmers, fishers and livestock keepers is crucial in preventing a decline in food security. Accordingly, and in line with Cyclone Mocha Flash Appeal, FAO aims to scale up emergency livelihoods support to the most vulnerable rural households in the affected areas..."
Source/publisher:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Rome) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2023-07-05
Date of entry/update:
2023-07-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Cyclones - regional, Flooding in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
600.37 KB
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Description:
"Rich in natural resources and cultural diversity, Kachin, Myanmar’s northernmost state, is home to a number of ethnic groups, languages, cuisines and festivals. Beyond the beauty and diversity though, the people of this hill region have been facing significant humanitarian challenges in recent years.
Since 2011, over 100,000 people have been displaced within Kachin because of the ongoing armed conflict. The community has been greatly impacted by the violence and many have been struggling to cope with its effects on their lives and livelihoods. What were once thriving farmlands now lie abandoned and overgrown with wild bushes, while families struggle to make ends meet without their primary sources of income.
Amidst such a humanitarian situation, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been working with the people of Kachin State to strengthen their resilience and help develop sustainable means of livelihood. We help newly displaced communities generate income by providing them with seed and fertilizers to grow staple crops and vegetables, funds to start small businesses and training to manage livestock besides vaccinations for farm animals. Here are some of the highlights of how we help those most in need.
Emergency response and economic support
As the fighting escalates, so do humanitarian needs. The ICRC provides emergency assistance to newly displaced communities. This includes food and other necessities such as temporary shelters and hygiene products.
We have been carrying out these activities throughout Kachin State for all communities since 2014. We supported over 70,000 people in 2022 through relief material, livelihood support and COVID-19 prevention items among other things, not only to meet their basic needs and expenses, but also to build their resilience.
Livestock management
In 2022, in partnership with the Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department, we worked with over 12,700 people, administering vaccinations to more than 16,500 farm animals and treating around 2,100 animals from hundreds of villages and camps within eight townships in Kachin State.
Seng Ja, an ICRC veterinarian at our subdelegation in Myitkyina, explains, "Our goal is to minimize the mortality rate of chicken and pigs from annual disease outbreaks and improve meat consumption and production in the community. We also provide nutrition training and raise awareness on backyard pig farming to help people earn additional income."
Promoting agricultural activities
We distributed seed for the monsoon and winter seasons to nearly 16,000 people in 2022. We trained representatives from villages in Myitkyina, Waingmaw, Mansi, Mogaung, Mohnyin and Bhamo areas to improve farming techniques and share best practices with their respective communities. Through this initiative, we aim to reduce food costs and increase the food production capacity of families by cultivating a variety of vegetables and staple crops.
We are also providing support to our local partners in the agriculture sector as part of a multi-year programme. We are providing financial assistance and capacity-building support with the aim of improving and strengthening the technical support that they, in turn, provide to local farmers..."
Source/publisher:
International Committee of the Red Cross (Geneva)
Date of publication:
2023-07-03
Date of entry/update:
2023-07-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, The discussion on humanitarian assistance to Burma
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar’s economic recovery slowed by high prices and shortages
While economic conditions in Myanmar stabilized in the first half of 2023, businesses continue to face multiple challenges, household incomes remain weak, and food security has become an increasing concern, according to the World Bank’s semi-annual Myanmar Economic Monitor.
Economic activity is slowly increasing in Myanmar, but from a low base, the report, A Fragile Recovery, says. GDP is projected to increase by 3% in the year to September 2023, a level still around 10% lower than in 2019. Severe supply and demand constraints continue to limit economic activity. Over the next one to two years, the economy is projected to expand slowly, but with the benefits of growth distributed unevenly across households, firms, and industries. Average annual inflation is projected to ease to 14% in the year ending September 2023, from 18.3% the previous year, and to drop further in 2024.
Risks to the outlook include worsening conflict, more slumps in electricity generation, persistent inflationary pressure, and further deterioration in the business environment. The destruction caused by in May by Cyclone Mocha, which caused significant damage in states and regions where humanitarian needs were already substantial, was a reminder of Myanmar’s vulnerability to natural disasters.
“While Myanmar is again making economic progress, the growth is unequal and the poorest are being hit hard by consecutive shocks,” said World Bank Country Director for Myanmar, Cambodia, and the Lao PDR, Mariam Sherman. “Worryingly, progress against malnutrition seems to have halted or reversed. More than half of households have been forced to sell assets, increase borrowing, or limit their spending, including on health and education. Such coping strategies will not only damage welfare in the short term, but also affect longer-term earning capacity.”
The exchange rate has been stable for most of the last six months, inflation in food and fuel prices have eased, manufacturing output and orders have risen, and sales of local products have reportedly picked up. Passenger and freight transport volumes are rising, and although agricultural production has weakened, profitability is improving as farm gate prices rise and input costs ease, suggesting production may be higher in coming seasons. On the other hand, power outages, conflict, and logistics disruptions continue to constrain productivity, while investment indicators remain very weak.
Moreover, with food prices high and ongoing weakness in the labor market, household incomes remain under substantial pressure. Impacts on employment and income have been particularly large in states and regions more affected by the ongoing conflict. The combination of weak employment, fewer hours worked, and increased incidence of casual or self-employed work has reduced the earning capacity of many families. Wages dropped by an average of 15% in real terms between 2017 and 2022 and almost half of Myanmar households reported that their incomes declined over the course of 2022.
As a result, food security and nutrition appear to have worsened during the first half of 2023, with coping mechanisms becoming increasingly strained. According to a May 2023 World Bank survey, 48% of farming households worry about not having enough food, up from about 26% in May 2022. The survey also shows a notable drop in the consumption of nutritious foods such as milk, meat, fish, and eggs..."
Source/publisher:
World Bank
Date of publication:
2023-06-27
Date of entry/update:
2023-06-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Banking, Economic History
Language:
Format :
pdf pdf
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1.94 MB (Original version) - 61 pages 6.92 MB
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Description:
"This more comprehensive product now replaces the daily Flash Updates that were previously issued by OCHA Myanmar on Cyclone Mocha. This Sit Rep is produced by OCHA in collaboration with the seven operating humanitarian clusters and their sub-working groups in Myanmar. The humanitarian response section is not necessarily reflective of all humanitarian interventions undertaken on the ground but rather those voluntarily reported by partners.
HIGHLIGHTS
• The approval of the distribution and transportation plans for the Cyclone Mocha response in Rakhine and Chin remains pending. Significant conditions, imposed by the State Administration Council, remain in place for the replenishment of relief supplies from outside the country and some have not yet been approved.
• After humanitarian access was temporarily suspended in the cyclone-affected Rakhine state on 8 June, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator (RC/HC) a.i released a statement on 12 June, urging the State Administration Council to urgently re-instate the initial approval that was granted and allow life-saving assistance to resume.
• Meanwhile, efforts are underway to engage with the de facto authorities at the Nay Pyi Taw and regional level to try and expand access to people in need. This included high-level engagement with Union ministers by the RC/HC ai and UN agencies in Sittwe.
• Despite the humanitarian access restrictions, aid organizations have been delivering vital assistance to cyclone-affected communities where they have authorizations and supplies. More than 144,000 affected people have received shelter and other essential relief items in Rakhine and other areas since the cyclone. However, only a fraction of damaged and destroyed shelters have reportedly been repaired, leaving thousands of people without a proper roof over their heads during the monsoon season and exposing them to overcrowding and lack of privacy in the few shelters that remain functional.
• Food assistance has reached almost 380,000 affected people in Rakhine alone.
• Nearly 12,500 people in Rakhine, the Northwest, and Kachin have received healthcare. Nutrition assistance has reached more than 7,000 children under 5 and more than 1,500 caregivers in 8 priority townships in Rakhine.
• Some 70 contaminated ponds in Ponnagyun, Rathedaung, and Sittwe townships were successfully de-watered.
• More than 300 child-friendly spaces were rebuilt in Rakhine and the Northwest, and more than 34,000 children and caregivers received psychosocial support and psychological first aid services.
• Continued financial support for the US$333 million Cyclone Mocha Flash Appeal is required to ensure timely procurement of vital supplies to address the needs of affected communities. According to the Financial Tracking Service, as of 16 June, only $21.7 million in additional funds has been received.
SITUATION OVERVIEW
One month on from Cyclone Mocha, the unexpected retraction of initial approval for cyclone distribution and transportation plans and the temporary suspension of existing travel authorizations (TAs) for humanitarian organizations in Rakhine by the de facto authorities, has impacted the humanitarian response across the state. This sudden decision has exacerbated the already dire living conditions of the cyclone-affected population as heavy rains and flooding from the monsoon season continue to impact areas already severely affected by the cyclone.
After humanitarian access was temporarily suspended in the cyclone-affected Rakhine state on 8 June, the RC/HC a.i released a statement on 12 June, urging the State Administration Council to urgently re-instate the initial approval that was granted and allow life-saving assistance to resume. The RC/HC a.i. and his delegation also met with the Union Ministers in Sittwe on 15 June and held extensive discussions on possible modalities of support to cyclone affected people in accordance with humanitarian principles, and about the importation of supplies into Myanmar. At the request of the de facto authorities, UN agencies in Sittwe also met with the relevant state officials and Union Ministers on 13 June. Engagement is expected to continue.
Despite the access limitations and the temporary suspension of regular activities for a week from 8 June, humanitarian organizations have reached an increasing number of people in need since the cyclone where they have authorizations and supplies. Shelter and relief items have been provided to more than 144,000 people in Rakhine and other areas, while food assistance has reached nearly 380,000 people in Rakhine alone. Healthcare services were provided to nearly 12,500 people in Rakhine, the Northwest, and Kachin, and nutrition assistance reached more than 7,000 children under 5 and more than 1,500 caregivers in 8 priority townships in Rakhine. Additionally, 70 contaminated ponds in Ponnagyun, Rathedaung, and Sittwe townships were successfully de-watered, and more than 300 child-friendly spaces (CFSs) were rebuilt in Rakhine and the Northwest. Psychosocial support (PSS) and psychological first aid (PFA) services were provided to more than 34,000 children and caregivers.
Humanitarian actors are hoping to continue to explore various avenues to scale-up their operations beyond their existing regular activities. Cyclone impacted communities have been calling for such a scale-up to supplement the ongoing efforts by the local authorities, private donors and civil society organizations. The centralization of decision making on TAs for the cyclone response, however, has now put that expansion on hold. Engagement at the Nay Pyi Taw and regional level will continue, with the aim to identify modalities for predictable and timely access to cyclone-affected areas in Rakhine and Chin to address the immediate and longer-term needs of the affected communities.
Scaled-up financial support is also urgently required to facilitate the timely procurement of vital supplies. According to the Financial Tracking Service (FTS), as of 16 June, US$21.7 million in additional funds has been received against the $333 million Cyclone Mocha Flash Appeal..."
Source/publisher:
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (New York) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2023-06-19
Date of entry/update:
2023-06-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Education in Burma/Myanmar - general, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Public Health, Human Rights and international relations
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Format :
pdf pdf
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302.77 KB 404.02 KB
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"FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT
Below‑average 2022 cereal production forecast
Cereal exports forecast to increase
Prices of rice at record high in May
Critical food security situation due to multiple shocks
Below‑average 2022 cereal output forecast
The 2022 cropping season will finalize in late June following the completion of the secondary crop harvests. The aggregate 2022 paddy production is forecast at 24.7 million tonnes, about 8 percent below the five‑year average. Despite a near‑average area planted, the poor performance is attributed to low yields as farmers faced challenges in accessing agricultural inputs, particularly agrochemicals, due to reduced availability and high prices. The aggregate 2022 maize production is estimated at a near‑average level of 2.1 million tonnes, 12 percent less the previous year. The area planted reached an above‑average level driven by robust export demand and remunerative domestic prices. However, constrained access to agricultural inputs and below‑average precipitation amounts in the key maize‑producing northern areas resulted in the lowest average yields since 2015.
Cereal production prospects for 2023 main crops, currently being planted and for harvest at the end of the year, are uncertain. Although the high cereal prices may encourage farmers to cultivate an above‑average area, shortages and elevated prices of agricultural inputs are likely to persist, potentially curtailing crop yields..."
Source/publisher:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Rome) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2023-06-14
Date of entry/update:
2023-06-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
604.43 KB
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Description:
"This more comprehensive product now replaces the daily Flash Updates that were previously issued by OCHA Myanmar on Cyclone Mocha. This Sit Rep is produced by OCHA in collaboration with the seven operating humanitarian clusters and their sub-working groups in Myanmar. The humanitarian response section is not necessarily reflective of all humanitarian interventions undertaken on the ground but rather those voluntarily reported by partners. Sit Reps are now being issued weekly.
HIGHLIGHTS
The humanitarian access situation in cyclone-hit Rakhine state has deteriorated with existing travel authorizations (TAs) for humanitarian organizations suspended this week pending new, centralized discussions in Nay Pyi Taw.
Initial approval for humanitarian distribution and transportation plans for cyclone-affected townships in Rakhine have also been rescinded pending further Nay Pyi Taw-level deliberations. Similar plans in Chin are also pending.
Some requests for the replenishment of relief supplies from outside the country have been approved, but with significant conditions. Others remain pending.
The suspension of access in Rakhine brings a stop to activities that have been reaching hundreds of thousands of people.
To date, more than 110,000 affected people have received shelter and other essential relief items.
Food assistance had reached almost 300,000 affected people in Rakhine state alone.
In Rakhine, partners were distributing seeds and organic fertilizers to provide families with food to eat and sell. Further scaled-up distributions of agricultural inputs are critical to combating food insecurity in affected areas over the months ahead and are now also on pause.
Humanitarians have also been prioritizing the wellbeing of children in the response, including through the establishment of hundreds of mobile and temporary child-friendly spaces, and the distribution of critical child safety messaging to nearly 28,000 people across Rakhine and the Northwest.
The suspension of activities in Rakhine could not have come at worse time with the monsoon arriving. An urgent scale-up of the response is needed, expanding activities that had already been underway in the impact zone and adding to assistance being distributed by a range of local authorities and civil society organizations in different areas.
SITUATION OVERVIEW
The monsoon season has arrived in Myanmar, further worsening the living situation facing people whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Cyclone Mocha in mid-May. Heavy rains and some flooding were observed in areas that were already heavily impacted, further hampering the recovery process for people whose coping capacities are already stretched to the limit.
Against this backdrop, access restrictions have escalated. Existing TAs that had been facilitating assistance delivery in Rakhine have been suspended pending centralized discussions in Nay Pyi Taw through the Disaster Management Committee. Using these existing approvals, humanitarians had been reaching a growing number of people in need. More than 113,200 people in the affected areas have received shelter and other relief items, while food assistance has reached more than 293,800 people in Rakhine alone. In addition, humanitarians have been working to ensure cyclone-affected children are looked after with the establishment of 240 mobile and temporary child-friendly spaces in Rakhine and the Northwest. These spaces provide safe environments for children to engage in recreational activities and receive vital psychosocial support after the trauma and disruption they have experienced. Approximately 28,000 people in Rakhine and the Northwest have also received important child safety messages.
Humanitarians had been hoping to scale-up their operations in the coming weeks, but this centralized decision on TAs now puts that on hold. Initial approval for humanitarian distribution and transport plans across 11 townships have also been rescinded pending additional deliberations in Nay Pyi Taw. Similar plans for Chin are also not yet approved.
Some import requests have been approved with conditions. Others remain pending. Flexible imports are critical for the replenishment of supplies. Scaled-up financial support is also urgently required to facilitate the timely procurement of vital supplies. According to the Financial Tracking Service (FTS), as of 6 June, only US$8 million in additional funds has been received against the $333 million Cyclone Mocha Flash Appeal. This appeal aims to provide assistance to 1.6 million people most heavily impacted by the cyclone in Rakhine, Chin, Sagaing, Magway, and Kachin..."
Source/publisher:
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (New York) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2023-06-09
Date of entry/update:
2023-06-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Education in Burma/Myanmar - general, Public Health, Human Rights and international relations
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"The tropical storm devastated coastal communities in Rakhine State, destroying homes, infrastructure and livelihoods.
Cyclone Mocha was one of the strongest cyclones ever recorded in Myanmar when it made landfall in Rakhine State on 14 May, causing widespread devastation. At its fiercest, windspeeds reached more than 250 kilometres per hour.
Almost 7.9 million people are estimated to have been in the cyclone’s path, which caused severe damage as it moved inland to the country’s northwest. The humanitarian community in Myanmar has launched a Flash Appeal to raise US$333 million to assist 1.6 million people.
The scale of the work needed to recover is immense. The communities hit hardest were already among the most impoverished and disadvantaged in Myanmar, suffering years of conflict, displacement, and economic marginalization. Rakhine has the second-highest poverty rate in the country, with two-thirds of people living below the poverty line.
In Rakhine State, some 1.9 million people have been affected. The de facto authorities report that at least 145 people died in the cyclone, although other sources put this higher.
The storm surge and winds in Sittwe, the state’s capital, damaged almost every building. Bridges collapsed, fishing boats were left in ruins, and healthcare facilities and schools were destroyed.
About 1,182 square kilometres of land were flooded, killing livestock, and contaminating drinking water and farmland.
Prices of food and the supplies needed to repair damaged homes and infrastructure have soared.
UNDP is responding to immediate needs, reaching more than 44,000 people so far. We are focused on helping communities recover as quickly as possible and supporting people to rebuild their livelihoods so they can get back on their feet.
The first order of business is to repair infrastructure and clear roads. This enables businesses to stay open, aid to be delivered and essential services to resume.
UNDP provides people carrying out this work an income, with most of the participants being women and people from internal displacement camps.
Ma Mya Win, who fled fighting to a camp in Sittwe in 2019 and participated in UNDP’s debris clearance, said; “I have become jobless as the tailor shop I used to work in was destroyed by the cyclone. The building collapsed to the ground. The owner has been trying to rebuild it, but it is complicated as the price of the construction materials is double what they used to be.
“I am thankful I found this job while waiting to be back to my tailoring job. I will use this money to buy food for my family. As you know, the food price in Sittwe doubled, and it is difficult for us to feed the children. And the back-to-school season is coming soon [in June] and that money would really help me buy stationery and pay tuition fees for my child.”
Our teams are also distributing seeds and organic fertilizer to provide families with both food to eat and sell, as well as supplies to fix their homes before the monsoon rains come.
With drinking water ponds inundated with salt water and mud, UNDP is drilling new boreholes, and cleaning wells. This is vital to prevent the spread of waterborne diseases.
UNDP has also brought people together through community kitchens in Sittwe, covering food and labour costs while local residents cook for as many as 1,000 people.
UNDP is well-placed for both short- and long-term recovery, with a well-established presence in Rakhine State and a wide network of trusted partners. As soon as possible, we will also begin repairing critical infrastructure such as the bridges and village embankments that protect agricultural land.
Other plans include providing support to fishers and farmers to restart their work, helping small businesses to gain access to markets and cash, and ensuring that women have equal employment opportunities.
“The road to recovery for those affected by Cyclone Mocha will be long, but UNDP is ready to meet people’s critical and immediate needs,” said Titon Mitra, UNDP Myanmar Resident Representative.
“We will help people rebuild their livelihoods as quickly as possible so they can earn a stable income and be more resilient to future disasters. We are committed to helping communities rebuild stronger, and ensuring support is sustainable for the weeks, months and years ahead.”..."
Source/publisher:
United Nations Development Programme (New York)
Date of publication:
2023-06-06
Date of entry/update:
2023-06-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNDP - Burma/Myanmar, Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Flooding in Burma/Myanmar, Natural Disasters - General
Language:
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Description:
"This more comprehensive product now replaces the daily Flash Updates that were previously issued by OCHA Myanmar on Cyclone Mocha. This Sit Rep is produced by OCHA in collaboration with the seven operating humanitarian clusters and their sub-working groups in Myanmar. The humanitarian response section is not necessarily reflective of all humanitarian interventions undertaken on the ground but rather those voluntarily reported by partners. The next Sit Rep will be issued on Wednesday, 7 June 2023.
HIGHLIGHTS
The humanitarian response in cyclone-affected areas continues to expand, however much wider access is still needed to reach the 1.6 million people targeted as part of the Cyclone Mocha Flash Appeal across Rakhine, Chin, Magway, Sagaing, and Kachin.
More than 95,000 people in areas affected by the cyclone have received shelter and other relief items.
Almost 267,000 people have received food assistance, and approximately 3,380 metric tons of rice and high-energy biscuits have been distributed to cyclone-affected people in Rakhine.
Between 25 and 31 May 2023, health partners conducted more than 7,800 consultations in the most severely affected townships.
With the scale-up in the response, the looming monsoon and a low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal, the replenishment of humanitarian supplies from Yangon and overseas is becoming increasingly urgent.
The swift approval of transport and importation requests, a detailed two-week distribution plan, and further travel authorizations (TAs) for the cyclone response are imperative to meet immediate shelter needs and prevent waterborne disease outbreaks.
Generous funding is also vital to support the scaling up of humanitarian operations, facilitate procurement, transport, and distribution of supplies, and ensure the well-being of affected communities. As of 2 June, the Cyclone Mocha Flash Appeal has received US$4.6 million according to FTS.
Simultaneously, local authorities have been working to support recovery through debris clearance and the restoration of power, water and telecommunication services in Rakhine. In parallel, other actors are also providing support to the recovery effort, including in rural areas.
SITUATION OVERVIEW
Humanitarian response operations continue to expand through organizations with new and existing TAs across the cyclonestricken regions of Rakhine, Chin, Magway, Sagaing, and Kachin, with shelter and food assistance particularly gathering pace. More than 95,240 people in areas affected by the cyclone have received shelter and other relief items. More than 266,500 people have received food assistance, and approximately 3,380 metric tons of rice and high-energy biscuits (33 per cent of the total plan) have been distributed to cyclone-affected people in Rakhine. In the Northwest, food distribution for 78,000 people in Magway is pending approval. Between 25 and 31 May 2023, health partners conducted more than 7,800 consultations in the most severely affected townships of Rakhine, the Northwest, and Kachin, ensuring access to essential healthcare services. However, this work is still only meeting a fraction of overall needs and wider access for distributions is desperately required. The clock is ticking with the monsoon looming and another low-pressure area being closely monitored in the Bay of Bengal. Severe damage to agricultural land, loss of livestock and damage to the fishing fleet are also shaping as major food security issues over the weeks ahead.
Approval is pending for the transport of supplies from warehouses inside the country and from outside Myanmar. Approval is also pending for a twoweek distribution and related travel authoritzation for Rakhine and Chin.
Timely approval of these requests will allow partner organizations to provide safe shelter, address immediate needs, avert potential waterborne disease outbreaks, and mitigate against protection risks.
Local authorities have been working on recovery measures in priority areas, particularly in Sittwe and Rathedaung. Debris clearance from Sittwe's streets has improved access to areas that were previously blocked by fallen trees and collapsed electricity poles. Power is gradually being restored to most of the affected regions, and the repair of streetlights along Sittwe town's main thoroughfares has enhanced visibility and safety.
Telecommunication services are also coming back online which is vital to engage with the cyclone affected communities as well as for effective coordination and timely response efforts among partners working across the various townships. Work has also been underway to repair schools and deliver water in Rathedaung, Kyauktaw, and Sittwe townships. A 14 member ASEAN Emergency Response and Assessment Team (ERAT) was deployed to Rakhine to support assessments and response by the Department of Disaster Management (DDM). They have now wrapped up their work.
In parallel, other actors are also providing support to the recovery efforts, including in rural areas. They have also been measuring the impact in affected communities and delivering assistance to the extent of their resources and access. Civil society organizations, private donors and religious networks are working to support affected communities. Communities themselves have also swung into action, clearing debris from blocked roads, and providing shelter to those who have lost their homes.
Funding is critically needed to support the scale-up of humanitarian operations, facilitating urgent procurement, transport, and distribution of vital supplies to support affected communities. According to Financial Tracking System (FTS), as of 2 June, $4.6 million in additional funds has been received for the $333 million Cyclone Mocha Flash Appeal, which seeks to support 1.6 million people affected by the cyclone in Rakhine, Chin, Sagaing, Magway, and Kachin..."
Source/publisher:
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (New York) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2023-06-03
Date of entry/update:
2023-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Education in Burma/Myanmar - general, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Public Health, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
499.92 KB
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Description:
"This more comprehensive product now replaces the daily Flash Updates that were previously issued by OCHA Myanmar on Cyclone Mocha. This Sit Rep is produced by OCHA in collaboration with the seven operating humanitarian clusters and their sub-working groups in Myanmar. The humanitarian response section is not necessarily reflective of all humanitarian interventions undertaken on the ground but rather those voluntarily reported by partners. The next Sit Rep will be issued on Wednesday, 7 June 2023.
HIGHLIGHTS
The humanitarian response in cyclone-affected areas continues to expand, however much wider access is still needed to reach the 1.6 million people targeted as part of the Cyclone Mocha Flash Appeal across Rakhine, Chin, Magway, Sagaing, and Kachin.
More than 95,000 people in areas affected by the cyclone have received shelter and other relief items.
Almost 267,000 people have received food assistance, and approximately 3,380 metric tons of rice and high-energy biscuits have been distributed to cyclone-affected people in Rakhine.
Between 25 and 31 May 2023, health partners conducted more than 7,800 consultations in the most severely affected townships.
With the scale-up in the response, the looming monsoon and a low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal, the replenishment of humanitarian supplies from Yangon and overseas is becoming increasingly urgent.
The swift approval of transport and importation requests, a detailed two-week distribution plan, and further travel authorizations (TAs) for the cyclone response are imperative to meet immediate shelter needs and prevent waterborne disease outbreaks.
Generous funding is also vital to support the scaling up of humanitarian operations, facilitate procurement, transport, and distribution of supplies, and ensure the well-being of affected communities. As of 2 June, the Cyclone Mocha Flash Appeal has received US$4.6 million according to FTS.
Simultaneously, local authorities have been working to support recovery through debris clearance and the restoration of power, water and telecommunication services in Rakhine. In parallel, other actors are also providing support to the recovery effort, including in rural areas.
SITUATION OVERVIEW
Humanitarian response operations continue to expand through organizations with new and existing TAs across the cyclonestricken regions of Rakhine, Chin, Magway, Sagaing, and Kachin, with shelter and food assistance particularly gathering pace. More than 95,240 people in areas affected by the cyclone have received shelter and other relief items. More than 266,500 people have received food assistance, and approximately 3,380 metric tons of rice and high-energy biscuits (33 per cent of the total plan) have been distributed to cyclone-affected people in Rakhine. In the Northwest, food distribution for 78,000 people in Magway is pending approval. Between 25 and 31 May 2023, health partners conducted more than 7,800 consultations in the most severely affected townships of Rakhine, the Northwest, and Kachin, ensuring access to essential healthcare services. However, this work is still only meeting a fraction of overall needs and wider access for distributions is desperately required. The clock is ticking with the monsoon looming and another low-pressure area being closely monitored in the Bay of Bengal. Severe damage to agricultural land, loss of livestock and damage to the fishing fleet are also shaping as major food security issues over the weeks ahead.
Approval is pending for the transport of supplies from warehouses inside the country and from outside Myanmar. Approval is also pending for a twoweek distribution and related travel authoritzation for Rakhine and Chin.
Timely approval of these requests will allow partner organizations to provide safe shelter, address immediate needs, avert potential waterborne disease outbreaks, and mitigate against protection risks.
Local authorities have been working on recovery measures in priority areas, particularly in Sittwe and Rathedaung. Debris clearance from Sittwe's streets has improved access to areas that were previously blocked by fallen trees and collapsed electricity poles. Power is gradually being restored to most of the affected regions, and the repair of streetlights along Sittwe town's main thoroughfares has enhanced visibility and safety.
Telecommunication services are also coming back online which is vital to engage with the cyclone affected communities as well as for effective coordination and timely response efforts among partners working across the various townships. Work has also been underway to repair schools and deliver water in Rathedaung, Kyauktaw, and Sittwe townships. A 14 member ASEAN Emergency Response and Assessment Team (ERAT) was deployed to Rakhine to support assessments and response by the Department of Disaster Management (DDM). They have now wrapped up their work.
In parallel, other actors are also providing support to the recovery efforts, including in rural areas. They have also been measuring the impact in affected communities and delivering assistance to the extent of their resources and access. Civil society organizations, private donors and religious networks are working to support affected communities. Communities themselves have also swung into action, clearing debris from blocked roads, and providing shelter to those who have lost their homes.
Funding is critically needed to support the scale-up of humanitarian operations, facilitating urgent procurement, transport, and distribution of vital supplies to support affected communities. According to Financial Tracking System (FTS), as of 2 June, $4.6 million in additional funds has been received for the $333 million Cyclone Mocha Flash Appeal, which seeks to support 1.6 million people affected by the cyclone in Rakhine, Chin, Sagaing, Magway, and Kachin..."
Source/publisher:
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (New York) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2023-06-02
Date of entry/update:
2023-06-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Education in Burma/Myanmar - general, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Public Health, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
Format :
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Size:
499.92 KB 631.82 KB
more
Description:
"This more comprehensive product now replaces the daily Flash Updates that were previously issued by OCHA Myanmar on Cyclone Mocha. This Sit Rep is produced by OCHA in collaboration with the seven operating humanitarian clusters and their sub-working groups in Myanmar. The humanitarian response section is not necessarily reflective of all humanitarian interventions undertaken on the ground but rather those voluntarily reported by partners. The next Sit Rep will be issued on 2 June 2023.
HIGHLIGHTS
Two weeks after Cyclone Mocha hit western Myanmar safe shelter remains a key priority for cyclone-affected people who have been left without a roof over their head as the monsoon approaches. Cyclone Mocha has exposed significant safety and security challenges for cyclone affected communities.
To date, shelter and other relief items have been distributed to more than 63,000 people.
More than 230,000 people have received food assistance but household food reserves are dwindling, and communities are having difficulty buying food due to price rises and crop damage. Loss of agricultural inputs and livestock is a growing problem.
The cyclone has created an education emergency with approximately 80 per cent of schools and educational infrastructure reportedly sustaining damage ahead of the start of the new school term. Work is underway to reinstate Temporary Learning Spaces (TLSs), disseminate learning kits to children, and restore schools and learning centers to operation.
While humanitarians continue to ramp up support where they have authorizations and supplies, so far it has only been possible to reach a fraction of the 1.6 million people identified for assistance in the $333 million Flash Appeal launched last week.
Wider access for distributions is urgently needed, along with permission to transport humanitarian supplies from in-country warehouses and into Myanmar from other countries. Detailed plans for the transport and distribution of supplies have been shared and are pending approval.
Pledges of additional funding from generous donors have started arriving, but much more is needed to adequately support vulnerable people and ensure prompt distributions of critical supplies.
SITUATION OVERVIEW
Two weeks have passed since Cyclone Mocha struck Myanmar the humanitarian response is gathering pace but aid agencies still require more supplies, expanded access and additional funds to distribute assistance at-scale. Needs are enormous across all communities. The consequences of the cyclone reach far beyond the physical destruction of houses and public infrastructure, with a range of safety risks now also threatening the well-being of the affected population. These risks include the movement of unexploded ordnance (UXOs) in flooded areas, instances of sexual and gender-based violence, loss of civil documentation, looting, extortion, and robbery. Such risks pose a direct threat to affected communities, potentially exacerbating negative coping mechanisms such as high interest borrowing and children begging due to the lack of job opportunities of their parents. This situation increases the likelihood of child labor, exploitation, and abuse.
The cyclone's impact has eroded community support systems among affected populations. Reports from partners on the ground indicate that parents are struggling to adequately care for their children while they are rebuilding their damaged homes or are seeking employment to sustain their families. Of particular concern is the situation faced by displaced communities, that are currently enduring overcrowded living conditions that lack privacy, sanitation, and proper lighting in many areas. These conditions pose the risk of sexual abuse and harassment, particularly targeting women and adolescent girls. Adding to the gravity of the situation is the destruction or damage to most of the Women and Girls’ Centers in the affected areas.
Despite ongoing access challenges, humanitarian partners are ensuring that field observations continue in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the cyclone's impact, especially among vulnerable groups. Simultaneously, those who have access are intensifying their response efforts, delivering critical and lifesaving assistance to affected communities in the Rakhine, Chin, Magway, Sagaing, and Kachin..."
Source/publisher:
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (New York) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2023-05-31
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-31
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Education in Burma/Myanmar - general, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Public Health, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
504.49 KB
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Description:
"This more comprehensive product now replaces the daily Flash Updates which were previously being issued by OCHA Myanmar on Cyclone Mocha. This Sit Rep is produced by OCHA in collaboration with the seven operating clusters and their sub-working groups in Myanmar. The humanitarian response section is not necessarily reflective of all humanitarian interventions undertaken on the ground but rather those voluntarily reported by partners. The next Sit Rep will be issued on or around 30 May 2023.
HIGHLIGHTS
• With the monsoon looming, the humanitarian community is in a race against time to respond to a shelter, water, sanitation and food emergency in areas most heavily affected by Cyclone Mocha that smashed Myanmar on 14 May.
• Aid organizations have been delivering assistance where they have stocks and approval, but more supplies, wider access and increased funding are urgently needed to deliver an operation at-scale and meet needs across all communities.
• Based on discussions in Nay Pyi Taw, a detailed two-week distribution plan has been submitted for approval, along with transportation plans for the movement of stocks within Myanmar and from outside the country.
• The humanitarian community has launched a Flash Appeal seeking $333 million to provide assistance to 1.6 million people affected by Cyclone Mocha. Immediate funding is crucial to support vulnerable populations in the hardest-hit zones across Rakhine, Chin, Magway, Sagaing, and Kachin.
• Shelter and other relief items are being distributed where access is possible with 7,700 households reached so far across 8 townships in Rakhine, while cash assistance for shelter repairs has been distributed in the Northwest.
• Distribution of drinking water and hygiene kits has also continued. More than 30,000 litres of drinking water have been distributed to affected villages and displacement camps and sites in Rakhine over the past few days, while more than 4,500 affected households in at least six townships in Chin and Magway are already being provided with hygiene kits. Increased cases of Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD) have already been recorded.
• Immediate assistance is needed to provide food to vulnerable populations. So far since the cyclone, at least 107,000 people have been reached with food support by WFP across all communities in Rakhine alone. In Rakhine in total, more than 2,000 metric tons of rice and mixed food commodities and 111 metric tons of high energy biscuits have been distributed to food insecure people since the cyclone.
• Distributions have also been underway in the Northwest. The agriculture and fishery sectors have been badly hit, causing a severe loss of assets crucial for livelihoods and posing a longer-term threat to food security.
• Health services are being provided, but damaged infrastructure poses challenges. Many township hospital buildings, IDP camp clinics, and rural health centers have been impacted, Mobile health teams are operating where they can.
• Explosive ordnance (EO), loss of civil documentation, mental health, overcrowding, and separation of children from caregivers are significant protection issues. Partners are delivering EO safety messages, conducting reunifications, establishing child-friendly spaces, providing awareness-raising messages, and offering psychosocial support wherever possible. Continued efforts are needed to address these protection immediate safety and wellbeing concerns.
SITUATION OVERVIEW
Extremely Severe Cyclone Mocha made landfall in Myanmar’s Rakhine state on 14 May packing winds of 250 kmph as it approached the coast, making it one of the strongest cyclones on record to hit the country. The cyclone has devastated coastal areas, leaving hundreds of thousands of already vulnerable people without a roof over their heads with the monsoon just weeks away. The cyclone also brough heavy damage as it advanced inland bringing strong wind, heavy rain and flooding across areas in Chin, Sagaing, Magway and Kachin.
An estimated 7.9 million people experienced winds in excess of 90km/h, with 3.4 million facing destructive winds over 120 km/h. The strength of shelters and pre-existing vulnerabilities are emerging as the key determining factors in the severity of impact and needs. Barely a home has escaped damage in the state capital Sittwe and in Rathedaung where the impact of the cyclone was strongest. An estimated 85 per cent of the shelters in IDP camps and sites are thought to have been destroyed. Many of those most severely affected are now living in temporary sites, in monasteries or in the open. A massive debris clearance and rebuilding effort has been underway across the impact zone since the cyclone with local authorities working to gradually reconnect telecommunications and electricity services particularly in the state capital Sittwe. Schools have been heavily affected, and efforts are underway to have learning facilities available for the start of the school term in June. Health facilities have also been badly damaged.
In the Northwest, severe flooding affected more than 120,000 people across Chin, Sagaing, and Magway, with an estimated 150 villages and wards across 20 townships impacted. Infrastructure has been damaged and destroyed while floods have washed away animals, crops and personal belongings. Over 300 community learning centers were partially or totally damaged, with roofs ripped off and walls broken.
Cyclone Mocha also significantly impacted the agriculture and fishery sectors across all affected areas and communities, causing a severe loss of assets crucial for livelihoods. Furthermore, the cyclone exacerbated pre-existing humanitarian needs arising from years of conflict, displacement, statelessness, the COVID-19 pandemic, and economic instability. Post-cyclone, markets have reopened but with surging prices for basic shelter materials and food, straining the already impoverished population. Local communities have begun clearing debris and cleaning up, and telecommunications are gradually stabilizing.
Despite access issues, ongoing conflict, and communications difficulties, humanitarian partners with access have scaled-up their support, providing critical and lifesaving assistance to affected communities in Rakhine, Chin, Magway and Sagaing, as well as Kachin..."
Source/publisher:
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (New York) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2023-05-27
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Education in Burma/Myanmar - general, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Public Health, Human Rights and international relations
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"Changes in Context
Throughout 2022, the people of Myanmar faced an unprecedented political, human rights, and humanitarian crisis that posed grave protection risks for civilians, limiting access to vital services including health and education, and causing worsening food insecurity. Humanitarian needs deepened across the country as conflict raged unabated, causing record levels of displacement, destruction of property, and explosive ordnance contamination, especially in the country’s Northwest and Southeast.
Forced recruitment of civilians, including of children, by armed groups jumped dramatically in 2022, while the use of heavy weapons such as airstrikes and artillery fire resulted in civilian casualties, damage to properties and constant threats to civilian safety. Access for humanitarian responders was heavily constrained, with bureaucratic blockages around registration, travel, banking, and visas, undermining the quality and reach of operations. Throughout the year, surging inflation forced up the prices of essential commodities, food items, and fuel, adding to financial stress for vulnerable households, worsening poverty and increasing the cost of humanitarian operations. Despite these barriers, humanitarians stayed and delivered, reaching a record 4.4 million people in need.
Expansion of conflict
Clashes and attacks escalated across multiple states and regions in Myanmar throughout 2022, affecting the lives of civilians on a much wider scale, further compounding their already stressed living conditions.
Fighting between the Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) and various Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) and People’s Defence Forces (PDFs) escalated, particularly in the Northwest and Southeast, in 2022. The humanitarian and security situations in the Southeast deteriorated, with armed clashes and heavy use of air strikes and shelling occurring in all states and regions. Fighting in Kayin escalated in Lay Kay Kaw Town in Myawaddy Township in December 2021 resulting in the displacement of thousands of civilians both within the state and across Myanmar’s borders. Intense armed clashes occurred in many townships in eastern Bago, Kayah, Mon, southern Shan, and Tanintharyi. The presence of military troops in residential areas, reports of indiscriminate shooting, destruction of civilian properties, including houses, schools, churches and monasteries, and reports of landmine incidents in multiple locations across the country’s southeast all remained major protection concerns at year’s end.
The security situation in Chin, Magway and Sagaing in the Northwest continued to deteriorate throughout the year, with a dramatic increase in the number of displaced people and growing civilian protection threats amid armed clashes between the MAF and various PDFs. Large-scale burning and destruction of civilian properties was reported across the Northwest. As of 26 December 2022, more than 795,000 people remained displaced across the Northwest due to conflict and insecurity since the 2021 military takeover (68 per cent of all new IDPs nationwide).
Disruption of electricity and internet services in various parts of Myanmar, particularly in conflictaffected areas in the Northwest and Southeast, significantly hindered information-sharing and other communications among residents, undermining remote humanitarian assessments and engagement with affected people. Despite the growing humanitarian needs reported during the year, heavy restrictions were imposed on the transportation of rice, medicine, and fuel in conflict areas.
The situation in Rakhine and southern Chin, which had remained relatively calm since November 2020 following the lull in fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and the MAF, again turned towards active conflict in August 2022. The use of heavy weapons, airstrikes, landmines, and mortar shelling occurred in multiple townships, mainly in Buthidaung, Maungdaw, and Rathedaung in northern Rakhine and Kyauktaw, Minbya, and Mrauk-U in central Rakhine. In a new dynamic, conflict between the AA and the MAF also spread into southern Rakhine in 2022. Security measures across many townships limited people’s movement, partially obstructing the delivery of humanitarian assistance. On 15 September 2022, the de facto authorities prohibited international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) and the United Nations from accessing six key townships – Buthidaung, Maungdaw, Minbya, Mrauk-U,
Myebon, and Rathedaung. An additional two townships were also added in early November (Pauktaw and Sittwe). An informal ceasefire was reached between the AA and the MAF later in November which allowed for the relaxation of some movement restrictions and at year’s end humanitarian partners were working to use the window of opportunity to deliver and pre-position much-needed supplies in communities that had been cut off during the preceding months of fighting.
This new outbreak of conflict placed Myanmar at ACAPS' highest ranking for the risk of ‘‘rapid and marked deterioration” within an existing crisis.4 It affected both Rohingya and Rakhine communities who have been caught between the two forces. Overall, close to 23,350 people remained displaced in Rakhine and Paletwa Township of Chin as a result of the resumed conflict between the AA and the MAF, bringing the total number of IDPs from past and present AA-MAF conflict to close to 97,000, as of 5 December 2022, according to UN figures. IDPs from this conflict are now being encouraged to return home by the de facto authorities but there are concerns that this is premature given that many people’s land or houses have been occupied, and because people’s places of origin are now contaminated by explosive ordnance. Efforts are being made to ensure that all returns are voluntary, safe and dignified.
The situation in northern Shan remained unstable in 2022 with continued clashes between the MAF and EAOs and among EAOs. Moreover, PDFs have become more involved in the conflict in northern Shan. The armed clashes led to multiple cases of new displacement. According to UN figures, as of 26 December 2022, approximately 8,300 people remained in temporary displacement sites and protracted camps in northern Shan, while 61,900 people (including IDPs displaced from Kayah) remained displaced in southern Shan.
In Kachin, armed conflict that resumed between the MAF and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) following the 2021 military takeover continued in many townships throughout 2022. The intensification of armed clashes varied from roadside attacks to aerial bombardment and deployment of heavy weapons. The involvement of PDFs in the fighting became more frequent in 2022, as many formed alliances with the KIA against the MAF. Airstrikes with dozens of civilian casualties were also reported across Kachin. As of 26 December 2022, an estimated 13,600 people were internally displaced in Kachin because of fighting and insecurity since the February 2021 military takeover, according to the UN’s figures. This is in addition to the 91,500 people who were already displaced prior to 2021..."
Source/publisher:
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (New York) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2023-04-11
Date of entry/update:
2023-04-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Education in Burma/Myanmar - general, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
6.17 MB
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Description:
"9/03/2023
Women farmers are often more knowledgeable about traditional farming practices and have a deep understanding of the local environment.
Women farmers in Myanmar, have an important role and contributions in country’s economic growth, good production, value chain and food system sustainability. They play a diverse role in agriculture and make enormous contributions not only cultivating crops, but also helping their families, rearing animals for food or trade and working in forestry and fisheries sectors. They are involved in a range of farming activities, including planting, harvesting, processing, and marketing of crops which are important sources of nutrition for people in the country.
Despite this, they are facing significant challenges such as limited access to land, credit, and technology and training, they have been able to achieve certain success in the agriculture sector through their hard work and innovation. The protracted crisis in Myanmar has severely negatively impacted agriculture sector in Myanmar. While food insecurity is already a problem, significant reduction of food production is anticipated due to restrictions on local travels and on private transport services hampering preparations of farm operations, procurement of seeds and other agricultural inputs, rising prices of the inputs and loss of access to export market.
The January 2023 data in Emergencies Monitoring brief produced by FAO and WFP found that households in conflict-affected areas, rural households, female-headed households, households with debt, and those vulnerable to economic shocks had the worst food security outcomes.
44 years old Daw Aye Aye Mon has three family members and lives in Letpadan Township, Bago region, and leads them in farming. The family has a few small businesses such as a grinding powder mill and a small biomass power plant, but agriculture is their main sources of income. She normally grows rice in the monsoon season and black gram in the winter season but due to the ongoing crisis, farmers like Daw Aye Aye Mon have had to think innovatively to try and increase food production.
Since September 2021, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) together with its partner have been implementing a pilot project in three townships of Ayeyarwady, Yangon and Bago Regions to promote double monsoon rice (DMR) cropping system in low land areas to boost rice production for social and economic wellbeing as well as considering it as a coping mechanism for any possible disaster in the future. The project helps rice producers to establish DMR, introduce suitable varieties, provide farm inputs and agricultural techniques, linkage with possible inputs and outputs markets, technical service providers and financial institutions.
What is double monsoon rice?
Normally, most of the farmers grow only medium or long-term rice variety in a monsoon season. Double Monsoon Rice (DMR) is a technique in which farmers can grow two paddy crops in a monsoon season; immediately growing the second crop once the first crop is harvested.
Prior to the project, Daw Aye Aye Mon had already thought of this idea but was lacking the technique and resources to get the short-term rice variety for the first and the second crop. In early 2022, when FAO project started implementation in her village and introduced the DMR project, Daw Aye Aye Mon enthusiastically participated in pilot demonstration of the DMR cropping in two acres of her farmland. Additionally, she received farm inputs from the project such as qualified seeds and fertilizers, operation costs which includes all machinery costs and labour costs.
While many other farmers are reluctant to participate in the pilot demonstration, for Daw Aye Aye Mon, the DMR pilot project came at the right time. The progressive farmer saw the potential of this technique and how it would be beneficial for her farmland.
“I was very interested to involve myself in the double monsoon rice cultivation and to understand the practice of this new system as I foresee this providing more income for my family”
Daw Aye Aye Mon has shown innovation in adopting other new farming practices that would help her to increase yields and improve food security. Although she was also burdened with domestic responsibilities and managing her livelihood activities in her daily life, she have demonstrated adaptability by learning new techniques and approaches to farming. She has been able to adapt to changing environmental conditions and market demands by switching crops and implementing new technologies..."
Source/publisher:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Date of publication:
2023-03-09
Date of entry/update:
2023-03-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research
Language:
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Description:
"ABSTRACT
Evidence is scarce on how conflict affects technology adoption and consequent agricultural productivity in fragile states, an important topic given the high share of the extreme poor living in fragile environments globally. Our study contributes to filling this knowledge gap by using unique large-scale data on rice producers in Myanmar before and after a military coup in 2021, leading to a surge of conflicts in the country. We find that the increase in violent events significantly changed rice productivity. Specifically, increases in fatal violent events between 2020 and 2021 reduced rice Total Factor Productivity (TFP) – a measure of how efficiently agricultural inputs are used to produce rice – by about 4 percent on average in the short-run. Moreover, poorer farmers are more affected by conflict, as seen through an increased output elasticity to agricultural equipment owned, indicating reduced output resilience for less-capital owning, and therefore poorer, farmers. This seems partly due to reduced access to agricultural extension services, which would otherwise help farmers maintain productivity, even with limited capital ownership, through substitution with human capital and skills. Lower mechanization service fees partly mitigate these effects. Our results consistently hold for both short- and long-run production functions, across various specifications, and in Upper and Lower Myanmar. These findings suggest that containing and reducing violent events is critical in restoring rice productivity. Improved access to extension services, as well as to cheap mechanization service provision to mitigate lack of equipment ownership, could compensate for these losses and boost the productivity of farmers, especially for those with less production capital, in such fragile settings..."
Source/publisher:
International Food Policy Research Institute (Washington, D.C.) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2023-02-24
Date of entry/update:
2023-02-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, Sustainable agriculture - Burma/Myanmar
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.56 MB
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Description:
"Uncertainty weighs on Myanmar’s economy
Yangon, January 30, 2023 – Myanmar’s economy remains subject to significant uncertainty, with ongoing conflict disrupting business operations, a World Bank report released today says.
While some firms are showing signs of resilience, household incomes remain weak, and Myanmar’s potential for inclusive growth has been severely weakened by recent shocks, according to the report, Myanmar Economic Monitor: Navigating Uncertainty.
Gradual economic recovery is expected in the near term and growth is estimated at 3 percent for the fiscal year ending September 2023. Even so, economic activity continues to be adversely affected by conflict, electricity shortages, and changing rules and regulations, with per capita GDP expected to remain about 13 percent below its pre-COVID-19 level. The depreciating kyat, combined with high global prices and ongoing logistics constraints, has caused import costs to rise sharply.
The cumulative impact of these shocks fuels inflation and further reduces real incomes. In July and August 2022, almost half of all households in the country reported income losses. Families have been reducing food and non-food consumption in response.
“Although business conditions improved toward the end of 2022, the recent economic indicators are mixed,” said World Bank Country Director for Myanmar, Cambodia, and the Lao PDR, Mariam Sherman. “While conflict remains, families suffer from insecurity and violence. Firms, particularly those in the agriculture sector, are experiencing higher costs and delays. Funding for critical health and education services is falling, and lack of trust in public services is increasing. These problems will hinder Myanmar’s long-term economic prosperity.”
Economic recovery from the shocks of COVID-19 and the military coup is likely to be constrained by macroeconomic and regulatory uncertainty. The gloomy global economic outlook, which affects Myanmar’s major trading partners including the United States, the European Union, and China, will further weigh on the country’s growth prospects.
Frequent changes to rules and regulations have led to greater uncertainty around access to foreign exchange and imports, reducing confidence in payment systems and delaying customs processes. Some businesses are findings ways to cope with the challenging conditions, through access to favorable exchange rates or exemptions from regulatory requirements. Others have switched to informal channels for payments and goods trade.
In the absence of more shocks, the economy is expected to expand slowly beyond 2023, but at rates well below those observed before the pandemic. Downside risks include the possibility that conflict may intensify in 2023, while geopolitical tensions could escalate. Growth is likely to suffer in the medium to long term as resources are taken from competitive and export-oriented areas. Lost months of education, with rapid increases in unemployment and internal displacement, will reduce already low levels of human capital and productive capacity over the long term.
Myanmar could strengthen economic growth by reconsidering its exchange rate policy, which causes high inflation, fiscal deficits, weak exports and low growth rates. The report recommends a more unified and market-oriented exchange rate system, which would help stabilize the economy, reduce inflation, boost trade, and minimize market distortions..."
Source/publisher:
World Bank
Date of publication:
2023-01-30
Date of entry/update:
2023-01-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Banking, Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
Format :
pdf pdf
Size:
2.51 MB 1.36 MB
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Description:
"Key highlights:
Based on the remote Consolidated Approach for Reporting Indicators of Food Security (rCARI), 27 percent of households are considered food insecure and, according to the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), 29 percent are recently moderately or severely food insecure.
The states and regions of Chin, Kayah, Kayin, Rakhine and Sagaing had the worst food security outcomes across all indicators.
The reliance on food-related coping strategies has increased, particularly the consumption of less preferred or less expensive food, employed by four out of ten households.
One in two households had to rely on crisis and emergency coping mechansisms that are more difficult to reverse and likely to reduce future income streams and production levels. Asset-depletion among farmers could be a contributing factor to poor production. Poor production is associated with food insecurity at a household level, but there are also concerns for future agricultural production.
Sustained retrenchment of the area planted compared to previous rounds was reported.
The 2022 main rainfed paddy crop, which accounts for more than 80 percent of the annual production, was expected to be below-average as harvest was approaching at the time of the survey. The share of farmers that reported a drop in production has grown from 45 percent in the second round, to 49 percent in the third round and 54 percent in the current round.
Farmers in Rakhine State expect particularly poor production. In Chin, Magway, Sagaing, Tanintharyi and Yangon, a high share of households also expect harvest to be below normal.
Forty-seven percent of livestock producers experienced a decrease in herd/flock size, particularly among swine and poultry producers. The incidence of livestock diseases decreased, and market access improved, but the share of reported difficulties accessing feed and pastures has increased.
Households in conflict-affected areas, rural households, female-headed households, households with debt, and those vulnerable to economic shocks had the worst food security outcomes.
These findings suggest a need for food assistance to the most vulnerable households and agricultural assistance to support production in the upcoming season..."
Source/publisher:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and World Food Programme via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2023-01-25
Date of entry/update:
2023-01-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
WFP (World Food Programme), Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
Format :
pdf
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814.8 KB
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Description:
"Context, crisis, impacts and needs The people of Myanmar continue to pay a high price for two years of political instability, sparked by the 1 February 2021 military takeover of the democratically elected National League For Democracy (NLD) Government. The takeover unleashed an unprecedented political, socioeconomic, and humanitarian crisis on top of the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, sending the country into a dangerous spiral of conflict and poverty. The political situation has prompted an escalation in fighting across the country, characterized by violations of iInternational Humanitarian Law (IHL) and International Human Rights Law (IHRL), including aerial bombardment, burning of homes,
and other indiscriminate attacks in civilian areas by the military, as well as use of land mines and other explosive ordnance (EO), and recruitment of minors by multiple armed actors. This has resulted in significant displacement, human suffering, asset depletion, rising food insecurity and reversal of many of the development gains made in recent years. Almost half the country is estimated to be living in poverty as a result of both the political situation and legacy impacts from the pandemic.
The spate of violence, including attacks and clashes, across Myanmar throughout 2022 had a severe impact on the physical and mental well-being of millions of people. Displacement surged to record levels in 2022. Nearly 1.2 million people have fled their homes since 1 February 2021, bringing the total number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Myanmar to a staggering 1.5 million as of 26 December 2022, with no signs that displacement is slowing down heading into 2023. On top of this, the rapid depreciation of the Myanmar Kyat, inflation, movement restrictions and active fighting are causing a reduction in food production and are pushing the price of food beyond the reach of many families.
Despite the immense needs and commitment of international and national organizations, humanitarian assistance and access to affected people remained heavily restricted in 2022, essentially increasing reliance on local networks of responders in conflict areas. Administrative barriers for travelauthorizations (TAs), incidents of detention and arrest of humanitarian actors, intimidation and harassment, and frequent security checkpoints all constrained humanitarian access to people in need in 2022. Restrictions on telecommunications and internet networks further hindered timely and safe humanitarian access and assistance to people in need.
Evolution of needs 2022-2023 With no respite from conflict or political and economic turbulence in sight, 2023 will be another year of dire struggle for the people of Myanmar. A total of 17.6 million people are expected to be in need of humanitarian assistance in 2023, up from 14.4 million last year and 1 million people before the military takeover. A third of those in need are children.
2023 is expected to witness continued political instability, ongoing or escalating armed conflict, persistent displacement, slow or stagnant economic growth, as well as continued interruptions and poor access to basic services. Continued or increased intensity and frequency of armed conflict will result in more communities being displaced: an additional 1.4 million people are projected to flee their homes in 2023, taking the total displaced population to 2.7 million. Protection risks, especially in hard-to-reach conflict areas, are expected to continue, including increased EO threats, forced recruitment, human trafficking, and human rights violations. Agricultural disruptions due to conflict and displacement, EO-contaminated land, and high input prices will have a serious impact on the national economy and food availability in the country.
The number of people experiencing food insecurity will rise to 15.2 million people in 2023, up from 13.2 million in 2022.
Scope of analysis Given the dramatic deterioration in the situation over the course of 2021 and 2022, the anticipated depth of needs in new areas, and the overall deterioration of the food security and livelihoods situation country- wide, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) has continued using the broader, national analysis of the humanitarian situation and needs in Myanmar in2023. The 2023 numbers reflect the unprecedented scale and humanitarian consequences of the current crisis, especially for women and children and other vulnerable groups. The methodology and scope of analysis frame the situation in Myanmar as a whole- of-country, complex and multi-dimensional crisis, where there are grave protection concerns and risks, and food insecurity is deepening, requiring scaled-up humanitarian, nexus and development interventions to stop people slipping into more severe need, including acute malnutrition.
Population groups The HCT will continue to deploy a vulnerability-sensitive approach in 2023 covering displaced, returned, stateless and crisis-affected people where they have humanitarian needs. The approach covers those who are more directly “shock-affected,” such as displaced populations, returned, resettled, or integrated IDPs, and non-displaced stateless people. A broader group of “other crisis-affected people with humanitarian needs” includes those affected by natural disasters; IDP host communities; people living in high conflict areas with restricted access to basic services to support their own survival; people with severe protection needs (employing negative coping mechanisms; victims of trafficking, exploitation and the most vulnerable migrants with humanitarian needs; EO victims; people with multiple vulnerabilities); non-displaced people in moderate or severe food insecurity or those who are facing malnutrition, people affected by other severe shocks who are unable to support their own survival.
In a bid to more accurately reflect and plan for the scale of displacement and IDP needs, the HCT has projected likely displacement through until the end of 2023. While actual displacement as of 26 December 2022 stands at 1.5 million, the Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) has anticipated that displacement will continue to grow at a similar rate as 2022 during 2023, meaning there would be 2.7 million people displaced and in need by year’s end. The Needs Monitoring and Analysis Working Group (NMA WG) used a combination of data to develop this common displacement planning figure including looking at movement trends, 2023 scenarios and assumptions,expert opinion, and a severity scale analysis on displacement drivers, trends, and the presence of armed groups. A similar planning figure has been projected for returns (512,000 people) and for those likely to need humanitarian assistance as a result of natural disasters in 2023 (50,000 people). This disaster impact figure was developed based on an analysis of historical trends which vary significantly from year-to- year, despite Myanmar being one of the most disaster- prone countries in the world.
This HNO applies protection, gender, age, disability, mental health, and accountability lenses to its analysis with sex and age disaggregated data used throughout, where it is available.
Humanitarian conditions, severity, and people in need The number of people estimated to have humanitarian needs was calculated using the globally-endorsed Joint Intersectoral Analysis Framework (JIAF) approach, which looks holistically at the needs facing people in Myanmar and measures the severity of these needs. This severity analysis shows that the spread of the crisis is such that the entire population of 56 million people is now facing some level of need.
Two thirds (67 per cent) are in stress, a quarter (23 per cent) are in severe need and almost one tenth (8 per cent) are facing extreme needs. In 2023, a much higher proportion of the population has been identified as being in these more serious needs categories compared to 2022, which is the result of the cumulative impact of expanding conflict, economic instability, negative coping strategies and unmet needs since the military takeover.
Two nationwide datasets were available and heavily relied on to inform this evidence-based analysis, providing a higher level of confidence in results than 2022 due to improved ability to verify and triangulate data. The first was a Multi-Sector Needs Analysis (MSNA) conducted across Myanmar for the first time using a hybrid approach with in person and remote data collection. The second was the latest round fo the joint Food Security and Livelihood Assessment by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), conducted between August and September 2022 in 14 regions and states. Together, these nationwide datasets were used to determine the severity of need and intersectoral vulnerability calculations, as well as forming the basis for much of the sectoral needs analyses. The Food Security and Livelihood Assessment, conducted in 2021 and also in April 2022, allows for comparisons of the food security situation over time, while the MSNA allows for a multi-sectoral understanding of needs across population groups..."
Source/publisher:
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (New York) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2023-01-15
Date of entry/update:
2023-01-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Climate Change - Burma/Myanmar: general, Biodiversity - global and regional, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
6.74 MB (Original version) - 119 pages
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Description:
"(Excerpt)
Key factors driving price changes
Kachin
Egg, rice, and onion price increases due to increased transportation costs in Putao, Tanai, and Mansi. In Hpakant increases in the price of rice due to vehicles carrying rice not allowed to pass.
Tanintharyi
Dawei, Yebyu - chickpea prices increased due to less stock and growing demand for pulses produced in Mon state. Most traders and shop owners order pulses from Mawlamyine.
Magway
Pakokku - less onions available on the market and scarcity of Sadawpe pulses during the growing season so prices increased. Magway and Minbu price of peanuts and peanut oil increased due to increased demand locally.
Central Rakhine
Traders mentioned the political situation and transport difficulties.
Yangon
North Okkalapa - onion and chickpea prices increased due to increased wholesale prices.
Shan
NawngHkit, Linhaw, Namtu - mixed oil and egg prices increased due to slightly higher transportation costs..."
Source/publisher:
World Food Programme (Rome) via reliefweb (New York)
Date of publication:
2023-01-03
Date of entry/update:
2023-01-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, WFP (World Food Programme)
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
2.06 MB
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Description:
"Executive summary.....
Globally, about 2 billion people live under a customary tenure system, which is a set
of rules and norms that govern local peoples’ use of forests, land and other natural
resources. This tenure and its accompanying rights are crucial to peoples’ livelihoods,
food security and culture, as well as to forest protection, biodiversity conservation and
climate change mitigation.
Customary tenure has long been insecure and, in many places, it is under growing
pressure. But it is also increasingly recognized through a variety of mechanisms, both
formal and informal. This report focuses on the recognition of customary tenure of
communities living in forested landscapes in Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic
Republic, Myanmar and Viet Nam and includes a case study from Thailand.
The report addresses a variety of questions: What is meant by the “recognition” of
customary tenure? What mechanisms can be used to strengthen communities’ tenure
security? How have these mechanisms been used in the Mekong region and what
are the remaining gaps or challenges? What are the opportunities to better integrate
customary tenure in ongoing interventions at the landscape, national and regional
levels? And what lessons can be learned for the region and beyond?
The report identifies three main pathways into which mechanisms for recognizing
customary tenure can be categorized: self-recognition by communities; joint recognition
by communities and others; and formal recognition in legal frameworks. It introduces
a conceptual framework for assessing these mechanisms, including by analysing
them through the lenses of rights, livelihoods, governance, gender equity and social
inclusion, customary and traditional practices and dispute resolution.
Ten case studies illustrate different approaches, often a mix of formal and informal
mechanisms that have been used to recognize customary tenure in five countries of the
Mekong region covered in this analysis.
The report also provides an updated account of customary tenure recognition within
legal frameworks, reflecting recent legal reforms in some countries. The analysis
shows that legal frameworks in all five countries have provisions enabling communities
to use and manage forests and natural resources. In most cases, however, these
provisions do not fully recognize customary rights and practices and come with various
responsibilities and conditions. Restrictions still apply to the scope of rights, the
geographical area and land-use types and the duration over which rights are granted.
The report identifies gaps and inconsistencies in legal frameworks and how they
are implemented. It suggests promising avenues for improving the recognition of
customary tenure and makes specific recommendations for each of the three pathways
of recognition. It also describes some entry points for improving recognition of
customary tenure that are relevant to most or all countries in the region. These include
improved coordination and information-sharing mechanisms, awareness-raising,
capacity-building, legal reforms and improved implementation of legal frameworks,
documentation, testing and safeguards..."
Source/publisher:
RECOFTC – The Center for People and Forests and Mekong Region Land Governance
Date of publication:
2022-12-09
Date of entry/update:
2022-12-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
International standards, mechanisms and guidelines relating to land, including tenure, Land research including land grabbing - global and regional, International resources on land rights and tenure, Law and policy on land in Burma/Myanmar, Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
3.42 MB (72 pages) - Original version
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Description:
"In this research note, we provide an overview of the state of food security and nutrition in Myanmar using a recently collected household dataset. We examine food security using a household hunger scale and a food consumption score. To examine the state of nutrition, we examine the diet quality of individuals across Myanmar for three separate but important sections of population: (1) adults (18+ years), (2) women of reproductive age (15-49 years), and (3) children (6-23 and 6-59 months). We explore these indicators using three rounds of the Myanmar Household Welfare Survey (MHWS) collected over the phone in the first three quarters of 2022 – hereafter Q1, Q2 and Q3 – among over 12,000 households in 310 townships of Myanmar. MWHS is a nationally, urban/rural and state/region representative phone survey (MAPSA 2022a). We use standard food security and diet diversity measures for each of the three subpopulations to examine trends over the three rounds as well as explore heterogeneity with respect to gender, location of residence, and asset and income-based welfare indicators. We also look at disaggregated consumption of the different food groups that constitute the diet diversity measures to investigate the change in the consumption pattern of individuals. Finally, we use regression analysis to look at predictors of food insecurity and inadequate diet diversity, including household wealth and income, self-reported shocks, food prices, and household characteristics..."
Source/publisher:
International Food Policy Research Institute (Washington, D.C.) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2022-12-09
Date of entry/update:
2022-12-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Rural development in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
710.3 KB
Local URL:
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Description:
"In August 2022, we surveyed 467 active rice millers from 13 states and regions across Myanmar to learn more about the impacts of the current political and COVID-19 crises. This report presents the key results and analysis from those interviews.
Key findings
Electricity and fuel disruptions were cited as the most significant disruption by 91 percent of millers in August 2022. Rising fuel prices and access issues afflicted smaller, local mills while larger mills were more affected by interruptions in electricity supplies.
Continuing a trend from March 2022, banking and credit disruptions were less prevalent in August. Lending and borrowing show only minor changes relative to 2021.
Average milling throughput declined by more than 20 percent compared to a year prior, and stored volumes of both paddy and rice showed similar declines.
Rice prices and milling margins increased sharply by about 40 percent compared to last year, driven by rising global prices, and, most importantly, by a rapid devaluation of Myanmar kyat. In USD terms, the price increases are more modest and closer to global changes. At the parallel (unofficial) exchange rate, prices have declined.
Prices of byproducts (in kyats) have also increased sharply from the last year, especially for rice bran which is important to the animal feed industry.
Looking forward
Looking forward to the 2022 monsoon harvest and marketing season, over half of all millers expect a decline in paddy production of at least 10 percent in their townships and an additional 22 percent of millers expect a smaller decline. Just 3 percent expect their local paddy production to be higher in 2022 monsoon than in 2021.
Changes in input use (e.g., a decline in fertilizer application) are far and away the most cited reason for lower expected paddy production. Half of millers said that less favorable rainfall patterns compared to 2021 are also a factor in lower paddy production.
On top of lower reported throughput in August 2022 and lower storage volumes, a decline in monsoon paddy production would have large implications for both rural and urban households. Lower supply coupled with the continued and widespread disruptions to utilities and transport, could drive prices even higher. At the same time, unpredictable foreign exchange and export policies could make it difficult for value chain actors to anticipate supply and demand conditions, resulting in higher price volatility..."
Source/publisher:
International Food Policy Research Institute
Date of publication:
2022-11-20
Date of entry/update:
2022-11-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
715.08 KB
Local URL:
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Description:
"FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT
Below-average 2022 paddy production forecast
Above-average cereal exports forecast in 2022/23
Prices of rice at record high in August
Persistent conflict continues to cause displacements
Below-average 2022 paddy output forecast
The 2022 main rainfed paddy crop, which accounts for more than 80 percent of the annual production, is approaching the harvest stage. Although drier-than-average conditions in late May and early June delayed planting operations in the central producing areas, the area sown to the main rice crop is estimated close to the five-year average. Precipitation amounts improved from late June and have been generally near-average until September. The total 2022 paddy production, including the secondary crops to be planted at the end of the year, is forecast at 23.8 million tonnes, about 10 percent below the five-year average level. Yields have been affected by limited use of critical agricultural inputs due to their elevated prices. According to a recent survey conducted by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), domestic prices of urea and compound fertilizers in July 2022 were 90 and 75 percent, respectively, higher year-on-year, while prices of herbicides and pesticides increased by 50 and 40 percent, respectively.
Cereal exports in 2022/23 forecast at above-average level
Total cereal exports in the 2022/23 marketing year (July/June) are forecast at about 4.2 million tonnes, 15 percent above the average volume. Exports of maize are forecast at a record of 1.7 million tonnes, reflecting the expected production surplus and the steady demand from China (mainland) and Thailand. Rice exports in calendar year 2022 are forecast at 2.3 million tonnes.
The 2022 main maize crop, for harvest from late October, is growing under generally favourable weather conditions (ASI map). Total maize production, including the secondary crops to be planted in November, is forecast at an above-average level of 2.2 million tonnes, reflecting record area planted driven by robust export demand and high domestic prices. However, average yields are projected at the lowest level since 2015 as a result of constrained access to agricultural inputs, as well as pests and diseases.
Prices of rice at record high in August
Domestic prices of “Emata” rice, a widely consumed quality, have steadily increased since January 2022 and reached record highs in August. The price increase was associated with consecutive seasons of production declines, a recovery in exports, high transportation and input costs, and expectations of a below-average production of 2022 main paddy crops. Prices in August were almost 50 percent higher than a year before.
Persistent conflict continues to cause displacements
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as of September 2022, the number of additional displaced people following the military takeover in February 2021 is estimated at 982 000, bringing the total number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to about 1.3 million. Most IDPs reside in Rakhine, Chin, Kachin, Kayin and Shan states. Macroeconomic difficulties, due to lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and political instability, have caused widespread loss of income and livelihoods, sharply reducing households’ purchasing power. Decreased production stemming from localized paddy crop losses, combined with the high prices of energy, fuel and essential food items, may cause a significant decline in output leading to a deterioration of food security outcomes in 2022/23..."
Source/publisher:
Food and Agriculture Organization (Rome) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2022-10-18
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights and international relations
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"Highlights:
The cost of the basic food basket (rice, oil, chickpeas, salt) continues to rise, up +14% month-on-month, driven by rising edible oil and rice prices. The average price ranges from 21,000 kyat to 28,000 kyat for a basket.
Currency depreciation continues to cause inflation in markets.
Despite fixed rate at Central Bank of Myanmar of 2100 kyat, the average market exchange rate remains 15-20% higher.
Rice prices are the latest commodity to see considerable increases this month (overall +14%) due to a combination of factors including increased production costs, currency depreciation, rising fuel prices, declining stocks and concerns over output in the coming season.
Onion prices continue upward trend as stocks dwindle and the summer harvest remains several months away. The overall increase was +24%.
Edible oil prices rose again by 15-17% despite overall global declines in vegetable oil prices, driven by the currency devaluation and transportation costs.
Egg prices also increased again this month as input prices (chicken feed) and fuel prices continue to be high.
Fuel prices increased 28% on average (month-on-month) and are more than double that of one year ago..."
Source/publisher:
World Food Programme (Rome) via reliefweb (New York)
Date of publication:
2022-10-13
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar
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pdf
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1.78 MB
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"ABSTRACT
This working paper synthesizes findings from four large household and community surveys in Myanmar, each covering a major agro-ecological zone, to evaluate inter-regional variations in the composition of agriculture, livelihoods, and the rural economy, and prospects for production and income growth. We find the following:
With the partial exception of paddy, most field crop production is strongly commercially oriented, and most farmers are well-integrated into markets.
Grain crops perform less well than elsewhere in Southeast Asia, suggesting the existence of large yield and income gaps. However, climatic variability may dissuade investments at what appear to be economically optimal levels of input use, and the highly unequal distribution of agricultural land means that most yield and income gains associated with improved agricultural technologies accrue to larger farms. Expansion of decentralized small-scale groundwater irrigation services may reduce agricultural risk and support intensification, particularly in the Dry Zone.
Production of higher value, more labor and input intensive crops, such as fish, poultry, and some fruits, has potential to create spillovers through employment linkages on-farm and upstream and downstream in value chains. There are numerous examples of farmers in Myanmar rapidly taking up production of new commercial crops that appear to offer an advantage. However, potential for agricultural diversification is highly contextually specific and can be risky.
Rural livelihoods are increasingly diversified. There is a positive association between landownership and income in all zones surveyed, but the most direct pathways to income growth and economic and social mobility often lie off-farm.
Migration has accelerated rapidly since 2011, reducing the availability of labor and bidding up rural wages. This has been advantageous for land-poor households who depend disproportionally on sales of labor for their income.
Economic reforms and investments in rural infrastructure and public services since 2011 have played a pivotal role in the emergence of an increasingly dynamic rural non-farm economy. Increasingly, there is a need for these to be accompanied by investments in human capacity development, expansion of social safety nets, and social protection to buffer against shocks, such as COVID-19, and to protect vulnerable people from being left behind..."
Source/publisher:
International Food Policy Research Institute (Washington, D.C.) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2022-09-28
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-28
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Individual Documents
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"FOREWORD
During 2021 the people of Myanmar experienced an unprecedented political, socioeconomic, human rights, and humanitarian crisis. On 1 February the Myanmar Armed Forces detained elected political leaders, declared a state of emergency, and transferred all legislative, executive and judicial powers to themselves. Compounded by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the military takeover unleashed a crisis that has resulted in significant human suffering and a reversal of many of the development gains made in recent years. On top of this, Myanmar experienced a severe outbreak of COVID-19 between June and August during which many people lost their lives and the economy was almost brought to a halt.
The events at the beginning of the year had significant implications on the work of the UN. As the member states contended with the legitimacy of the de facto authorities, overnight, UN’s operating environment became much more challenging, while the need for UN assistance increased exponentially. To respond to the new and escalating needs, the UN undertook an extensive reprogramming exercise. Funds and programmes were refocused on meeting the humanitarian needs of people, supporting the COVID-19 public health response, and mitigating the impact on the most vulnerable people and communities. To complement the UN’s humanitarian response, two new development programming frameworks were developed: the Health Response Contingency Plan (HRCP); and the Socio-economic Resilience Response Plan (SERRP). Despite the operational challenges, the UN disbursed a total of US$453 million in programmatic expenditures under the two development frameworks and its humanitarian response.
Under the HRCP, the UN contributed to the COVID-19 response, promoted continued access to essential health and nutrition services for vulnerable groups, and strengthened logistics and supply chains for immunizations, and reproductive health commodity security. Under the SERRP, the UN supported continued access for vulnerable populations to essential services in areas including social protection, food and nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene, education, shelter, and gender-based violence and violence against children. In addition, the UN worked to promote gender-responsive employment, private sector resilience, and strengthen households, communities and micro, small and medium enterprises capacities to weather future shocks. To promote and protect human rights, the rule of law, and the democratic space, the UN supported civil society actors to hold decision makers to account, facilitated access to legal aid, and worked with communities to increase awareness of fundamental and democratic rights.
At the time of writing, the situation in Myanmar remains uncertain and the political, socioeconomic, human rights and humanitarian continues. Going forward the UN is determined to strengthen our efforts to serve the people of Myanmar. We will use the lessons learnt in 2021 to ensure that our support becomes increasingly impactful as we keep delivering humanitarian assistance, support the most vulnerable, build resilience, and promote conditions for an inclusive and sustainable recovery when the situation allows. I am confident that through the strength of the people of Myanmar, the country will find its way back on a brighter path.
Ramanathan Balakrishnan UN Resident Coordinator a.i./ Humanitarian Coordinator a.i..."
Source/publisher:
UN Country Team in Myanmar via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2022-09-27
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Education in Burma/Myanmar - general, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights and international relations
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23.69 MB
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"FAO and Belgium provide emergency agricultural assistance to conflict-affected communities in Kayin and Kayah states
Humanitarian needs in Myanmar continue to rise sharply since February 2021 as a result of political and economic upheaval and increased conflict. Approximately 27 percent of the population (14.4 million people) is in need of assistance and more than 700 000 people are internally displaced.
Agriculture is a source of livelihoods for nearly 70 percent of the population of Myanmar. The ongoing crisis is compouding the impacts of recurrent climate-induced shocks and COVID-19, posing an enormous threat to the livelihoods and food security of agriculture-dependent communities. Food production is declining, food prices are soaring, and 13.2 million people are already food insecure (compared to 2.8 million before the crisis). Moreover, according to the latest Food Security Monitoring Assessment by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme, 16 percent of surveyed households from 14 states/regions across the country do not have sufficient food intake1. In this context, vulnerable households are increasingly resorting to negative coping mechanisms such as the distress selling of their productive assets, which erodes their capacity to manage future shocks.
Through SFERA, the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium contributed USD 500 000 to FAO to mitigate the impact of the crisis on the most vulnerable households. With this generous contribution, FAO will provide emergency agricultural assistance to 2 000 vulnerable households (10 000 people) in conflict-affected Kayin and Kayah states, in eastern Myanmar. The intervention will include cash-based interventions to enable food-insecure households to cover their immediate needs. Moreover, FAO will provide the beneficiaries with vegetable production packages to enable them to produce up to 500 kg of nutrient-rich vegetables (worth USD 200 on the local market). The intervention will focus on female headed households (61 percent) and will be implemented during the dry season (August 2022–May 2023)..."
Source/publisher:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Rome) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2022-09-07
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research
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160.48 KB
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"Changes in Context
The people of Myanmar continue to face an unprecedented political, human rights, and humanitarian crisis that is posing grave protection risks for civilians, limiting access to vital services including health and education, and driving deep food insecurity. Humanitarian needs have worsened across the country as conflict continues to rage, causing unprecedented levels of displacement, destruction of property, and land mine contamination especially in the country’s northwest and southeast and driving grave protection risks for civilians. Forced recruitment – including of children – is being increasingly reported. The use of heavy weapons, including air strikes and artillery fire, continues to claim lives and pose risks to the safety and security of civilians, while raids, random searches and arrests are of grave concern. The destruction of civilian properties, particularly homes, combined with the protracted fighting, is prolonging the displacement of IDPs and further degrading people’s fragile living conditions.
The arrival of the monsoon in the second quarter of the year has been a miserable time for the hundreds of thousands of displaced people living in informal sites and in the jungle or forest without proper shelter.
While there have been modest access openings, these are very localized, and the overall access environment remains heavily constrained with a strong reliance on and risk transfer to low-profile local responders.
Humanitarian operating space is under increasing threat from bureaucratic blockages imposed by the de facto authorities around registration, travel, banking, and visas. While the economy has shown a glimmer of improvement in the past few months, inflation is undermining this modest recovery at the household level with fuel and food becoming increasingly unaffordable and adding to financial stress in vulnerable households.
Expansion of conflict
In the first half of the year, fighting has further escalated across multiple states and regions in Myanmar, particularly in the Northwest and Southeast, with no signs of abating. According to the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, since the military takeover, nearly 2,000 civilians have been killed during hostilities and other fatal incidents, including as a result of landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERWs).1 Nearly 20,000 civilian properties, including houses, churches, monasteries, and schools, are estimated to have been destroyed during hostilities, although figures are difficult to verify.
The Northwest has seen the greatest intensification of conflict between the MAF and PDFs and the biggest surge in displacement since the original HRP was published. Now, more than half of all new IDPs are in the Northwest, with the heaviest concentration in Sagaing. There have been various waves of fighting in different states across the Southeast as the MAF has attempted to take control of EAO-controlled areas.
Across the Southeast, fighting intensified in January and February as the MAF intensified campaigns in Kayin and Kayah states. In Kayin state, combined MAF/Border Guard Forces and combined KNU/ PDF forces clashed frequently and intensely. Heavy artillery shelling and airstrikes in these areas caused mass displacement, including across the border into Thailand. During the same period fighting escalated substantially across nearly all of Kayah state between the MAF and the aligned Karenni resistance groups.
Loikaw town, in particular, experienced a sustained campaign of aerial bombardment that caused 80 per cent of the town to be displaced to other parts of Kayah state and southern Shan. Fighting also intensified throughout other parts of the Southeast, particularly during the second quarter, with heavy clashes and sudden spikes in displacement in Mon, Tanintharyi and eastern Bago between the MAF and aligned militia groups and the KNU and PDFs.
In Rakhine, a ceasefire between the MAF and Arakan Army (AA), continued to hold at mid-year but tensions are building with sporadic confrontations presenting the very real risk that the conflict could resume in the second half of the year. Intermittent clashes, numerous mine incidents, arrests, and counter-arrests on both sides have been reported with some smallscale displacement. Contingency planning has been undertaken in case the situation worsens..."
Source/publisher:
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (New York) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2022-09-02
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Education in Burma/Myanmar - general, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Public Health, Human Rights and international relations
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"To understand the effects of political instability, COVID-19, and other shocks on Myanmar’s agricultural input sector, a phone survey of 252 input retailers throughout the country was conducted in July 2022.
Key findings
Input prices during the 2022 monsoon growing season were substantially higher than a year prior, especially for urea (91 percent higher) and for compound fertilizers (75 percent higher).
Despite large disruptions in transportation and currency exchange, inputs were generally available. However, because of rising prices, input sales dropped sharply relative to 2021. Input retailers have attributed their drop in sales to rising transportation charges, political instability, changing demands, and, alarmingly, a decline in acreages planted by farmers.
The decline in fertilizer sales appears to be especially severe in the Delta region, which accounts for about half of Myanmar’s monsoon paddy production. In contrast, aggregate fertilizer sales quantities increased slightly in the Hills region due to high maize prices and export demand.
Looking forward
As a result of price increases and sales declines for inorganic fertilizer, perhaps most severe in the major rice growing regions, Myanmar may see declines in paddy production in the 2022 monsoon season, a large concern given rice’s importance in diets nationwide and for rural incomes.
One positive development has been the return of in-person bank transfers as a method of payment, but otherwise there is little sign of relief in the input retail sector as problems with high transport costs and credit availability are likely to continue. Providing farmers with advice on nutrient management practices and fertilizer use efficiency is highly recommended to help maintain profitable yields under the constraints of high fertilizer costs..."
Source/publisher:
International Food Policy Research Institute (Washington, D.C.) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2022-08-31
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-31
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
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Description:
"Highlights: The cost of the basic food basket (rice, edible oil, chickpeas, salt) remained stable but remains high (+34%) compared to the same time last year.
The average prices for locally-available low-mid quality rice remained stable with slight changes between June and mid-July. However, starting from late July rice price increases have been reported in various parts of the country, which will be further validated as part of the August market price update.
Edible oil prices remained stable or slightly decreased from previous month due to increased palm oil export availability from Indonesia as the world's leading exporter.
Onion prices also surged this month due to low domestic stocks and increase in foreign demand. In some regions, prices are 3-4 times higher than the same time last year.
The price of eggs overall stabilized, but with some variability across markets.
In Chin and northern Rakhine, increases were associated with high transportation costs and high costs of chicken feed.
Chickpea prices high in Mon State due to decline in retail stocks and high transportation costs
Fuel price decreased by -21% on average during July. However, prices remain significantly higher than one year ago, and reports of fuel shortages in early to mid-August have led to renewed price increases outside the monitoring period..."
Source/publisher:
World Food Programme (Rome)
Date of publication:
2022-07-31
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar
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Format :
pdf
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2.6 MB
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"YANGON, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's agricultural export earnings decreased 1.25 percent to about 1.27 billion U.S. dollars year on year in the first four months of the present fiscal year (FY) 2022-2023, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
The Southeast Asian country changed its fiscal year from the original October-September to April-March beginning this year.
Despite the slight decline in agricultural export earnings, the country's total export value grew 26.71 percent to over 5.49 billion U.S. dollars year on year between April 1 and July 29 this year, official data showed.
All the agricultural export during the period was done by the private sector alone, the commerce ministry's figures showed.
Among Myanmar's agricultural products, rice is the most cultivated crop and also one of the top major agricultural products exported to foreign markets.
According to the Myanmar Rice Federation, the country exported over 733,096 tons of rice and broken rice between April and July this year.
Kyaw San Oo, a rice exporter from Mandalay, told Xinhua that the export of agricultural products including rice and broken rice this year declined because of many factors including changing financial rules and low rice yield.
"This year's rice market is not as good as last year's because rice prices are rising in domestic market and the costs of exporting rice to other countries are high," he said.
The Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) in April ordered anyone in the country to compulsorily convert foreign currencies into kyats, but then gradually relaxed the conversion order.
The latest relaxation of the conversion order was made on Aug. 5, allowing exporters to compulsorily convert only 65 percent of their export earnings into kyats, and the CBM also changed the reference exchange rate from 1,850 kyats to 2,100 kyats per U.S. dollar.
Aung Kyaw Oo, a rice exporter from Yangon, told Xinhua that the latest moves of the central bank are better for the export market which was sluggish in recent months.
"Currently, even the demand for rice is high in the market," he said, adding that the latest easing of currency conversion orders would help both exporters and importers smoothen their business activities.
Low yield was one of the major factors that decreased Myanmar's agricultural export earnings during the period, and the country's authorities are working on producing high yields of crops.
"The priority must be given to paddy cultivation so as to increase per-acre yield. It is necessary to encourage the manufacturing of products based on agriculture and livestock farms," Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, chairman of Myanmar's State Administration Council (SAC), said Tuesday.
From April 1 to July 29 this year, Myanmar's total foreign trade was valued at over 11.02 billion U.S. dollars including the import value of over 5.52 billion U.S. dollars.
Myanmar mainly exports agricultural, animal and marine products, minerals, forest products, manufacturing goods and others to its foreign trade partners including China, Thailand, Bangladesh and India, according to the commerce ministry..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua News Agency" (Beijing)
Date of publication:
2022-08-11
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Border Trade - general, Business and the Military
Language:
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Description:
"Belgium contribution through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities (SFERA)
Humanitarian needs in Myanmar continue to rise sharply since February 2021 as a result of political and economic upheaval and increased conflict. Approximately 27 percent of the population (14.4 million people) is in need of assistance and more than 700 000 people are internally displaced.
Agriculture is a source of livelihoods for nearly 70 percent of the population of Myanmar. The ongoing crisis is compouding the impacts of recurrent climate-induced shocks and COVID-19, posing an enormous threat to the livelihoods and food security of agriculture-dependent communities. Food production is declining, food prices are soaring, and 13.2 million people are already food insecure (compared to 2.8 million before the crisis). Moreover, according to the latest Food Security Monitoring Assessment by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme, 16 percent of surveyed households from 14 states/regions across the country do not have sufficient food intake1. In this context, vulnerable households are increasingly resorting to negative coping mechanisms such as the distress selling of their productive assets, which erodes their capacity to manage future shocks.
Through SFERA, the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium contributed USD 500 000 to FAO to mitigate the impact of the crisis on the most vulnerable households. With this generous contribution, FAO will provide emergency agricultural assistance to 2 000 vulnerable households (10 000 people) in conflict-affected Kayin and Kayah states, in eastern Myanmar. The intervention will include cash-based interventions to enable food-insecure households to cover their immediate needs. Moreover, FAO will provide the beneficiaries with vegetable production packages to enable them to produce up to 500 kg of nutrient-rich vegetables (worth USD 200 on the local market). The intervention will focus on female headed households (61 percent) and will be implemented during the dry season (August 2022–May 2023)..."
Source/publisher:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Date of publication:
2022-07-22
Date of entry/update:
2022-07-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research
Language:
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Description:
"Executive Summary
Since the beginning of 2022, Myanmar’s economy has faced a series of external and domestic shocks.
The war in Ukraine has caused steep increases in global prices of fuel and fertilizer, which have passed through
to a broader range of goods and services. This has led to a sharp rise in input costs across all industries, and
fueled inflation which in turn further strained real household incomes. Domestic electricity shortages have also
impacted households and businesses across the country. The security environment has deteriorated further in
northern and southern regions, while Chin and the Dry Zone remain embroiled in severe conflict. This has
disrupted economic activity, with one fifth of all firms (and two fifths of all agricultural firms) surveyed by the
World Bank in May 2022 indicating that conflict was the most important challenge to their operations.
Notwithstanding these shocks, some parts of the economy have stabilized and even recovered
somewhat since late 2021, demonstrating the resilience and adaptability of Myanmar’s businesses.
Firms have reported operating at higher capacity in 2022 than in 2021, particularly in the manufacturing sector.
The manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index reached neutral levels in the first half of 2022, after a long
period of contraction. Garment manufacturers – mainly reliant on external demand –seem to have recovered
relatively strongly, as demonstrated by the ongoing expansion in manufactured exports since mid-2021.
Construction activity has also picked up as work on several projects has restarted after a long pause last year.
This improvement in economic activity has been supported by a rise in mobility, with workplace mobility
returning to pre-pandemic levels in June after substantial dips in 2021. The fourth wave of COVID-19
transmissions was much less severe than expected in January, with the number of recorded cases (and the
severity of those cases) significantly lower than during the third wave in mid-2021.
But activity in other industries and services remains weak, as declining real household incomes have
weighed on domestic demand. Despite the recovery in mobility at retail and transport venues, World Bank
household survey results from April 2022 suggest that real consumption – particularly of discretionary nonfood items – had declined from a year earlier. Household survey results indicate that job losses, reduced work
hours and lower wages and incomes from household farms and businesses have all contributed to a reduction
in nominal household incomes. Real household incomes were further eroded by sharply rising inflation, with
the latest available data indicating that CPI inflation accelerated to 17.3 percent (yoy) in March, driven by sharp
increases in the prices of food and fuel. The weakness in private consumption was corroborated by the May
2022 firm survey results, which indicated that retail and wholesale firms’ sales had fallen by more than a quarter
from a year earlier.
Rising costs have affected the operations of all businesses, squeezing profit margins. Increases in global
oil prices – exacerbated by the Ukraine conflict – have driven pronounced increases in domestic fuel prices and
transport costs, as well as in the cost of running diesel generators to compensate for recurring electricity outages.
Over the first half of 2022, the local price of fuel rose by around 70 percent. Kyat depreciation, supply chain
disruptions and the spillover effects of higher transport prices have resulted in price increases for a broader
range of imported inputs, squeezing already thin profit margins. Increases in the price of fertilizer and other
agricultural inputs have prompted a reduction in their use, with negative implications for future crop yields.
Despite a narrowed current account deficit, external balance of payment pressures have become acute.
The current account deficit narrowed in the year ended September 2021, due to a narrower goods trade deficit
(with imports contracting by more than exports in FY2021), sharply lower travel and other services receipts,
and a 30 percent decline in recorded overseas remittances. But there were more pronounced pressures on the
financial account, with foreign direct investment down by about two thirds from the previous year, substantial
outflows of foreign currency deposits, and sharp declines in other net financing flows through the year.
Together these resulted in a recorded reduction in foreign exchange reserves of close to US$ 1 billion in the
September quarter 2021. To the extent that these trends have continued, it is plausible that foreign exchange
reserves have fallen to insufficient levels as at mid-2022 (with some reserves also inaccessible due to foreign
sanctions). More recent data indicates that the US dollar value of goods imports has increased by more than
goods exports in the first half of 2022, driven largely by rising imports of intermediate inputs, while FDI
commitments remained very weak. This implies that neither net trade flows nor FDI flows have provided
additional support to the balance of payments this year.
External pressures have been compounded by reversals of previous policy reforms. Undoing previous
gains in macro-economic management, the authorities abandoned the managed float exchange rate regime,
fixing the official reference exchange rate at an overvalued level not reflective of market supply and demand.
In a bid to stem foreign exchange pressures the authorities also imposed foreign exchange restrictions. This has
led to shortages of US dollars and a growing spread between official and parallel market rates (which had
reached around 20 percent as at mid-July). In combination with onerous import license requirements, these
foreign exchange restrictions have led to particularly significant impacts on the domestic supply of fuel, resulting
in shortages and the emergence of a parallel fuel market to circumvent the authorities’ efforts to impose price
controls. Meanwhile, the imposition of kyat conversion and surrender requirements on foreign exchange
earnings (and deposits) has effectively acted as a tax on exporters, with signs that the external price
competitiveness of agricultural exports has been adversely affected since these measures were imposed in April.
A recent central bank direction requiring banks to facilitate the temporary suspension of foreign loan
repayments is intended to ease external liquidity pressures, but if implemented will likely reduce the
creditworthiness and market access of Myanmar’s corporate and financial sectors.
While cash liquidity constraints appear to be easing, weak financial sector balance sheets are
constraining credit growth. Discussions with industry representatives indicate that non-performing loan and
delinquency rates are high, having continued to rise since the start of the pandemic in 2020, with banks
providing relief and rescheduling repayments on a customer-by-customer basis. Ongoing declines in asset
quality have in turn prompted a cautious approach to new lending. While withdrawal limits remain in place, it
has become easier to obtain kyat from ATMs and bank branches, in part due to a recovery in bank deposits.
The fiscal position has deteriorated, accompanied by shift of public spending away from critical public
services. Tax collection declined from 6.5 percent of GDP in FY2020 to 4.9 percent of GDP in FY2021.
Losses in large energy State Economic Enterprises (SEEs) have also contributed to an overall decline in revenue
(in nominal kyat terms) of almost 30 percent. The fiscal deficit rose to around 9 percent of GDP in FY2021,
with spending also falling – due to weak budget execution – but by less than the decline in revenue. Given
reductions in other financing sources, there has been a return to reliance on central bank financing, in another
sign of reversal of previous macro-fiscal reforms. Despite the critical importance of health, education, and
social protection for livelihoods and human capital accumulation, public spending on these services has declined
and budget allocations to these sectors have been sharply curtailed.
The impacts of COVID-19 and the aftermath of the military coup are estimated to have erased nearly
a decade of poverty reduction progress. Estimates based on the latest available data indicate that poverty
has doubled compared with its level in March 2020, with about 40 percent of the population now living below
the national poverty line in 2022, matching levels of poverty a decade ago. Inequality is estimated to have
worsened, with those already poor falling into deeper destitution. Moreover, household survey data indicate a
movement of labor away from service industries and into agriculture over the past 18 months, as internal
migration from cities to rural areas has been used as a coping mechanism to deal with job loss. However, this
shift to lower productivity agriculture implies an overall decline in labor productivity, which in turn has dampened household incomes. Lower household incomes in conjunction with higher food and fuel prices and
ongoing credit/liquidity constraints have magnified risks of food insecurity, though these risks may have been
at least partially offset by a pick-up in subsistence production. Household surveys indicate that coping
mechanisms are under increasing strain, with over half of all households reporting cuts to non-food
consumption, and significant proportions across the income distribution reporting cuts to food consumption,
borrowing from friends and family, and sales of assets. While livelihoods have come under increased stress
since 2020, public sector support has declined sharply, with virtually no households reporting receiving any
form of social assistance in May 2022, in contrast to the 43 percent of households which reported receiving
cash assistance in October 2020.
Amid persistent domestic and external headwinds, the economy is projected to only recover modestly
in FY2022, implying continued pressure on incomes and livelihoods. Following the estimated 18 percent
contraction in FY2021, GDP is projected to increase by 3 percent in the year to September 2022. The absence
of a substantial rebound in FY2022 – with GDP still around 13 percent lower than in 2019 – is indicative of
the severe supply- and demand-side constraints that continue to impact economic activity. At the aggregate
level, the slight upward revision of our growth projection from the 1 percent growth forecast in the January
MEM reflects the much less severe than expected impact of the fourth wave of COVID-19 in February and
March. The manufacturing and construction sectors are driving most of the modest growth expected this year,
with services sector activity constrained by weak demand and agricultural production hampered by higher input
prices, logistics constraints, and conflict. Inflation is projected to remain elevated given persistent impacts from
kyat depreciation, logistics constraints, and still-high global prices (despite a recent easing in some food and
fertilizer prices). CPI inflation is projected to average 15 percent in FY22, with year-on-year inflation peaking
in the second half of the year). The current account deficit is expected to widen slightly, with goods imports
increasing by more than goods exports in the year to date, and services exports expected to remain weak. The
fiscal deficit is expected to remain elevated in the twelve months to September 2022. Both expenditure and
revenue outturns worsened significantly in FY21, and only a partial improvement in each is expected in the
following 12 months..."
Source/publisher:
The World Bank (Washington, D.C.)
Date of publication:
2022-07-21
Date of entry/update:
2022-07-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Banking, Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Economy: general, analytical, statistical (various sources)
Language:
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1.85 MB (51 pages), 729.47 KB (11 pages) - Original versions
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"YANGON, July 21, 2022 –Myanmar’s economy has faced a series of external and internal disruptions which have impeded recovery from the large contraction in economic activity last year. The absence of a substantial rebound in growth – with GDP in 2022 estimated to still be around 13 percent lower than in 2019 – means that livelihoods and coping mechanisms will continue to be severely strained. About 40 percent of the population is living below the national poverty line in 2022, unwinding nearly a decade of progress on poverty reduction, according to The World Bank’s Myanmar Economic Monitor released today.
Myanmar’s economy is projected to grow 3 percent in the fiscal year ending in September 2022, following an 18% contraction last year. Weak economic activity is indicative of the range of constraints facing the Myanmar economy. These include a sharp rise in the prices of imported inputs and consumer goods, partly attributable to the war in Ukraine; elevated levels of domestic conflict; electricity outages; and persistent logistics and financial sector disruptions. Recent policy shifts have added to challenges for businesses. Burdensome trade license requirements, the abandonment of the managed float exchange rate regime, and the imposition of foreign currency surrender rules have resulted in shortages of key imported inputs and inhibited exporters. Uncertainty among businesses has increased due to the rapid issuance of new policy instructions, including exemptions to previously imposed restrictions, followed by subsequent attempts to revoke those exemptions.
“Myanmar last year experienced one of the worst economic contractions in the world, and the limited growth we forecast this year leaves its economic recovery far behind other countries,” said World Bank Country Director for Myanmar, Cambodia and Lao PDR Mariam Sherman. “This will continue to test the resilience of the Myanmar people, with household incomes declining and coping mechanisms against food insecurity and poverty increasingly under strain amidst ongoing internal conflict.”
While the overall economy has faced headwinds, some sectors have stabilized or recovered over the past twelve months, driving the modest growth expected for this year. Some firms have reported operating at a higher proportion of their capacity in 2022 than was the case in 2021, particularly in the manufacturing sector, and manufactured exports are recovering. Construction activity has also picked up as work on several projects has resumed after a long pause last year, and the pipeline of issued permits has grown. A rise in mobility at workplaces, retail outlets, and transport hubs has supported overall activity, although indicators of consumer spending are weak.
“Despite severe constraints, economic activity has picked up in some areas over the last twelve months, demonstrating the adaptability of Myanmar’s businesses,” said World Bank Senior Economist for Myanmar Kim Edwards. “However, industries more dependent on domestic demand are facing challenges from lower household incomes and rising prices, while agricultural production remains constrained by increased input prices, transport disruptions, and ongoing conflict”.
The spike in inflation has disrupted the operations of all businesses. The latest available data indicate that CPI inflation increased to 17.3 percent (yoy) in March. Increases in global oil prices have driven pronounced increases in domestic fuel prices and transport costs, as well as in the cost of running diesel generators to compensate for recurring electricity outages. Kyat depreciation, supply chain disruptions and the spillover effects of higher transport prices have resulted in price increases for a broader range of imported inputs, squeezing already thin profit margins.
Beyond the projected 3 percent growth in 2022, the outlook remains weak and subject to substantial risks. Domestic prices for food, fuel, and other imported inputs are likely to remain elevated over the short to medium term, constraining both production and consumption. The balance of payments situation is of growing concern, with U.S. dollar shortages already limiting the availability of several imported products, including fuel. Elevated levels of conflict in many areas of the country are expected to continue to constrain productive activity. As a result, a return to pre-pandemic levels of economic activity is unlikely in the near term, in sharp contrast to the rest of the East Asia and
Pacific region, where GDP in all large countries is estimated to have recovered to above 2019 levels or is projected to do so in 2023.
Recent policy shifts are likely to have longer-term effects: inhibiting potential growth, worsening macroeconomic instability, and impairing the efficient allocation of resources. Trade and foreign exchange restrictions have unwound previous reforms to liberalize trade and unify the exchange rate. Stepped up promotion of import substitution and self-sufficiency is reversing much of the increased openness and liberalization that has been a key driver of Myanmar’s strong growth record over much of the last decade. These policy changes have also allowed the authorities greater control over the allocation of resources in the economy, which is likely to benefit some, but ultimately divert resources from their most efficient use. Lessons from Myanmar’s economic history suggest that to the extent that these trends continue, investor confidence and the business environment will weaken further, constraining Myanmar’s growth potential over the longer-term..."
Source/publisher:
The World Bank (Washington, D.C.)
Date of publication:
2022-07-21
Date of entry/update:
2022-07-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Banking, Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
Format :
pdf
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111.46 KB
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Description:
"Highlights:
The cost of the basic food basket (rice, oil, chickpeas, salt) remained stable in most areas, except in Mon where the price of chickpeas and salt increased as the rainy season contributed to ongoing transportation challenges and costs.
Edible oil prices were stable overall in May, although with some variation seen across markets due to transportation costs. It is unclear to what extent the rate setting of edible oil prices at wholesale level, implemented by the Ministry of Commerce in an effort to stem price escalation, affected retail prices in retail markets.
Slight seasonal increases in rice prices (+3% overall) were observed as planting season got underway.
Egg prices continue to rise (+10%) due in large part to high costs of chicken feed, linked to declining availability of livestock feed amidst Russia-Ukraine conflict. Almost all areas are now seeing prices more than 50% higher than last year.
Tomato prices increased across most markets due to decline in local seasonal production.
Transportation is still affected everywhere by insecurity (particularly in Chin, Sagaing and Kayin) as well as the high costs of fuel – Octane fuels rose by about 13% and diesel by about 24% month-on-month since April and are more than double that of one year ago..."
Source/publisher:
World Food Programme (Rome) via reliefweb (New York)
Date of publication:
2022-07-05
Date of entry/update:
2022-07-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
WFP (World Food Programme), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.78 MB
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Description:
"Key points
Humanitarian needs in Myanmar continue to rise sharply since February 2021 as a result of political and economic upheaval and increased conflict.
Myanmar is facing a rapidly growing food security crisis, and nearly one in four people are already food insecure. Ongoing violence, economic crisis, recurrent climate-induced shocks, population displacement and COVID-19, among other factors, are disrupting the entire national food system.
Since January 2022, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has assisted 14 115 households (70 575 people) through the provision of staple crop seeds and fertilizers along with the implementation of cash-based interventions, enabling them to produce their own food and meet their basic needs.
Challenges facing food security and agriculture
Agriculture is a source of livelihoods for nearly 70 percent of the population of Myanmar. The ongoing crisis is reversing hard-won agricultural development gains and posing an enormous threat to the livelihoods and food security of agriculture-dependent communities. Intense violence is triggering new waves of population displacement and disrupting livelihoods across the food supply chain. In 2021, 24 percent of farmers reduced the size of their planted areas and 18 percent reported a reduction in expected harvest. Moreover, while the incomes of smallholder farmers continue to decline, the cost of production inputs continue to rise. For example, the cost of fertilizers is currently 3.6 times higher than in 2019 and high-quality seeds are increasingly becoming unavailable or unaffordable. As a result, food production is declining and food prices are soaring, leading to unprecedented and critical levels of food insecurity with 89 percent of households adopting at least one negative coping mechanism. Against this backdrop, protecting the livelihoods of smallholder farmers to enable them to feed themselves and their communities is a frontline humanitarian response. Without urgent and scaled up interventions to protect agricultural livelihoods, the food security crisis will inevitably deteriorate further and the numbers of people who resort to negative coping mechanisms and/or rely on food aid for their survival will continue to grow.
In collaboration with its local and international partners, FAO is responding to the crisis through providing smallholder farmers across Myanmar with access to fertilizers and high-quality seeds along with the implementation of cash-based interventions. Furthermore, FAO will provide livestock keeping households with animal feed to enable them to keep their livestock assets alive, healthy and productive. FAO is also focusing on enhancing the technical knowledge and skills of community-based service providers, and on promoting healthy diets among highly vulnerable groups..."
Source/publisher:
Food and Agriculture Organization (Rome) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2022-06-28
Date of entry/update:
2022-06-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
475.73 KB
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Description:
"LIFT/UNOPS response addresses immediate needs while also supporting longer-term development.
Thousands of Myanmar families share a typical plight of being stuck in a cycle of conflict, rising levels of food insecurity and protracted healthcare crisis, and many have experienced multiple displacements, leaving behind their homes, crops, and livestock. For the first time, the number of displaced men, women and children in Myanmar has exceeded one million, including 700,000 people displaced by the conflict and insecurity since the military takeover in February last year. Host communities who were already struggling to sustain their livelihoods are also supporting those that have been displaced.
The Livelihoods and Food Security Fund (LIFT), a multi-donor fund managed by the United Nations Office for Projects Services (UNOPS) delivers relief, livelihood and resilience programming to vulnerable communities across Myanmar aiming to sustainably improve household food security and community resilience to economic and climatic shocks and stresses. Below are several examples of how LIFT/UNOPS and its partners help support vulnerable communities and households through income generation and employment creation, strengthening of food systems and nutrition support, natural resource management, and community asset creation in a challenging environment.
Support for community-based health services
LIFT and partners work with local health practitioners, volunteers and ethnic health service providers to strengthen the community-based health services by providing a wide range of integrated health, WASH and essential nutrition services to more than 300,000 people including internally displaced people, the elderly, people with disabilities, migrants, pregnant and breastfeeding women and their children, and adolescent girls.
Cash-for-livelihoods support
38-year old Ma Toe Lwin (name changed) from Mawlamyinegyun has what’s called a ‘strong business intuition’. Knowing that a high fishing season is approaching, she launched a fishing net weaving and repairing business, with cash-for-livelihoods support from LIFT’s partners. Having been in the fishing business since her early 20s, Ma Toe Lwin is able to distinguish the quality of fishing nets but it was the lack of capital that didn’t allow her to stock nets for trading before the fishing season.
With cash support from LIFT, Ma Toe Lwin mobilised a group of women to produce about 100 fishing nets, in time for the upcoming fishing season so they can be sold to the fishermen. During high seasons, Ma Toe Lwin’s enterprise can employ up to 75 women allowing for a faster production chain. Proceeds from their sales are shared between the group members while a portion of earnings is saved for future investments.
Agriculture development support
“We keep using traditional growing methods and our planting has faced a lot of problems like pest infection and plant diseases. We did not know very well about the proper usage of fertilizers and pesticides, which caused us low yields”, said U Saw. Having struggled for years, U Saw sought knowledge of advanced agricultural techniques that would help him to improve his farm production and support better access to healthy food for his family.
When the LIFT-supported project reached the village, U Saw eagerly joined the training on agriculture to learn small-scale agri-business, good agricultural practices, and plant protection techniques. The practical sessions led him to explore natural composting methods, soil preparation methods and soil pH measurements. “In the past, I used to apply ready-made pesticides on my farm. So, it was costly and I also didn’t wear any protection while I was using chemical fertilizers and I often suffered from nausea and vomiting”.
Saw was convinced of the health benefits of organically grown crops, and he upgraded his farm to an organic farm. “The project supported me with a capital fund and black bamboos which are necessary in cultivating tomatoes. Tomato is the main crop I grow and I had an acre for purely organic cultivation this year. I applied all the agricultural techniques I learned from the training and the capital support of the project also helped me step up my farm. The yield this year has really increased as I expected. I am really happy that my earnings are pretty well and I can even repay all my debts,” said U Saw with a big smile on his face.
The traditional farmer who used the chemical fertilizers in the past is now stepping up as a leading farmer in the area who shares with his peers on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) that he received from the training. “We need to protect our land and environment by reducing the usage of chemicals so we are introducing organic farming step by step”, a proud and dedicated farmer U Saw said.
Support and assistance for internally displaced persons
But as the COVID-19 crisis deepened, Khine Mar lost all sources of income. “It has not been easy for us since the pandemic hit. Some organizations provided us with assistance such as food and essentials, but travel and access restrictions made such support irregular”, he said.
So he sought domestic work around his neighbourhood but there was little demand. He thought he had left such uncertainty behind when he fled his home village. Khine Mar was among other residents of the camp to receive a cash transfer of 65,000 MMK, provided by LIFT through its partners as a means to help IDPs cover their most basic food needs or purchase other basic items and services to protect themselves from COVID-19 and its socio-economic impacts.
“It’s the first time I receive such significant support and it was timely and helpful”, said Khine Mar of the cash transfer.
He used part of the payment to buy food for his children and is cooking more nutritious meals for his children. By scaling up multi-purpose cash transfer assistance, food assistance in kind and vouchers, cash/food for work schemes, psychosocial support and counselling services for trauma and gender-based violence, LIFT and partners have reached over 131,000 vulnerable people with social protection programmes in 2021 alone.
Supporting small-scale community enterprises
“We all joined a dry fish (snakehead fish) production training and learned how to cut fish by removing skin and bones and preserve it without using chemicals. We sell our product locally and online, and then share the profit while keeping 5 per cent of earnings in our group’s saving fund,” said Daw Myint.
It takes the group seven to ten days for a full production cycle - from purchasing raw fish to selling the ready product. Each member’s profit is sufficient to cover their household expenses such as food, education and healthcare while savings are planned for investing into other businesses. “Dried fish production is a seasonal business, and we are thinking of launching some farming enterprises too”, concluded Daw Myint.
Relief & Resilience response across Myanmar, including people living with disabilities
In 2021, 30 of LIFT’s partners from different thematics and geographic regions utilized $11.6 million USD for Relief & Resilience response to reach about 900,000 vulnerable people including internally displaced persons and people living with disabilities in different states and regions of Myanmar with multi-sectoral emergency aid. It is the hand-in-hand collaboration with partners that enabled LIFT-funded support to help restore and boost resilient livelihoods while strengthening the food security of vulnerable groups.
Nutrition and WASH awareness
In Kachin and Northern Shan, over 12,000 women from the most vulnerable households have been part of LIFT-funded nutrition-sensitive activities which included nutrition and WASH awareness, training in home gardening and in-kind support (food and WASH items).
Improving working conditions for women garment factory workers
Everyday, hundreds of unskilled women come from rural areas to cities to work in one of over 400 garment factories. Working in a garment factory is often the only possibility for young women from rural areas to earn money and become economically independent, and the income they generate is also used to support the families they’ve left behind. However, working in a garment factory also poses several challenges for these young women: while trying to navigate life in a new city without their family, friends and support network, the women also face harsh working conditions in the factory every day. In an effort to improve working conditions for women workers at garment factories, LIFT’s partners initiated a pilot to collaborate with a factory to upgrade its infrastructure by building or renovating canteens, toilets and healthcare facilities as well as installing cooling systems to provide some basic comfort and amenities as well as to create a space where the women are able to interact with each other. Though at its very early stage, the pilot has already proved success as workers appreciated improvements and it resulted in higher productivity and higher incomes..."
Source/publisher:
United Nations Office for Project Services via United Nations Myanmar
Date of publication:
2022-06-23
Date of entry/update:
2022-06-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNOPS (United Nations Office for Project Services), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights and international relations, Public Health
Language:
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Description:
"Key Facts
WFP has assisted more than 2 million people in Myanmar during the first quarter of 2022, with plans to assist at least 4 million by the end of the year.
Those assisted mainly include people newly displaced by conflict, people living in prolonged displacement, and poor urban dwellers – mostly women and children – whose livelihoods and food security status have been affected by the economic crisis.
WFP continues to seek humanitarian access to tens of thousands of displaced and vulnerable populations in active conflict zones who are in urgent need of emergency food and nutrition assistance.
Funding Requirements
WFP requires USD 66.8 million between June to December 2022 to ensure uninterrupted support to its beneficiaries. Of the required amount, USD 43.8 million (66 percent) is for life-saving food assistance. Funding for urban operations is expected to run out in August, while cash-based operations in crisis-affected areas will face interruptions in September 2022, affecting IDPs and other vulnerable people.
Situation Update
Escalating conflict and displacement: Clashes between the Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) and various armed groups have continued to escalate in 2022, especially in the north-west and the south-east regions of the country.
Civilians continue to bear the brunt of these conflicts, with 240,000 displaced during the first quarter of the year. The total number of IDPs – both pre- and post-military takeover – in Myanmar now stands at more than 1 million (UNHCR). The security and humanitarian situation remains tense in many areas, with active conflict – including airstrikes, artillery fire, ambushes, and raids – a daily threat for many civilians. Extended periods of conflict in some areas have cut ties between civilians and their homes, and their sources of livelihoods: many farmers have not planted or harvested crops, while seasonal workers have been unable to secure crucial casual employment.
Rising food and fuel prices: Fuel prices increased 18 percent between February and March this year, driven by global uncertainty, the conflict in Ukraine, and local conditions. At the end of March, fuel prices in Myanmar were more than double those registered in February 2021 (+133 percent), according to WFP’s March Market Price update.
The increase in fuel prices has caused transport costs to rise – a key driver of increasing retail food prices. The cost of a basic food basket increased by 10 percent from February to March, and the highest month-on-month increases were recorded in northern Rakhine State (+29%) and Kayah State (+26%). Compared to the same time last year, the average cost of a basic food basket is up 32 percent.
Edible oil prices rose by 23 percent between February and March, mostly due to high transport costs and volatility in local exchange rates. The average price of rice increased 7 percent from February to March with rising prices felt nearly everywhere in the country. Rising fertilizer prices could drive food prices higher still. While Myanmar mainly imports fertilizer from China, the conflict in Ukraine is expected to have knock-on effects on the availability and price of fertilizer in Myanmar.
Access challenges: Humanitarian access to newly displaced populations, mainly in active conflict zones, remains largely restricted, limiting WFP’s ability to reach populations in urgent need of food assistance. The lengthy process required to secure travel authorizations for WFP’s monthly distributions remains a challenge. Travel authorizations are often granted on a tight schedule, allowing only limited periods to distribute humanitarian assistance.
WFP continues to plan well in advance to ensure travel authorizations are granted in time for distributions to proceed on schedule, as the security situation allows.
Meeting humanitarian needs: The conflict in Ukraine, coupled with the protracted impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, is exerting a negative impact on food prices, lead times and supplier capacity. In Myanmar, these issues are exacerbated by conflict within the country.
Many displaced farmers have been unable to harvest and sow crops since October of 2021. If this continues, the sowing of paddy rice will also be affected in many areas. The cumulative effect is likely to be a reduction in farmers’ income and food stock, which could result in a rice shortage in the market and even higher prices.
WFP will continue to use its monthly market updates to monitor the costs of food and fuel, and work with field offices and partners to identify potential activity adaptations, such as coordinating ahead of time with banks to ensure funds are available for cash-based transfers, adjusting transport contracts, and increasing the value of cash-based transfers to meet the basic needs of beneficiaries. WFP also continues to allow more lead time for the procurement of food and nutrition rations.
A potential risk is that WFP will need to pay more to procure commodities from international markets, which would require additional funding or reducing relief assistance coverage..."
Source/publisher:
World Food Programme (Rome)
Date of publication:
2022-06-06
Date of entry/update:
2022-06-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
WFP (World Food Programme), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
2.41 MB
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Description:
"Highlights
While there was a slight reprieve in fuel prices in mid-April, the upward trend continued by the end of the month and is expected to worsen given the global context. High fuel and transport costs will continue to be major factor affecting retail prices of commodities.
Cooking oil prices also stabilized briefly this month, except in areas with intensification of conflict and disruption in transportation - Sagaing, Kayin, Chin.
Quarterly monitoring of market functionality suggests strain on markets with slight increase in proportion of traders with negative perceptions around availability of products, price stability 1 week and 1 month ahead, and lead times for ordering compared to December 2021, though not as high as in July – September 2021.
Egg prices increased due to rising costs of poultry feed as all livestock producers seek alternatives to wheat in the wake of the Ukraine conflict causing a range of grain commodity prices to rise.
Insecurity continues to deteriorate in the northwest and southeast, affecting access to markets, transport costs, and ability of shops to re-stock
Retail prices rose in Wa region due to lockdown of MongPawk market affecting all commodities; Chickpea prices return to normal in northern Rakhine following Eid..."
Source/publisher:
World Food Programme (Rome) via reliefweb (New York)
Date of publication:
2022-06-02
Date of entry/update:
2022-06-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
WFP (World Food Programme), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
2.17 MB
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Description:
"The MIMU 5W gathers inputs from participating humanitarian and development agencies on Who is doing What,
Where, When and for Whom across Myanmar. It is normally conducted every 6 months and provides information on agencies’ activities at various levels (village/village tract/township, and IDP camps).
In total, 209 agencies participated in the March 2022 round of the MIMU 5W, providing information on their humanitarian and development activities across 22 sectors and 157 sub-sectors as defined by technical/sector working groups. 5W reporting is quite comprehensive for projects of INGO, UN and Red Cross agencies, but there is underreporting of activities for local NGOs and CBOs, since not all are participating. Note that Agencies must report to a sufficiently detailed level (village or camp level) for their work to be reflected fully in the MIMU 5W products.
This Overview describes projects reported as under implementation in Kachin as of March 25th, 2022. Further information on planned and recently completed projects is available from the 5W dataset, which can be requested by 5W Partners. Projects under implementation can also be viewed on our interactive dashboards - 5W Township Dashboard and 5W Village Tract Dashboard..."
Source/publisher:
Myanmar Information Management Unit (Myanmar) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2022-05-19
Date of entry/update:
2022-05-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Climate Change - Burma/Myanmar: general, Education in Burma/Myanmar - general, Public Health, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
3.35 MB
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Description:
"To understand the effects of COVID-19 and political instability on Myanmar’s crop trade sector, a phone survey of commodity traders was conducted in March 2022 with an expanded sample of 456 traders in 14 states and regions.
Key Findings
• More than 90 percent of traders reported increased transport costs, up by 74 percent on average over the past year, driven by fuel price increases of 168 percent. Transport cost increases were aggravated by curfews and check points related to the security situation. As a consequence, 30 percent of traders experienced difficulty contracting transport services.
• Compared to the same period last year farm prices have increased for maize (78 percent), pulses (41 percent to 55 percent) and oilseeds (27 percent to 32 percent) due to export demand and depreciation of the Myanmar Kyat. This will provide incentives to farmers in the Dry Zone and Hilly/Mountainous areas. Paddy prices at the end of March have increased by a lesser amount (23 percent), not enough to offset increases in the cost of chemical fertilizer (expected to rise by 50 percent in the coming monsoon season) and mechanization services.
• Higher farmgate prices combined with modestly increased trading volumes imply greater working capital requirements for traders. Only a small proportion have increased their lending balance sheets given uncertainty about length of time for repayment.
Looking Ahead
• Consumer prices will continue to rise steeply due to higher farm gate prices and transportation costs. Vegetable oil prices will be very high due to the combination of the Ukraine conflict and the Indonesian palm oil export ban. Increases in chickpea prices limit the options for poor consumers to maintain protein consumption by substituting away from meat and eggs to pulses. The majority of Myanmar households are now vulnerable to protein deficiency and the majority of children to Vitamin A deficiency.
• The March 2022 survey round took place before the new foreign exchange restrictions were implemented, requiring exporters to convert all foreign exchange earnings into Myanmar Kyat within 24 hours at the official rate. The difference between the official and parallel market rate is effectively an export tax that will be passed on to farmers, reducing their profitability. This can be avoided by allowing agricultural exporters to maintain foreign currency accounts..."
Source/publisher:
International Food Policy Research Institute (Washington, D.C.) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2022-05-19
Date of entry/update:
2022-05-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
690.04 KB
Local URL:
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Description:
"Key findings
Based on a survey of 422 food vendors in rural and urban areas and in all state/regions of Myanmar in March 2022, it is found that:
Over the last year (comparing March 2022 to March 2021), (nominal) food costs have increased by 41 percent overall and by 39 and 42 percent in urban and rural areas, respectively. Nominal price increases for most foods range from 30 to 50 percent, including protein and micronutrient rich foods.
Rice prices have increased the least of any reported food over the last year. However, a 23 percent increase in this primary staple, which accounts for about 60 percent of caloric intake and 20 percent of household food expenditure, is concerning.
The majority of vendors report challenges related to inputs including high prices of raw materials or supplies (78 percent), high fuel or transportation costs (81 percent), and disrupted access to energy/electricity (57 percent). In the three months before the survey, 62 percent of vendors report one of these challenges as their single greatest adversities.
More than a third of vendors considered either restrictions on mobility (26 percent) or insecurity (10 percent) to have been the greatest obstacles, in the past month..."
Source/publisher:
International Food Policy Research Institute (Washington, D.C.) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2022-05-19
Date of entry/update:
2022-05-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
765.01 KB
Local URL:
more
Description:
"The MIMU 5W gathers inputs from participating humanitarian and development agencies on Who is doing What,
Where, When and for Whom across Myanmar. It is normally conducted every 6 months and provides information on agencies’ activities at various levels (village/village tract/township, and IDP camps).
In total, 209 agencies participated in the March 2022 round of the MIMU 5W, providing information on their humanitarian and development activities across 22 sectors and 157 sub-sectors as defined by technical/sector working groups. 5W reporting is quite comprehensive for projects of INGO, UN and Red Cross agencies, but there is underreporting of activities for local NGOs and CBOs, since not all are participating. Note that Agencies must report to a sufficiently detailed level (village or camp level) for their work to be reflected fully in the MIMU 5W products.
This Overview describes projects reported as under implementation in Rakhine as of March 25th, 2022. Further information on planned and recently completed projects is available from the 5W dataset, which can be requested by 5W Partners. Projects under implementation can also be viewed on our interactive dashboards - 5W Township Dashboard and 5W Village Tract Dashboard.
1. Organisations active in Rakhine State as of March 25th, 2022
In total, 72 agencies reported activities in Rakhine state: 37 are engaged in Development-focused projects (700 village tracts/towns), 26 are engaged in support to other vulnerable groups (not IDP related, 267 village tracts/towns), 32 are engaged in activities which target IDP and Host Communities (419 village tracts/towns and 27 camps) and 22 are active in IDP-focused activities (104 village tracts/towns and 27 camps). IDP-related projects were reported in a total of 30 camps or camp-like settings.
A total of 134 projects were reported in Rakhine State: 41% of the projects involve work with IDPs (54 IDP & Host Community or IDP-only focused projects), and 59% have a focus on other populations (80 Other Vulnerable Groups and/or Development-focused projects).
Non-IDP focused projects (Other Vulnerable Groups and/or Development activities): 57 organisations reported 80 village or township-based projects under implementation in 813 village tracts/towns. The majority are implemented by INGOs. Most of the reported projects are in Maungdaw (68 village tracts/towns), Ponnagyun (64), Buthidaung (63), Rathedaung (59), Thandwe (58), Minbya (57), Mrauk-U (57), Toungup (55), Kyaukpyu (52), Kyauktaw (51), Myebon (47), Ramree (45), Pauktaw (42), Gwa (35), Ann (31), Sittwe (28), Munaung (1).
IDP & Host Community and IDP-only focused activities: 39 organisations reported 54 projects under implementation in 441 village tracts/towns and 30 IDP camps. The majority are implemented by INGOs and UN agencies. Most of these projects are in Ponnagyun (85 village tracts/towns, 0 camp), Rathedaung (67, 0), Minbya (54, 1), Kyauktaw (50, 1), Myebon (48, 2), Buthidaung (38, 0), Mrauk-U (35, 1), Sittwe (23, 18), Maungdaw (21, 0), Pauktaw (15, 6), Ann (3, 0), Kyaukpyu (2, 1)..."
Source/publisher:
Myanmar Information Management Unit (Myanmar) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2022-05-12
Date of entry/update:
2022-05-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Climate Change - Burma/Myanmar: general, Education in Burma/Myanmar - general, Public Health, Human Rights and international relations
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pdf
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2.66 MB
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"Highlights:
Fuel prices increased by +7% from January to February and again by +18% from February to March amidst global uncertainty, causing transportation costs to rise again - a key driver of increasing retail prices. By mid-March, fuel prices were more than double that seen in February 2021 (+133%)
Insecurity continued to disrupt supply and affect stock availability and prices: For the second month in a row, WFP was unable to collect prices in Shadaw or Hpasawng, Kayah; heavy fighting in Puta-O caused route blockages
Harvest of some commodities (pulses, rice, tomatoes) and increased availability contributed to declining prices in some areas, but no major declines seen due to rising costs to transport goods (except for tomatoes which are sold more locally when in season)
Edible oil prices also rose again by 9-11% as local exchange rates (with Thai Baht, USD) deteriorated in February (+78-79% compared to one year ago)
The cost of the basic food basket overall was stable compared to January, but remains +27% higher than the same time last year..."
Source/publisher:
World Food Programme (Rome) via reliefweb (New York)
Date of publication:
2022-05-03
Date of entry/update:
2022-05-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
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Format :
pdf
Size:
3.33 MB
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"Highlights
Fuel price increases continued to drive up retail prices for all commodities via higher transportation costs – In March, fuel on average cost +18% more than in February and was more than double prices recorded in February 2021.
Fuel price volatility is likely to continue amidst supply disruptions as a result of domestic policies and global events (Russia/Ukraine conflict)
Lower than usual paddy supply resulting from challenges for farmers to access necessary inputs negatively affected rice prices
Unusually heavy rains in mid-March damaged salt farms in Mon impacting salt prices and caused damage to onion farms particularly in Magway during critical harvest period leading to crop losses and higher prices
Chickpea prices high in northern Rakhine due to high demand during Ramadan
Impact of insecurity continues in many places, but particularly in Kayah, Kachin, and Chin where movement restrictions are in place..."
Source/publisher:
World Food Programme (WFP) (Rome) via reliefweb (New York)
Date of publication:
2022-05-03
Date of entry/update:
2022-05-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
WFP (World Food Programme), Food Security and militarisation in Burma, Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
2.01 MB
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Description:
"In 2021, escalating civil unrest further displaced thousands of people in Myanmar, while a third wave of COVID-19 devastated the country. Nearly one in four people are currently experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity. With about three-quarters of the population relying on agriculture for their livelihoods, supporting rural households to restore their production is essential to the humanitarian response. Every USD 1 invested in vegetable production yields more than three times its value in harvests..."
Source/publisher:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Rome) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2022-04-06
Date of entry/update:
2022-04-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.07 MB
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Description:
"Objective: To promote the sustainable recovery of flood-affected people by restoring agricultural production and livelihoods, while strengthening early warning systems.
Key partners: Department of Agriculture (DoA) under the Ministry of Agriculture Livelihood and Irrigation (MoALI).
Beneficiaries reached: 5 000 households (27 400 people).
Activities implemented:
Provided 5 000 households (of whom 52 percent female-headed) with 58 340 tonnes of paddy seed, 31 245 tonnes of green gram and 100 tonnes of compound fertilizer, as well as 25 000 surgical masks and 15 000 bars of soap to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Trained 106 field extension field officers as trainers on good agricultural practices (GAPs), climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and nutrition, who then replicated the training for 214 key farmers in the five target townships (Kawkareik and Kyarinnseikgyi Townships in Kayin State, Kyaikmaraw Township in Mon State, and Palaw and Tanintharyi Townships in Tanintharyi Region).
Conducted five meetings to assess the early warning systems in the target townships with participation from representatives from the DoA; Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department; General Administration Department; Department of Disaster Management; and Department of Meteorology and Hydrology.
Provided and installed five weather sensors, and trained 65 DoA staff on their use and maintenance.
Developed five flood risks maps and shared them with the Myanmar Information Management Unit.
Conducted hazard, livelihood and vulnerability assessments in the five townships to define hazard thresholds and triggers for forecast-based early actions, involving 23 participants from township-level governments and 17 farmers and livestock holders.
Trained 17 farmers and livestock holders on disaster risk management (DRM) and disaster risk reduction (DRR).
Conducted three post-monsoon fora with participation from 205 staff from various departments under MoALI to share experiences, challenges and lessons learned to enhance anticipatory action systems.
Results:
Enabled 5 000 households to produce an expected 4 287 tonnes of rice and 721 tonnes of green gram, which is enough to cover the staple food needs of each of the beneficiary households for nearly 11 months.
Enhanced knowledge on GAPs, CSA and nutrition among extension staff and farmers, improving production.
Strengthened early warning systems through enhanced weather monitoring and forecasting, and built capacity on DRM and DRR, mitigating flood risks and increasing resilience to future climate hazards..."
Source/publisher:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2022-04-28
Date of entry/update:
2022-04-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, The discussion on humanitarian assistance to Burma
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pdf
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572.56 KB
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Description:
"ABSTRACT:
The first round of the Myanmar Household Welfare Survey (MHWS)–a nationwide phone panel consisting of 12,100 households–was implemented between December 2021 and February 2022.
The objective of the survey was to collect data on a wide range of household and individual welfare indicators–including wealth, livelihoods, unemployment, food insecurity, diet quality, health shocks, and coping strategies–in a country exceptionally hard hit by conflict, severe economic collapse, and several damaging waves of COVID-19. The respondents interviewed in the MHWS were purposely selected from a large phone database aimed at being representative at the region/state level and urban/rural level in Myanmar.
In this paper, we discuss two key steps taken to ensure that the MHWS is nationally and subnationally representative at the state/region and urban/rural level. First, we used a quota-based sampling strategy by setting survey quotas for respondents’ geography, education, farming status, gender, and rural/urban residence. This sampling strategy is used to address the well-known drawbacks of phone survey samples (e.g., the over-sampling of more educated respondents) and the survey’s particular interest in over-sampling farm households and equally sampling men and women. Second, we constructed household, population, and individual level weighting factors to further ensure that the survey generates nationally and subnationally representative statistics.
To assess the effectiveness of these two strategies on achieving representativeness and consistency with previous surveys, we compare results from the MHWS to earlier nationally representative datasets, focusing on sample sizes of interviewed households for each state/region, and on education levels, farm/non-farm occupation, urban/rural residence, as well as respondents’ housing characteristics, which are unlikely to change substantially over short periods of time. We show that the phone-based MHWS has broader geographical coverage than previous national surveys, reaching 310 of Myanmar’s 330 townships. Moreover, our sampling approach was generally effective in reducing the education bias of phone surveys, except for a handful of states/regions. The MHWS is also unique in providing equal representation of male and female respondents. Additionally, the MHWS sampling and weighting strategies produce statistics on key indicators that closely mirror results from the two most recent national surveys in Myanmar. Overall, the results suggest that these strategies are successful in generating a subnationally representative phone survey that collected data on a rich array of household welfare indicators in exceptionally difficult political and economic circumstances..."
Source/publisher:
International Food Policy Research Institute
Date of publication:
2022-04-27
Date of entry/update:
2022-04-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Rural development in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.7 MB (Original version) - 48 pages
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"ABSTRACT
Social behavior change communication (SBCC) interventions on gender and nutrition are now commonly implemented, but their impact on diet quality and empowerment is rarely assessed rigorously. We estimate the impact of a nutrition and gender SBCC intervention on women’s dietary diversity and empowerment in Myanmar during an especially challenging period—the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The intervention was implemented as a cluster-randomized controlled trial in 30 villages in Myanmar’s Central Dry Zone. Our analysis employs data from the baseline survey implemented in February 2020 and a phone survey implemented in February–March 2021 and focuses on women’s dietary diversity and sub-indicators of the project-level women’s empowerment in agriculture index (pro-WEAI). Two indicators of women’s empowerment―inputs to productive decisions and access to and decisions over credit―improved, indicating that SBCC interventions can contribute to changing gendered perceptions and behaviors; however, most of the empowerment indicators did not change, indicating that much of gendered norms and beliefs take time to change. Women’s dietary diversity scores were higher by half a food group out of 10 in treatment villages. More women in treatment villages consumed nuts, milk, meat or fish, and Vitamin A–rich foods daily than in control villages. We show that even in the setting of a pandemic, a SBCC intervention can be delivered through a range of tools, including household visits, phone-based coaching, and voice-based training, that are responsive to local and individual resource limitations.
Gender messaging can change some gendered perceptions; but it may take more time to change deeply ingrained gender norms. Nutrition messaging can help counter the declines in dietary quality that would be expected from negative shocks to supply chains and incomes..."
Source/publisher:
International Food Policy Research Institute
Date of publication:
2022-04-20
Date of entry/update:
2022-04-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.22 MB (Original version) - 29 pages
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"1. INTRODUCTION
An estimated 1.8 billion people–almost one quarter of the world’s population–lived in fragile states in 2020. This share is expected to grow to 26 percent in 2030 and 31 percent in 2050 (OECD 2020). Moreover, three-quarters of the extreme poor in the world reside in fragile states (OECD 2020). Yet, despite the enormous importance of these areas for reducing global poverty and food insecurity, there is relatively little research on livelihoods and trade because safe and reliable data collection is often a challenge. Access to food, food prices, and the functioning of food value chains are critical when states fail but, insights into the functioning of agricultural markets and food value chains are rare within such conflict-affected areas. In this paper, we examine agricultural value chains in Myanmar during a period of major political instability. Myanmar’s military seized control of the country in a coup on February 1, 2021, setting the country down a path of widespread violence and major economic collapse. In protest of the coup, Myanmar’s people organized a Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) and worker strikes, which led to disruptions in service delivery of both public institutions and private businesses. Banks closed to in-person services and faced severe liquidity shortages, limiting businesses’ ability to pay employees and suppliers, and for residents to access their money. Access to formal and informal credit mostly dried up. Internet access and communication was restricted. Violence and insecurity rose sharply after the coup. Cumulatively, these disruptions had major economic consequences as GDP declined by 18 percent and poverty rates increased to between 40 and 50 percent of Myanmar’s population (Boughton et al. 2021, World Bank 2021, UNDP 2021). We study the rice value chain for two reasons. First, rice is the main staple in Myanmar, accounting for 51 and 62 percent of urban and rural calories consumed, respectively, making it crucial for food security in the country. It is also the predominant crop for a large number of farmers and an important export. Second, approximately 70 percent of rice that is consumed is purchased. Value chains are therefore essential in assuring sales of paddy from farmers, milling of paddy to rice, and distribution of rice to consumers. Rice is typically traded over large distances in the country, implying that coup-related disruptions in the functioning of the value chain coup will be widely felt. To study the rice value chain, we use unique primary data collected by phone before and after the coup at the midstream (rice millers) and downstream (retail food vendors) and combine these data with a number of secondary datasets. We look at three research topics. First, we assess the extent of the disruptions to the rice value chain following the military coup by investigating disruptions midstream and downstream, and rice availability in retail markets. Second, we analyze the size of processing and distribution margins within the value chain and assess how they have been affected by the coup. Third, we look at spatial price dispersion from the mills to food vendors comparing rice prices before and after the coup using a market-pair regression methodology of miller-vendor pairs with miller and vendor fixed effects. We test what explanatory variables of price dispersion used in international literature matter in this context and to what extent these factors have been affected by the instability. We examine travel costs (Minten and Kyle 1999, Minten et al. 2016), border crossings (as a proxy for export market access) (Aker et al. 2014), and differences of ethnic group composition between markets (Aker et al. 2014, Robinson 2016). We also assess the direct effects of measures of violent events in sending and receiving markets on price dispersion. Our data reveal significant business disturbances for food vendors and rice millers after the coup linked to banking and transport. Yet, despite these challenges, local trade and milling continued, though at lower activity levels than normal, assuring availability of rice in most retail markets in the country. Upstream, farm prices and milling margins were found to be mostly stable after the coup. However, we see increases in retail rice prices by 11 percent on average. Simulation results of these increased distribution margins indicate sizable welfare costs for rice consumers and producers, estimated at almost 0.5 billion USD at the national level (equivalent to about 3 percent of agricultural GDP in 2020). Regressions reveal that spatial price dispersion increased after the coup with the distance between mills and vendors widening the price differences. Violence near mills or vendors, which increased dramatically during the coup, also increased price dispersion. However, in contrast with previous findings (Aker et al. 2014, Robinson 2016), we find that differences in ethnic composition of sending and receiving townships/markets did not affect dispersion. Price dispersion further decreased with proximity of food vendors to land borders, possibly due to the price reducing effects of competition from exports in those markets. However, the border effect was weakened severely during periods of border closures. The results indicate that the most severe effect of the coup on retail prices were found in the areas furthest away from export opportunities and major production zones that were affected by violence. When the state fails to assume its normal role and private sector activities are curtailed, it is crucial that agricultural value chains continue to function well to ensure food security and to prevent increases in food retail prices to avoid further suffering of vulnerable households. Our findings indicate that easing transport restrictions, stabilizing fuel prices, and facilitating safe spatial arbitrage of food products would reduce the welfare costs of market disruptions by preventing food price inflation while assuring remunerative prices for farmers. To the extent possible, maintaining safe border trade of agricultural commodities may help stabilize prices in the domestic market. Finally, as mobile phone use is often widespread, even in a failed state, close monitoring of a number of important aspects in such environments can take place and should therefore be encouraged. The paper proceeds as follows. In the next section, we provide important background information on the political conflict and the rice value chain in Myanmar. The econometric specification used to empirically test price changes during the crisis is discussed in Section 3 along with our data and survey methods. Section 4 illustrates the disruptions noted in the value chain. Section 5 presents graphical analyses of price and margin changes, revealing retail price increases following the coup, as well as price regressions results. Section 6 discusses the implications of our results and section 7 concludes by summarizing the key results and by discussing main policy implications..."
Source/publisher:
International Food Policy Research Institute
Date of publication:
2022-04-18
Date of entry/update:
2022-04-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights and international relations
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pdf
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938.08 KB (Original version) - 25 pages
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"Key findings: Prices of vegetable oils, and palm oil in particular, have been rising rapidly in the country. Average retail prices rose nationally by 122 percent over the last year (March 2022 compared to March 2021). As vegetable oils typically make up 5 percent of the food expenditures of Myanmar consumers, this price increase is causing significant hardship, especially for poorer households.
Vegetable oils are less available in retail markets, especially so in conflict-affected areas, compared to the same period last year.
This lower availability and high prices are leading to lower use: 63 percent of food retailers indicate that less vegetable oils were bought by consumers in March 2022 compared to a year earlier.
The local price increases and lower availability are explained by: 1) International price increases. Palm oil prices in international markets have gone up rapidly over the last year because of supply issues in producing countries and in the last month in particular because of the crisis in Ukraine (a major sunflower oil supplier). 2) Depreciation of the local currency. The MMK/USD official exchange rate depreciated by 25 percent over the period mid-March 2021 to mid-March 2022. Market rates showed an even higher depreciation. 3) Policy change. The military government put a licensing and import quota system in place, limiting palm oil imports in the country.
Recommended actions
Licensing, import quota systems, and differential exchange rates seem to lead to lower availability and less transparency in the vegetable oil market. These policies should best be re-evaluated as to assure affordable prices for Myanmar consumers.
Easing mobility constraints and other measures to ensure efficient trade will facilitate availability in the country overall and in conflict-affected areas in particular.
To make local oil production more competitive, support is needed for seed growers and oil millers to scale up the existing production capacity and productivity of groundnut, sunflower, and sesame, especially through an improved business setting that includes access to appropriate inputs, credit and capital, and a secure trade environment..."
Source/publisher:
International Food Policy Research Institute
Date of publication:
2022-04-18
Date of entry/update:
2022-04-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar
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Format :
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502.2 KB
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"Highlights
Month-on-month prices of key commodities are largely stable, but remain elevated compared to the same time last year as insecurity continues to disrupt transportation (via high fuel costs and transport fees, restrictions, blocked access).
In the southeast, insecurity continues to disrupt transport routes and contribute to price volatility. For example, conflict this month made it impossible to collect data in Kayah for the first time, blocked main transport routes causing shortages of products and high prices in Chin, and continued to disrupt waterways In northern Sagaing
The cost of the basic food basket overall remained stable month-on-month, but remains high compared to the same time last year (28%)
While stable overall, many areas continue to see slight declines in rice prices around the country due to the ongoing harvest of new rice
Edible oil prices rose only slightly (+4-5%) due to local fluctuations in exchange rate even as the official exchange rate reported no change
Steady deterioration in the local exchange rate with the Yuan (reported this month as 317 MMK/CNY) continues to affect commodity prices in Wa region and Laukkaing
Fuel prices increased between 14 and 18% by type compared to last month driven by the international increase in oil prices..."
Source/publisher:
World Food Programme (Rome) via reliefweb (New York)
Date of publication:
2022-03-08
Date of entry/update:
2022-03-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
WFP (World Food Programme), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar
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Format :
pdf
Size:
2.75 MB
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Description:
"ABSTRACT: The recent history of rural economic transformation in Myanmar and the effects of COVID-19 and the military coup in February 2021 provide important lessons for the design and implementation of plans to help the country recover from these scourges. The impoverishment of farming communities in Myanmar during decades of socialist military rule, beginning in the 1960s until the turn of the century, led to an outflux of migrants to neighboring countries. As the country opened up to foreign investment through economic reforms initiated in 2011, rural wages surged and farm mechanization services expanded rapidly. Together with increased remittance flows from migrants, higher rural household incomes drove growth in a wide range of non-farm service enterprises. Nevertheless, agricultural growth was low and most crop subsectors stagnated due to underlying and unresolved structural constraints such as poor infrastructure and inequality in land access.
As in many other countries in Asia, border closures and lockdowns instituted to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in early 2020 resulted in widespread employment and income losses. The Myanmar government pro-actively sought to mitigate the impacts through expanded credit to farmers and businesses. By the end of 2020, Myanmar was beginning to recover from the economic stresses of COVID-19. However, the February 2021 military coup resulted in a far more severe economic downturn than COVID-19 due to the collapse of the financial system, the massive resignations by public sector employees, and the prolonged movement restrictions. Coup-induced state failure greatly magnified the health and economic consequences of COVID-19 in terms of poverty, food insecurity, and stalled economic transformation. This paper uses a combination of macro, meso, and micro-level analyses to measure the impacts of COVID-19 and state failure on rural economic transformation through the lens of the agri-food system, and to draw lessons for policies to support broad-based and resilient economic recovery..."
Source/publisher:
International Food Policy Research Institute
Date of publication:
2022-02-02
Date of entry/update:
2022-02-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Rural economy
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680.59 KB (Original version) - 25 pages
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"In Myanmar, hard-earned development gains have been lost because of political instability, which began on 1 February with regime change that was followed by intensified civil conflict. This came on top of significant economic losses caused by the effects of COVID- 19, which continue through today. In response, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), with the support of Germany, is working to mitigate the impact of the combined crises and reverse the emerging food crisis in Rakhine State and Ayeyarwady Region.
Across the country, there have been disruptions to livelihoods, transportation, value chains, critical services, banking systems, as well as to the functioning of the government and administrations as result of the effects of COVID-19. Moreover, the ongoing socio-political crisis has worsened the situation. A recent needs assessments conducted by FAO indicates that returnees from Yangon to Rakhine State and Ayeyarwady Region are placing a great deal of pressure on local communities, and many do not intend to return to their previous location.
FAO is currently focused on protecting the livelihoods of vulnerable farming households and landless farmers by ensuring access to basic inputs to preserve or increase agriculture production in affected communities. In Rakhine State and Ayeyarwady Region, FAO and its partners have provided support to 2 500 farming families to protect their livelihoods and preserve their food security. In five townships, FAO provided vegetable seeds, rice seeds, fertilizers, farming tools and chicken feed to selected returnees and other crisis-affected farming households. These inputs will allow families to plant and harvest fresh food, which will improve the basic food basket at the household level and prevent their food security from worsening. In addition, many families will be able to sell surplus produce to improve their income while supplying local community markets and value chains.
FAO continues to integrate COVID-19 basic protective measures by providing soap and face masks to beneficiaries at the start of all field activities. FAO staff further provide critical public health information about the importance of physical distancing and individual actions to protect oneself and others from contracting COVID-19..."
Source/publisher:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-11-12
Date of entry/update:
2021-11-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
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Sub-title:
Myanmar’s rice farmers are facing higher production and transportation costs, lower yields, and low prices, leaving many worried they will no longer be able to earn enough to survive.
Description:
"Myanmar’s rice farmers are facing a bitter harvest. With the price of agricultural inputs more than doubling since the start of the year and market conditions more unpredictable than ever, cash-strapped farmers faced a tough choice: take on more debt to buy their usual amount of agricultural inputs, or reduce their use of fertiliser, insecticide and weedkiller.
Many have chosen the safer option of spending less, but this will almost certainly result in a lower yield of paddy from this year’s monsoon season crop.
U Myint Wai is the owner of a 100-acre farm in Maletto village, in Ayeyarwady Region’s Maubin Township, and normally averages 70 baskets of paddy an acre. He told Frontier that farmers like him had had to cut costs drastically just to cope with the pandemic, and he’s expecting a drop in yield of up to 30 percent.
“Farmers can use only one-third of the inputs they used the previous year,” he said. “The per-acre yield will certainly be reduced. A plot that used to yield 70 baskets per acre may now yield only 50 baskets.”
Paddy farmers told Frontier that the price of a bag of fertiliser that had cost K20,000 (about US$10 at an exchange rate of K2,000 to the dollar) last year, was selling for K50,000 (about $25).
Since the coup, Myint Wai said, most farmers have been struggling just to make ends meet, let alone save for the future. Although increased joblessness from the pandemic and political unrest means there is no shortage of labour, many farmers simply can’t afford to hire the people they need to bring in the harvest.
U Sann Tin, who farms paddy, peanuts and sesame in Magway Region’s Myaing Township, said that farming families were having to do more with less.
“A plot that normally needs to be weeded twice can only be weeded once,” he said. “If the work can be done by members of the family, we do it ourselves instead of hiring anyone. We have to weigh [the cost of] everything.”
Read more: Monsoon rice crop in peril as farmers hit by coup turmoil
For the cultivation of crops other than paddy, daily wages vary according to location. In Myaing Township this year, a man can expect to earn about K3,000 ($1.50) for half a day’s weeding, but a woman will earn only half that.
“Farmers have to carefully consider whether to buy even one bag of fertiliser,” said the owner of a shop selling agricultural chemicals in Pyinmana Township, Nay Pyi Taw. He declined to give his name because he feared reprisals for speaking to a journalist.
Myint Wai said farmers are waiting nervously to see if they will make any profit this year. “We are growing rice, but we do not know how much we’ll earn,” he said.
Falling exports
Farmers fear that even as they are facing higher production and transportation costs, the price of rice may fall. Many rice mills closed when the third wave of COVID-19 tore through Myanmar in July, border gates remain shut, and demand from other foreign markets has dropped.
Although most rice produced in Myanmar is for domestic consumption, exports have become an important feature of the agricultural economy over the past decade, helping farmers earn more for their crop.
Myanmar was one of the world’s leading rice exporters until General Ne Win seized power in 1962 and adopted the disastrous “Burmese Way to Socialism”, which left farmers with little incentive to produce more rice than they needed for subsistence.
A few regime cronies were allowed to export under the previous military dictatorship, but after U Thein Sein came to power in 2011 the export process was liberalised significantly.
U Myo Tint Htun, deputy secretary of the junta’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, told Frontier that from 2012 to 2018 Myanmar exported between 2 million and 4 million tonnes of rice a year.
Exports have already started to fall since the coup. In the first 10 months of this fiscal year, to the end of July, Myanmar had shipped or trucked 1.7 million tonnes of rice and broken rice to foreign buyers, down from 2 million tonnes over the same period the previous year.
The decline is mainly because of higher transportation costs by both road and sea, said U Ye Min Aung, chairman of the Myanmar Rice Federation.
“The rising transportation costs are the biggest challenge for exporting rice this year,” he said. “But we are looking for all possible ways to continue exports … of Myanmar rice and broken rice.”
Myanmar ships 70pc of its rice exports and the remaining 30pc is transported across land borders, show Myanmar Rice Federation figures.
Because Myanmar imports most of its refined fuel, the collapse of the kyat since the start of this year – it is trading at close to half its pre-coup level – has sent fuel prices skyrocketing.
But shipping rates have increased even further, said Ye Min Aung. He told Frontier that it cost about $8,000 to ship a container of rice to Europe this year, four times what it cost last year.
“The main reason for the rising cost of transportation is COVID-19,” he said. “Because it is a pandemic, the cost of marine transportation has risen globally, not just in Myanmar. But because of the current unstable situation here, some of the foreign marine cargo-liners don’t want to come here.”
There are also headaches for those who export through land borders. U Khun Min Thant, a rice exporter at Muse in northern Shan State, opposite China’s Yunnan Province, said border closures caused by the pandemic had a serious impact on his work.
As COVID-19 cases began to skyrocket in Myanmar in early July, China closed all border crossings with Myanmar, including those at Muse, which accounts for 70pc of the country’s border trade.
Read more: ‘Prices are dropping exponentially’: Border trade hit hard as China shuts the gates
“Since the border gates with China are closed, rice exports across the border have been completely suspended — not for political reasons, but for the pandemic,” he said.
Although the number of COVID-19 cases remains high in Shan State, traders in Muse said they were optimistic that trade would resume in mid-October.
“It is possible to export through marine channels, but it requires too many documents and papers. So just a few exporters use this channel. When the pandemic subsides, rice exports will return to normal.”
The military regime is certainly hoping so. It is aiming to promote agricultural self-sufficiency and has also made agriculture-based industrialisation a key objective, both in public speeches and its draft Myanmar Economic Recovery Plan.
Coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing conceded at a September 7 meeting that rice exports had fallen short of expectations. He suggested that farmers’ incomes could be increased by raising the per-acre yield through the use of good quality strains of seeds and necessary agricultural inputs, and urged regional and state chief ministers to prioritise agriculture.
But his comments seem out of step with a reality in which the tanking kyat makes those inputs significantly more expensive, and in which a banking crisis has made access to credit much more difficult and expensive.
As public policy analyst U Khine Win wrote recently in Frontier, the impact of farmers using less inputs has not yet been reflected in trade figures, because this year’s monsoon crop has not been harvested. Although overall trade fell 20pc this fiscal year, agriculture exports remained steady. As a result, they account for more than one-third of all exports – a 25pc increase on the previous year.
“Decreased fertiliser use this year means agricultural outputs are likely to fall dramatically in the near future, hitting both exporters and importers hard,” he wrote.
The International Food Policy Research Institute, which has predicted that fertiliser sales will decline by half this year, has warned that lower yields will have a significant impact on poverty, as about 80pc of the country’s poor are linked to the agricultural sector.
Read more: The economics behind Min Aung Hlaing’s grand delusions
A price fix?
Farmers are also worried about the price they’ll receive after they harvest their crop in the coming months.
Rice merchants say the retail price of the cereal has been steadily rising since the coup, because people have been stocking up on staple foods. A 50kg bag of low-grade manawthukha rice that cost K29,000 pre-coup is selling for K32,000.
U Hlaing, a rice merchant in Mandalay, suggested that the rises would be temporary.
“The price of rice does not rise too much,” he said. “Mainly because of spreading rumours about the political situation, people rush to buy rice, and it prompts the merchants to raise the price. But it does not last long. The next day when the rumour subsides, the business is normal.”
But even if retail prices are higher than pre-coup levels, higher production and transport costs mean farmers are unlikely to enjoy a higher profit on their paddy. Many fear they may lose money.
In recent years, the government has set a floor price for paddy to ensure farmers do not sell their crop at a loss. Ye Min Aung said that the Myanmar Rice Federation is still calculating the floor price – a process that involves negotiations among representatives from the federation, the government, farmers and rice merchants.
“I think it will be announced around the same time as last year [in October],” he said. “The [military] government will make the announcement.”
Once set, buyers purchase rice from farmers at the market rate or the floor price, whichever is higher. The floor price was fixed at K500,000 for 100 baskets of paddy in 2018 and 2019, before being raised to K520,000 in 2020. Ye Min Aung said he expected it to be about K540,000 for 100 baskets this year. “The floor price will certainly be higher than that of last year but not by much,” he said.
“The floor price is just the floor price. The market price can be higher,” said Ye Min Aung, adding that last year 100 baskets of paddy fetched between K500,000 and K900,000 ($250 to $450 at current exchange rates), depending on the variety.
A basket of paddy weighs 20.87 kilogrammes or 46 pounds, so 100 baskets is just over 2 tonnes.
Although the Myanmar Rice Federation maintains that setting a floor price helps farmers make a profit while stabilising prices for consumers, some farmers doubt that it will be an effective safety net.
U Ko Ko Naing, who grows paddy on 15 acres in Mandalay Region’s Patheingyi Township, said he doubted the regime would be able to enforce the floor price if the market rate was lower.
“It makes no difference how you fix the price in a free market. The government cannot take action against a buyer who pays less than the floor price,” he said. “If buyers pay the floor price when the current price is lower than that, they expect higher quality. The price mainly just depends on supply and demand.”
The regime will also be keen to ensure prices do not rise too much. The impacts of COVID-19 and the coup have left many households struggling to afford even the basics, like rice, salt and cooking oil. With the World Bank forecasting an 18pc contraction in GDP and more economic pain ahead, the United Nations Development Programme expects poverty levels to double by early next year, to more than half the population.
Ma Lin Lin of Pyinmana Township in Nay Pyi Taw is one of the many people who have been hit hard by the mounting crises. Her husband was working as a carpenter on a construction site, earning about K10,000 a day, but is now mostly out of work.
Lin Lin is keeping their family of five afloat by running a small store from her house, but has seen her daily takings fall from K20,000 to less than K10,000. It’s barely enough to cover the rent on their house, and she’s had to cut back on spending as much as possible.
“For daily food, we weigh and use what we can get each day,” she said. “In the past we would mix half rough rice with half fine rice. Now we just have to eat rough rice.”
She’s worried that sooner or later, the family will fall into a spiral of debt. “We have nothing to spare, so if someone in my family fell ill, what would we do?”..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-10-01
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-09
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"Myanmar’s farmers are making losses as the prices of fertilizers and other agricultural inputs have doubled during the monsoon season amid ongoing turmoil under military rule.
A sack of fertilizer has jumped from 25,000 kyats (US$13) to 70,000 kyats and it costs more than 60,000 kyats to harvest an acre (0.4 hectares) as fuel prices have significantly increased, said a farmer from Kayan Township in Yangon Region, who did not want to be named.
Price hikes have forced many paddy farmers to use less fertilizer, which will directly affect the harvest, he said.
“Previously, we could buy goods on credit. But sellers can’t give credit now so we can’t fertilize our farms,” he said.
The military regime on Wednesday fixed a minimum or floor price for rice at 540,000 kyats for 100 baskets of paddy (the regime set one basket at 21kg, however on the market, it is around 22-23kg) for monsoon paddy this year and hot-season paddy next year.
A regime statement said the market can exceed the floor price but not fall below it.
Monsoon paddy harvest is just beginning and prices will depend on the merchants. Only when the rice fetches 700,000 kyats per 100 baskets at market can they have a profit of 70,000 kyats to 100,000 kyats, said farmers.
It costs more than 400,000 kyats per acre with an estimated harvest of 70 baskets, according to farmers. And the yield will decline with the limited use of fertilizer.
Rice prices are 500,000-600,000 kyats per 100 baskets in Myanmar. Current prices are only covering most farmers’ costs. Farmers in remote locations are making losses after earning only around 500,000 kyats after transport costs are paid to merchants.
If price hikes continue, it will be difficult for farmers to grow paddy in the coming hot season when there will be no rain and farmers rely on wells and irrigation, they said.
“Fuel prices have increased so the harvest may decline in farms that have to pump from wells in the hot season,” an Ayeyarwady Region farmer told The Irrawaddy.
Even in Ayeyarwady Region, farmers in Zalun, Danubyu, Kyonpyaw, Pantanaw and other townships have to use wells during the hot season, meaning the area being cultivated might decline, he said.
“Given the fertilizer and other prices, it will be hard for farmers to grow hot-season paddy,” said the Kayan Township farmer.
While the minimum price was set at 520,000 kyats per 100 baskets of paddy last year, fixing the price at 540,000 kyats this year will not help farmers, considering the current situation. Given the fixed prices, farmers who borrowed money from lenders or pawned their belongings to grow paddy will be forced to abandon their livelihoods, said Pakokku University Students Union..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-10-07
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Business and the Military, Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Rice
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"Country Overview: The current situation continues to be not in favour of the most vulnerable children and families in Myanmar with the violence on the rise across the country. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet warned that urgent action is needed to ensure that the situation in Myanmar does not spiral out of control.
A recent report by UN Human Rights Office stated that Myanmar is facing an economy in freefall and the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as a human rights catastrophe that shows no signs of abating. The sharp depreciation of Myanmar currency (kyat) has caused the rise in commodity prices such as essential foods, medicines and fuel which is severely impacting people’s daily lives.
With the escalation in fighting between Myanmar military and EAOs or PDFs, mobile internet access and most Wi-Fi services were cut off in a total of 22 townships in Chin and Kachin states and Magway, Mandalay and Sagaing regions making it difficult for local residents to communicate and access information. Between February and September 2021, 206,000 people were displaced internally due to armed clashes and insecurity..."
Source/publisher:
World Vision (Uxbridge) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-10-07
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Education in Burma/Myanmar - general, Human Rights and international relations, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
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"HIGHLIGHTS:
Overall rice and oil prices in August 2021 remained stable compared to the previous month (+1-2%) but were considerably higher than the same time last year (+19% for rice, +61% for oils)
Kayin saw +14% increase in rice price due to a combination of COVID-19 that caused interruption of rice milling, shop closures and lockdowns, as well as conflict and flooding
The upward trend in chickpea and pulse prices continued as stocks decline amidst poor production this year and high local and international demand (+10% and +6% compared to previous month, respectively)
Egg prices stabilized in most areas but remain higher than normal (+27% higher than August 2020) given elevated demand, with the notable exception of Shan where prices increased again by +11% due to high demand, COVID-19 transportation-related challenges and worsening local exchange rate with the Chinese Yuan (the kyat has depreciated by 20% against the yuan between January and August 2021).
While commodity prices have been rising around the country, Shan state has seen noticeably consistent upward pressure on nearly all commodities since early 2021 due to the transportation challenges and the dependence on the Chinese Yuan.
Overall tomato prices continue to fall (-8%) as local availability improved. However, some areas saw rising prices given dependence on importing from other states/regions and transportation challenges (cost, travel restrictions, delays and reduced frequency causing spoilage, etc.)
Of reporting traders, 12% experienced scarcity in products in August, 17% indicated that they did not expect to receive products within a week of ordering and 16-17% said they could not predict prices 1 week or 1 month from now for at least some commodities.
Fuel prices declined slightly from end of July to end of August, at -3% for diesel, -2% for premium diesel, and -1% for octane 92 and 95 each. Compared to the beginning of February 2021, prices are +36-50% higher by fuel type across the monitored townships..."
Source/publisher:
World Food Programme (Rome) via reliefweb (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-10-05
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
WFP (World Food Programme), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar
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"UNOPS-managed LIFT signals rampant weakening coping mechanisms of smallholder farmers producing most of the country’s agricultural outputs.
*UNOPS-managed Livelihoods and Food Security Fund (LIFT) signals that coping mechanisms of many smallholder farmers, who produce most of the country’s agricultural outputs, have been rampantly weakened and signal a severe threat to rural livelihoods[1]. Following dual crises brought on by COVID-19 and the military’s takeover of government, Myanmar’s financial system is all but paralyzed and is disrupting the country’s agricultural sector. *
In the rural economy, an especially important sector for resilience and food security, farm families are squeezed on all sides by lower earnings, higher costs, delayed access to markets, and slow payments for last season’s crops. Landless laborers see fewer jobs and more competition while small rural enterprises struggle to meet the needs of their customers and suppliers.
Disruptions to the agri-food system have been persistent and are becoming more severe. Farmers are investing less in inputs for the 2021 monsoon season due to the higher cost (especially fertilizer) and the uncertainty concerning output markets. At the same time, many smallholder farmers are cash constrained while credit markets for farm input purchases are in disarray due to the mixed signals to farmers about their repayment obligations and the broader ongoing financial system crisis.
The effects are already being felt in lower farmgate prices and higher consumer prices for food, which may pose risks as the main agricultural season, the monsoon season, is underway.
Political crisis obscures the desperation for working capital loans in rural agriculture
Smallholder farmers typically borrow funds at the start of their planting seasons for rice, beans and pulses, and increasingly maize/corn, and repay lenders when crops are sold, generally 5-6 months later. 2021 however has broken the established business cycle.
For the 48-year old mother of seven and a farmer from the Ayeyarwaddy Region, microfinance loans have been a lifeline and a life-changer. A disciplined borrower, she successfully managed three loan products to boost her all-year-round agricultural production and establish businesses such as a grocery store and boat transportation services, which in turn generated employment for ten laborers. The combined effects of COVID-19 and the military takeover have added unexpected strains on Daw Htay Htay Win’s businesses:
"Fertilizer costs have increased almost twofold during this rainy season and my income from the boat transportation, which I used to reinvest in the rainfed paddy season in May and June have shrunken to 30% of what it was before. We are now forced to consume our income and not invest it.”
Without the working capital loans that farmers have come to depend on, farmers economize on fertilizers and other valuable agricultural inputs, lowering their crop yields and incomes. Without extra funds, farmers hire fewer day laborers, creating further distress for landless workers and rural economies.
The challenge is even more acute as all input prices have risen significantly, led by fuel and fertilizers’ prices rocketing due to global oil price increases and a 30-35 percent devaluation of the kyat against the US dollar since the start of 2021.
A 46-year-old single mother of five and a farmer from Mandalay Region, falls behind this sorrow statistics. A member of the microfinance scheme for the last three years, she has been using loans to grow paddy, beans, sesame and betel leaves. The outbreak of the COVID-19 third wave, drought and the unfolding political crisis have affected her production and left her without affordable lending at a time when she needs it most.
"Insecurity and travel restrictions affected my income from selling betel leaves, which we used for family needs. Recent drought and the ever growing costs for fertilizers and other inputs affected my rainfed sesame fields and I’m worried my income will be much lower this year and I will need to borrow more for the next season.”
“Farmers here realize the benefits of borrowing at a relatively cheaper cost of finance from MFIs. They do not want to take informal loans nor make pre-sell arrangements of their crops to brokers whenever possible,” said a farmer and client of MFI in Ye U, located in Sagaing’s rice belt.
While a loan from a microfinance institution normally costs farmers 2.3% per month, informal borrowing typically charges 5% per month, while farmers can pay up to 8-10% of the value of their harvest to brokers who lend them money to help fund planting. Recently, farmers are required to pay for their inputs with cash rather than on credit terms, further straining their resources.
“People in the community try their best not to miss any principal and interest payments as they want MFIs to continue operating in the village,” says the farmer, echoing widespread concerns that the government-operated Myanmar Agricultural Development has halted its credit operations.
As farmers strive for affordable loans, microfinance institutions halt their services over severe operational and funding difficulties
Myanmar’s most reliable rural lenders, microfinance institutions (MFIs), are facing severe disruptions to their businesses – with field staff prevented from coming to work, customers missing scheduled repayments, and troubled local banks trapping MFIs’ funds that otherwise would be repaid to lenders or distributed as local loans or staff salaries.
While both the rural economy and MFIs claw through day-to-day operating challenges, a larger crisis looms if Myanmar’s MFIs go out of business or run out of funds to lend to their estimated 4 millionborrowers[2] due to the meltdown of the domestic banking sector and as foreign lenders’ pause on new loans for Myanmar’s financial sector.
Like the rest of the country, MFIs struggle to transact through local banks or get their hands on enough cash - kyat or US dollars - to conduct business normally or repay their offshore loans. Late payments and the drumbeat of bad news from Myanmar has put foreign lenders on high alert.
Unless renewed sources of funding quickly emerge and/or existing obligations are rescheduled, MFIs will be forced to further curtail their lending and unable to assist their vulnerable rural clients who will continue to suffer lower incomes and harder times.
Some MFIs have already started rationing credit, reducing the size of loans to their customers.
“We are coping with serious operational issues, including very limited access to our cash, non-repayment of loans, and new security issues, but what really keeps us awake at night is worrying about how we can refinance our current loans from local banks and international financial institutions as they come due over the next few years,” says the head of funding for one MFI supported by LIFT.
“We certainly don’t want to pull back. But without funding certainty, we’ll have to plan to shrink our loan book and make fewer and smaller loans just when they are needed more than ever by our clients,” the MFI executive explains, highlighting a potential sector-wide retreat in one of Myanmar’s brightest, highest impact sectors.
If MFIs cannot make new loans to customers after they re-pay, non-performing loans are liable to sky-rocket, further jeopardizing MFIs’ financial stability and their capacities to offer affordable funding to agricultural producers.
While most farmers managed to access production inputs for the monsoon season, though of lower quantity and quality, the harvest and post-harvest management of monsoon crops as well as the post-monsoon production season are under threat if no affordable loans are made available.
“As responsible lenders, we have to balance our clients’ needs against those of the institution,” says a manager of a LIFT-funded MFI, which operates in Sagaing and Chin State and heavily supports small-scale farmers and livestock breeders. “But without funding certainty, we can’t be there for them.”
While among the smaller and more rurally-focused MFIs in LIFT’s network, Thitsar Ooyin is taking a typical approach to managing immediate and looming risks.
“The very first step has been to slow our expansion,” explains the MFI manager, “The second is to reduce the size of each loan, and the third is to stop renewing clients, which greatly increases our risks because our clients, especially in these times, are understandably reluctant to repay without faith we will lend to them again - right away”.
LIFT facilitated the development of the microfinance sector to strengthen food systems…
LIFT has been strongly supporting microfinance development in Myanmar, especially in the rural areas , seeing access to finance and fair lending practices as fundamental building blocks for improving rural livelihoods and resilience among households and small businesses.
Since its start in 2012/13, LIFT-supported MFIs have reached nearly half of total individual loans in the country (2.5 million against a total 5.4 million loans), worth 1.4 billion kyats in total (against a nation-wide total of 2.6 billion kyats).
LIFT’s catalytic collaboration with the TCX programme worked to “hedge” the investor’s currency risk for the USD-to-kyat lending kyat to customers. Two rounds of funding in 2017 and 2020 effectively opened up Myanmar's MFI market to global sources of capital and directly supported more than $200 million of loans from foreign funders to Myanmar MFIs.
The vast majority of these loans were made to the rural sector to support the planting seasons, boost innovations and promote mechanisation in agriculture, leading to improved food security. Through direct grants, technical assistance for lenders and regulators alike and the sponsorship of innovative financing schemes, LIFT has helped increase the flow of more reasonably-priced credit to farmers which, in turn, has lowered the cost of essential working capital and led to investments in better seeds, fertilizers and planting techniques that can bring better returns on their seasonal toil.
As responsible MFI lending has steadily replaced higher-priced informal loans, and lessened farmers’ dependence on their suppliers or crop buyers for credit, the overall sector has grown dramatically, reaching otherwise excluded borrowers especially rural women, driving greater financial inclusion, and helping improve rural incomes. While not all MFI lending occurs in rural areas, rural borrowers have become highly reliant on MFI loans to keep planting and harvesting and bolstering their incomes through unpredictable times.
… and remains committed to support financial inclusion to revive agriculture production and boost food security
There is an imminent threat of a reversal in rural lending and direct negative consequences for rural livelihoods and smallholder farmers.
Creating “breathing space” for MFIs to reschedule some of their repayments to lenders is critical, so that lenders and borrowers can cope with new and extraordinary circumstances. This would allow MFIs to restructure outstanding loans and to extend more loans to their clients, particularly smallholder farm farmers, to sustain their livelihoods.
Only through ensuring that borrowers can continue to access essential funds will Myanmar’s MFI sector sustain its remarkable momentum and continue to play a fundamental role in supporting inclusive economic development across the country..."
Source/publisher:
UN Country Team in Myanmar via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-09-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar
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"Highlights
Overall, prices of key commodities were mostly stable when compared to June 2021 (rice +1%, cooking oil +2%, mixed oil +4%), with the notable exception of egg prices that increased dramatically in July (+26%), and a smaller but steady increase in the price of chickpeas (+5%).
However, the overall stability masks variations at lower levels, with some areas experiencing higher price increases across a range of commodities due mostly to the surge in COVID-19 cases and ensuing mitigation measures (travel restrictions, stay-at-home orders, shop closures) that caused disruption in transportation and supply chains.
For eggs, the steep increase was due mostly to a surge in demand amidst rumors that eggs boost the immune system against COVID19, while for chickpeas, the price increase is due to low production this year and strong local demand. Prices for both commodities are also affected by transportation challenges and the increasing cost of transport.
For oil at area and state levels, disparities in price variation compared to last month can be seen, with higher increases recorded for mixed oil in Chin (+10%) and Magway (+7%) and for cooking oil in Magway (+9%) and Yangon (+5%). These increases were related to transport challenges mentioned above.
In Kayin, the prices of cooking oil, mixed oil, and chickpeas increased much more than elsewhere (+23%, +9%, +22% respectively) due to inaccessibility from COVID-19 travel restrictions, shop closures, compounded by extensive flooding in the second half of July.
16% of traders said they were experiencing scarcity in stock this month, a sharp increase from 5% last month. In addition, 19% said that if they ordered now, they did not think they could receive the goods within a week, with nearly half of them saying it would take 3-4 weeks. This is up from 8% last month..."
Source/publisher:
World Food Programme (Rome) via reliefweb (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-07-31
Date of entry/update:
2021-09-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
WFP (World Food Programme), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar
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2.02 MB
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"Rakhine State is one of the poorest states in Myanmar, with over 40 percent of its households food insecure, more than half of whom are moderately or severely food insecure. The most vulnerable communities are unable to access sufficient food or a source of livelihood. Violent clashes over the past year have increased in regularity and intensity, the geographical scope has expanded and the civilian toll has grown. This conflict combined with the health-related COVID-19 restriction measures have severely reduced access to food and livelihoods, and has reduced vulnerable households' purchasing power. Insecurity, displacement and disruption of agricultural production has led to an increase in poverty levels, especially for smallholder and landless farmers.
Through the financial support of the Myanmar Humanitarian Fund (MHF), FAO is implementing a project entitled "Farming and livelihood support to 1 200 landless and most vulnerable farmers in Maungdaw and Buthiduang Townships, Rakhine State, Myanmar". The project's overall objective is to meet the urgent food security and livelihood needs of the most vulnerable conflict- and COVID-19-affected small-scale farmers and landless seasonal workers. The project aims to ensure continued food production and support livelihoods through the provision of multipurpose cash transfers and agricultural inputs. In addition, it aims to increase the capacity of beneficiaries to use the provided inputs effectively while enhancing the communities' knowledge of nutrition. Information on best hygiene practices were also shared to mitigate the risk of transmission of COVID-19. The project has targeted extremely poor households with limited access to land and productive assets, as well as landless farmers, stateless households, and households headed by women or with malnourished children.
Through this project a total of 500 farming households (3 088 people) have already received** agricultural inputs** consisting of rice paddy seeds, vegetable seeds and fertilizers to enable them to continue their agricultural production and sustain their livelihoods during the 2021 monsoon season. These 500 households also received leaflets on Good Agricultural Practices, nutrition-sensitive agriculture, resilient crop production and improved hygiene practices. Additionally, they were provided with hygiene kits, including face masks and bars of soap, as well as information to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19. The information was shared using a social and behaviour change approach and was communicated through orientation sessions, posters and leaflets.
Beneficiary profiles
Daw Oo Than
Daw Oo Than, 38, lives with her family in Ywar Thar Yar Village, Maungdaw township and is one of the beneficiaries of the project. Her family includes her husband, U Aung San Nu, who is unemployed, their two sons and one daughter, who has disabilities and is deaf. The family owns a small plot of farmland, which is 1 acre in size.
Daw Oo Than said her family is fortunate to be included as a beneficiary of the project because they do not have any source of income, and it is challenging to acquire enough food to feed her entire family. She also shared that their economic situation worsened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic as income earning opportunities became scarcer due to the restrictions of movement for people and goods.
Through this MHF-funded project, FAO provided Than's family with paddy seed, vegetable seed, compound fertilizer and hygiene items, including bars of soap and face masks. The family is so happy and thankful to MHF and FAO for this assistance. Without this support, Than's family would have faced difficulties, which may have forced them to resort to negative coping strategies, such as borrowing money at high interest rates. The family expects to harvest enough rice to feed themselves for at least four months and enough vegetables to last the whole monsoon season.
Ze Bu Raw Man
Ze Bu Raw Man, of Let Wai Dat Ywar Thit Village, Buthidaung Township, Rakhine State, Myanmar, also benefited from the MHF-funded project. He lives with his family of six, including his wife, three sons, one daughter and his father. The family owns a small plot of farmland 1 acre in size, but Ze Bu Raw Man stated that life is difficult for his family, and that it is hard to find income-generating opportunities to support his family’s the basic needs. His wife is not employed and the family has little money and relies on subsistence farming, provided that they manage to acquire agricultural inputs.
With the inputs provided by the project, Ze Bu Raw Man and his family are expected to harvest enough rice and vegetables to cover their own food needs for the next few months. Ze Bu Raw Man highlighted that if his family had not been supported by this FAO project, it would have been very difficult to obtain inputs to farm this year and that his family would have run out of food, which would have led them to engage in negative coping strategies, such as reducing the number of meals eaten per day..."
Source/publisher:
Food and Agriculture Organization (Rome) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-08-05
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar
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"UNOPS-managed Livelihoods and Food Security Fund estimates that one in six Myanmar workers in low-skilled employment is in a situation of forced labour
Yangon, Myanmar - In the first major study on the prevalence of forced labour in Myanmar since 2015, the UNOPS-managed Livelihoods and Food Security Fund (LIFT) shows that one in six workers in low-skilled employment is in a situation of forced labour due to multiple gaps in existing labour protection frameworks.
The LIFT-funded report From the Rice Paddy to the Industrial Park: Working Conditions and Forced Labour in Myanmar’s Rapidly Shifting Labour Market assesses the practical experiences of over 2,400 low skilled workers in relation to freedom of association, wage protection, equal treatment of women, access to justice and other key labour rights.
The study reveals that despite advances being made in increasing workers’ rights, 91 percent of interviewed workers had no formal contract and 93 per cent of workers had no access to social security. This is largely attributed to the decades under neglect - leading up to 2000 - when workers in Myanmar were left without access to basic rights and unprotected by an outdated legislative framework. While reforms to labour governance were initiated in 2010, the labour market itself has continued to be dominated by informality and poor working conditions.
The research findings showed an alarming prevalence of the two elements of forced labour, ‘involuntary work’, experienced by a staggering 63 per cent of workers and ‘threat or menace of penalty’ among low-skilled workers reported by 19 percent of respondents.
Not being told about dangerous working conditions (32 per cent), working for very low wages (25 percent), degrading living conditions in employer-provided housing (16 per cent) and a job that differed to what was agreed upon (11 per cent) are named as the most common forms of involuntary work. These and other findings suggest a high prevalence of exploitative employment practices and a lack of decent work opportunities for workers which are compounded by considerable practical restrictions on freedom of association and collective bargaining as well as by limitations in the reach or effectiveness of available assistance.
The study also provides evidence of the informality of the labour market information system, with over 50 per cent of workers reporting having found jobs by word of mouth and 47 per cent securing their employment through direct hire by the employer. Only (1 per cent) of workers interviewed were recruited through a labour broker (pwe sar in Myanmar language).
The COVID-19 pandemic further accentuated workers’ vulnerabilities with the survey finding that nearly three-quarters of low-skilled workers (73 per cent) reported some reduction in income during COVID-19, while (43 per cent) lost their jobs entirely.
Following the 1 February military takeover of government and the current COVID-19 third wave there has been a further dramatic rise in unemployment amounting to up to 1.2 million job losses in the second quarter of 2021. The sectors hardest hit are those that are the focus of this study, construction, garments, tourism and hospitality. All indications are that the unfolding political and socio-economic crisis will roll back years of hard-fought gains made in expanding labour protection during recent years, particularly through the suppression of trade unions and labour organisations.
“The study provides a critical line in the sand for the status of working conditions before the military’s declaration of a state of emergency and the outbreak of the third wave of COVID-19,” remarked LIFT Fund Director Katy Webley. “The situation of forced labour in Myanmar was significant before 1 February, but there were many individuals and organisations working together to create a momentum of change; the past few months however have seen the situation deteriorate dramatically.”
Mass loss of employment and increased desperation for income will increase the vulnerability of Myanmar’s workers to exploitative labour practices and forced labour both in Myanmar and abroad. The impact of the political situation on workers in Myanmar must continue to be monitored closely with decisive actions taken to ensure that fundamental labour rights are safeguarded from abuse. LIFT’s donors remain committed to supporting the resilience and sustainable livelihoods of poor and vulnerable groups in Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
United Nations Office for Project Services (Denmark) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-08-06
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNOPS (United Nations Office for Project Services), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Human Rights and international relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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pdf
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4.35 MB
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Description:
"FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT
• Mixed start of 2021 monsoon season
• Rice exports in 2021 forecast to contract
• Persistent conflicts severely affect large numbers of people
Mixed start of 2021 monsoon season
Planting of the predominantly rainfed main season paddy crop, which accounts for more than 80 percent of the annual production, is nearing completion. Since its start in May, the monsoon season has been characterized by average to above‑average precipitation amounts in the northern and southern main producing areas, benefitting planting activities and germination of crops. By contrast, in central rice producing areas, including Magwe, Mandalay and Sagaing regions and Shan State, well below‑average rainfall amounts may have delayed planting operations and affected early crop development. Moisture deficits resulted in below‑average vegetation conditions in June, raising concerns regarding crop yields. Farmers are reportedly planting more drought‑resistant crops, such as oil seeds, in the areas affected by scarce precipitation. A further factor that has weighed on the production outlook this year is the political instability, which began on 1 February with the change of regime. The instability has caused disruptions to key supply chains and critical support services, including the banking system, and these impacts could curb production. The performance of the monsoon rains until the end of the season in October will be crucial for the final outcome.
Planting of the 2021 main maize crop started in June and is expected to finalize in August. Some delays have been reported in the central producing areas due to below‑average rainfall amounts. Strong demand by the domestic feed industry and export markets, including China (mainland) and Thailand, are expected to encourage farmers to maintain an area planted that is above the five‑year average.
Persistent conflicts severely affect large numbers of people
Following the military take-over on 1 February 2021, increased tension and unrest are affecting the country. The current uncertain political conditions may further compromise the fragile situation of the vulnerable households already affected by COVID-19 pandemic disruptions. Armed conflict between the military and non-State armed groups led to population displacements, disrupted agricultural activities and limited access for humanitarian support especially in Rakhine, Chin, Kachin, Kayin, Kayah and Shan states. According to the latest data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in June 2021, an estimated 177 500 people had been forced to flee their homes in southern parts of the country due to conflicts since February. Most of the internally displaced people are suffer high levels of food insecurity as the conflict is hampering the delivery of adequate humanitarian assistance and impending the restoration of local livelihoods. Income losses due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic have already had a severe and adverse impact on the food security situation of the vulnerable households. In addition, the monsoon season, with recurrent heavy downpours or flooding, adds another layer of risk. Disclaimer: The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of FAO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries..."
Source/publisher:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-08-03
Date of entry/update:
2021-08-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights and international relations, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
112.62 KB
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Description:
"The MIMU 3W gathers inputs from participating humanitarian and development agencies on Who is doing What,
Where, across Myanmar. It is normally conducted every 6 months and provides information on agencies’ activities at various levels (village/village tract/township and IDP camps). Given the changing situation, there has been a 9 month gap since the last 3W round documenting agencies activities as of August 28th 2020.
In total, 159 agencies participated in the May 2021 3W, providing information on their humanitarian, development and peace-focused activities across 22 sectors and 157 sub-sectors as defined by technical/sector working groups. 3W reporting tends to be more comprehensive for projects of INGOs, UN and Red Cross agencies, but there is underreporting of activities for local NGOs and CBOs, since not all are participating. 54 less agencies reported in this May 2021 round than in the last MIMU 3W in August 2020, possibly due to the pressures of the COVID pandemic and/or uncertainty re the situation for agencies’ activities countrywide. Note that agencies must report to a sufficiently detailed level (village or camp level) for their work to be reflected fully in the MIMU 3W products.
This Overview covers projects under implementation reported to the MIMU 3W as of May 31, 2021 in Bago (East),
Kayah, Kayin, Mon, Shan (East), Shan (South) and Tanintharyi. Further information on planned and recently completed projects is available from the 3W dataset, which can be requested by 3W Partners. Projects under implementation can also be viewed on our interactive dashboards - 3W Township Dashboard and 3W Village Tract Dashboard..."
Source/publisher:
Myanmar Information Management Unit via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-07-29
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Education in Burma/Myanmar - general, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Public Health, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
3.51 MB
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Description:
"The MIMU 3W gathers inputs from participating humanitarian and development agencies on Who is doing What, Where, across Myanmar. It is normally conducted every 6 months and provides information on agencies’ activities at various levels (village/village tract/township, and IDPs camps). Given the changing situation, there has been a 9 month gap since the last 3W round documenting agencies activities as of August 28th 2020.
In total, 159 agencies participated in the May 2021 3W, providing information on their humanitarian and development activities across 22 sectors and 157 sub-sectors as defined by technical/sector working groups. 3W reporting is quite comprehensive for projects of INGO, UN and Red Cross agencies, but there is under-reporting of activities for local NGOs and CBOs, since not all are participating. This indicates 54 less agencies reporting than in the last MIMU 3W in August 2020, possibly due to the pressures of the COVID pandemic and/or uncertainty re the situation for agencies’ activities countrywide. Note that Agencies must report to a sufficiently detailed level (village or camp level) for their work to be reflected fully in the MIMU 3W products.
This Overview describes projects under implementation in Kachin as of May 31, 2021. Further information on planned and recently completed projects is available from the 3W dataset, which can be requested by 3W Partners. Projects under implementation can also be viewed on our interactive dashboards - 3W Township Dashboard and 3W Village Tract Dashboard..."
Source/publisher:
Myanmar Information Management Unit
Date of publication:
2021-07-22
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups.
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pdf
Size:
1.49 MB
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Description:
"This report shares the results of a joint analysis by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) on the agri-food system in Myanmar based on an assessment conducted from August to October 2020.
The analysis was part of a broader initiative to contribute to data collection and analysis linked to COVID-19, informing evidence-based programming in selected countries. Its objective was to assess the effects of COVID-19 on Myanmar’s agri-food system, which includes livestock and fishing, food supplies, livelihoods and the food security of rural people at the national level. Information is collected from primary sources of the production process: producer households, traders or marketers, inputs suppliers, extension officers and key informants. The first round of data collection has been completed, with Rounds II and III taking place in 2021.
This assessment covered 75 townships in eight states and regions: Mon, Chin, Kachin, Kayin, Rakhine, Sagaing, Shan and Yangon; data were collected between mid-August to mid-October 2020, complemented by a survey of input vendors.
This report was made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this report are the sole responsibility of FAO and WFP, and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government..."
Source/publisher:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and World Food Programme via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-06-23
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), WFP (World Food Programme), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
744.58 KB (52 Pages)
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Description:
"Introduction: From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were concerns about what would happen in Myanmar, given its extremely weak health infrastructure, its long history of conflict and political instability, and its large impoverished and at-risk population. The low spread of the virus in Myanmar through the first half of 2020 however led some to believe that the Myanmar government was getting it right. The World Health Organisation’s country representative in Myanmar boasted in July 2020 that “Myanmar has done extraordinarily well so far”. He cited Myanmar’s “whole-of-government” approach, adding: “So the country has really gone all out to strengthen the public health side and preparedness and response, which has been critically important to try and make sure we have as few cases as possible in Myanmar.”
Although the Myanmar government’s COVID-19 Economic Relief Plan (entitled “Overcoming as One”) made claims about being a coordinated action “leaving no-one behind”, many of the positive actions of the government have not reached the entire population. Aid and support have remained insufficient in most rural areas, like that of Southeast Myanmar, which is largely populated by ethnic minorities who are already vulnerable due to protracted and on-going conflict, displacement, and ethnic oppression by the central government. Thus Myanmar’s “success” should and can only be gauged through a closer look at COVID-19 response and impact in rural ethnic areas.
Very early on in the pandemic, despite the relatively slow spread of the virus, political fractures and infrastructure weaknesses due to Myanmar’s long and on-going history of conflict could be seen not simply in the government’s response, but that of other stakeholders, like Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs), locally based civil society organisations, and NGO/INGOs. In a brief report on the situation in Southeast Myanmar during the first wave of the pandemic, KHRG noted the poor coordination and collaboration between stakeholders and the delayed and uneven response to the crisis. KHRG argued that “the lack of coordination between political stakeholders has meant that villagers and local leaders have struggled to obtain information and consistent training and regulations, and has left too much of the responsibility of figuring out what to do in the hands of those who lack information and resources to effectively organise awareness and prevention”. Not only did this poor coordination result in the forced removal of screening checkpoints by the Tatmadaw, KHRG also found the rise of conflict and tension between villages, increasingly critical challenges to livelihood, as well as the breakdown of local systems of mutual aid.
Given the early indications that COVID-19 response and support were failing in some of the most vulnerable areas in Southeast Myanmar, KHRG continued to monitor the situation to more fully assess the structural weaknesses and barriers that might lead to crisis as the pandemic entered a second wave of outbreaks beginning in August 2020. Increased threats of infection in rural areas did in some cases lead to new efforts at awareness and prevention, but in general sparked heightened restrictions by both the Myanmar government and the Karen National Union (KNU). Thus rather than working to increase individual knowledge and responsibility on the part of villagers, most measures ended up being in the form of broad restrictions like travel bans and school closures that have had significant negative impact on villagers’ lives. These restrictions also seemed to be matched by a reduction in the range of stakeholders providing services and aid. Although the government has provided small amounts of financial and material assistance to households in need, villagers living in KNU-controlled and some mixed control areas have been excluded, leaving local authorities and CSO/CBOs to figure out solutions to support these communities.
Most rural areas in Southeast Myanmar have not (yet) experienced widespread local transmission of the virus, and thus impacts have been more clearly tied to restrictions and prevention measures as opposed to the full-on health crisis seen elsewhere. But because of the already extremely vulnerable situation of many rural communities, the livelihood impacts are themselves at risk of creating a humanitarian crisis. The poor handling thus far of information and prevention, as well as of testing and treatment, may also have wider implications if outbreaks start occurring in the more remote areas.
On February 1st 2021, the Myanmar military seized power by staging a coup against the newly elected government. Although this report focuses on the situation prior to the coup, the infrastructure and services (albeit insufficient) that the central government, EAOs and other stakeholders have put in place over the past year are in the process of being dismantled. Public healthcare services in some areas have come to a halt, and there have been major disruptions to communication, transportation, supply chains, and banking services. COVID-19 testing has been largely reduced, with little reporting now taking place. Any plans for widespread vaccination seem to have been entirely interrupted.
If rural areas of Southeast Myanmar have not yet faced widespread problems of infection, all of this is likely to change. As local doctors have pointed out: “Since the military takeover, the COVID-19 response has stalled. Mass public rallies and protests are both serving a critical function for resistance and unity, but also as likely superspreader events for virus transmission. Without adequate testing, public compliance and goodwill for isolation, access to acute clinical care, and continued immunisations, the implications for COVID-19 spread, morbidity, and mortality are substantial.” Thus, there is need more than ever to find solutions to bring support and aid to rural villagers, whose situation has already deteriorated and become more precarious over the past year. With the military now in control, there is even less likelihood that support and services will reach rural ethnic communities.
Although this report covers the period prior to the coup, and describes an infrastructure that may now barely exist, the problems created by COVID-19 and the government’s response have not disappeared, and will need to be addressed. Furthermore, the underlying political dynamics that impede the development of a support infrastructure capable of addressing the needs of rural ethnic minorities continue to play out. The report thus begins by providing a brief overview of the political dynamics that have shaped access to services and COVID-19 response. Followed by that is a discussion of COVID-19 reporting and testing, and the prevention measures that have been put in place to address the rise in COVID-19 cases. The discussion then turns to impacts on livelihood, access to different forms of support, and the situation of healthcare and education..."
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group
Date of publication:
2021-05-27
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Education in Burma/Myanmar - general, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Public Health, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) reports
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.37 MB (55 pages)
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Topic:
Agriculture, Health, Protection and Human Rights
Topic:
Agriculture, Health, Protection and Human Rights
Description:
"Pandemic and political crisis could result in half of Myanmar’s population living in poverty by 2022, UNDP says
The combined effects of the two crises could put over a decade of progress on poverty reduction in the country at risk
Yangon – After more than a decade of hard-won gains in the fight against poverty, the number of poor people in Myanmar could double as a result of the combined impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing political crisis, according to new research released today by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The study, entitled “COVID-19, Coup d’état and Poverty: Compounding Negative Shocks and their Impact on Human Development in Myanmar” warns that, if unchecked, the combined effect of these two crises could push up to 12 million people into poverty. That could result in as much as 25 million people - nearly half of Myanmar’s population - living below the national poverty line by early 2022, a level of impoverishment not seen in the country since 2005.
The analysis indicates that, by the end of 2020, 83 per cent of households had reported that their incomes had been, on average, slashed almost in half due to the pandemic. With these unprecedented circumstances, the number of people living below the poverty line in Myanmar is estimated to have increased by 11 percentage points as a result of the socio-economic effects of the COVID-19 crisis.
And according to the projections outlined in the report, the worsening security, human rights, and development situation in Myanmar since February 2021 could cause another sharp rise in the country’s poverty rate – driving it up by an additional 12 percentage points by early next year.
“In the space of 12 years, from 2005 to 2017, Myanmar managed to nearly halve the number of people living in poverty. However, the challenges of the past 12 months have put all of these hard-won development gains at risk,” said UNDP Administrator, Achim Steiner. “Without functioning democratic institutions, Myanmar faces a tragic and avoidable backslide towards levels of poverty not seen in a generation.”
According to the study, women and children are projected to bear the heaviest brunt, with more than half of Myanmar’s children projected to be living in poverty within a year.
Urban poverty is expected to triple, and the worsening security conditions have continued to fracture supply chains and hinder the movement of people, services, and commodities including the provision of agricultural goods. Small businesses, which provide the majority of jobs and incomes for the poorer segments of the urban population, have been hit hard.
The pressure on the country’s currency, the Kyat, has increased the price of imports and energy. At the same time, the country’s banking system remains paralyzed, resulting in shortages of cash and limited access to social welfare payments. It also prevents much-needed remittances from reaching hard-pressed families.
“We are witnessing a compounding crisis of unprecedented severity and complexity. Myanmar had managed to halve poverty, and with its democratic transition was showing signs of firming up fragile human development gains. Now it feels like a push-back to 2005. The combined effects of COVID-19 and the political crisis have caused a systemic shock which could lead to a long-lasting disruption in Myanmar’s development trajectory, unless addressed and resolved soon,” said Kanni Wignaraja, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific.
As the situation in Myanmar continues to worsen, UNDP joins the United Nations Secretary-General in condemning, in the strongest terms, the killing of civilians, and in calling for a firm, unified and resolute international response to the crisis.
Link to the report: https://www.asia-pacific.undp.org/content/rbap/en/home/library/democrati...
About UNDP
UNDP is the leading United Nations organization fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and planet..."
Source/publisher:
United Nations Development Programme (New York) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-04-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNDP - Burma/Myanmar, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health, Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Human Rights and international relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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593.8 KB
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Topic:
Land grab; resistance; agrarian climate justice; Myanmar; Burma; democracy
Topic:
Land grab; resistance; agrarian climate justice; Myanmar; Burma; democracy
Description:
"ABSTRACT: The intersection between land grabs and climate change mitigation politics in Myanmar has created new political opportunities for
scaling up, expanding and deepening struggles toward ‘agrarian
climate justice’. Building on the concepts of ‘political
opportunities’ and ‘rural democratization’ to understand how
rural politics is relevant to national regime changes in the process
of deepening democracy, this paper argues that scaling up
beyond the local level becomes necessary to counter the
concentration of power at higher levels. At the same time, this
vertical process is inextricable from building horizontal networks
and rooting struggles in communities. By looking at national-level
land policy advocacy for more just land laws, accountability
politics in mining at a regional level in the southern Tanintharyi
region, and the bottom-up establishment of local indigenous
territories, this paper illustrates how expanding these struggles
becomes necessary, but is also accompanied by potential faultlines. These fault-lines include divergent political tendencies
within the network and challenges to working in areas contested
by the Burmese state and ethnic armed organizations.....Introduction: Political reactions ‘from below’ to what has been termed ‘the global land grab’ following the 2007/2008 financial crisis have been diverse, ranging from resistance to grabs and mobilizations across local, regional, national and transnational levels, to negotiations to
improve compensation or for better terms of incorporation into land deals (Hall et al. 2015; Borras and Franco 2013). Attention has been given to the importance of ‘convergence’ across struggles, around common demands for system change, food sovereignty
or climate justice as a strategy to strengthen demands against powerful actors (Tramel 2018; Mills 2018; Claeys and Delgado Pugley 2017). However, linking local and national struggles with transnational movements also brings accompanying tensions, as these
have their own histories (Edelman and Borras 2016; Peluso, Afiff, and Rachman 2008). While studies have looked at different ways in which mobilizations have engaged with the state, this contribution looks specifically at the context of a national regime transition
in Myanmar, namely from authoritarian militarism to nominal democracy, and how agrarian resistance shapes and is shaped by these changes at national level. Reforms in 2011/2012 in Myanmar under President Thein Sein intensified entry of capital into infrastructure, land and extractive industries, deepening liberalization policies that began in 1988 under the SLORC/SPDC governments. Open conflict still continues between the Burmese military and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) in some areas. In others, ceasefires have created a situation of ‘neither war nor peace economy’, building
on earlier rounds of ceasefires in the 1990s, in which the Burmese military steered EAOs toward businesses, granting them concessions as part of a strategy of political neutralization (Kramer forthcoming). The term ‘ceasefire capitalism’, has similarly been used
to describe the entry of foreign and domestic capital into infrastructure development, large-scale land concessions, mining licenses and forest demarcation in previous conflict areas (Woods 2011). National elites linked to the military are consolidating a new form of crony capitalism, building on the historic concentration of power in
businesses and conglomerates in what has sometimes been considered an emerging oligarchy (Jones 2014; Ford, Gillan, and Thein 2016). While these changes have created threats, they have also opened political opportunities for mobilizations ‘from below’, in the context of increased formal civil and political rights even as targeted repression through jailing and threatening of farmers and journalists still persists. New land laws, such as the Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Law (2012) and the Farmland Law (2012), facilitate the acquisition of land by powerful actors, but discussions around the National Land Use Policy (NLUP) have also created
openings for actors ‘from below’ to influence policy-making and attempt to shift this balance of power (Franco and Ju 2016). Similarly, multi-stakeholder platforms such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) have created new frameworks for
investment that can threaten existing livelihoods, but have also allowed civil society actors to push for greater participation. ‘Green grabs’, interconnected with land grabs (Fairhead, Leach, and Scoones 2012; Borras and Franco 2020), have threatened the livelihoods of forest users but have prompted grassroots to mobilize around indigenous rights (CAT 2018, 2020; Morton 2017).
Prior to the recent political liberalization, there was a systematic weakness of social forces that could challenge the model of state-facilitated crony capitalism, such as labor organizations, the middle class or radical food-sovereignty or peasant movement
(Jones 2014; Malseed 2008). However, recently there has been emerging ground level resistance by farmers through ploughing protests, collective judicial action against land
grabs, regional CSOs helping farmers through networking and training, and other tactics such as letter writing, negotiations and protest (TNI 2015a; LIOH 2015). There have also been campaigns against large-scale dams and mining and palm oil concessions
(ALARM et al. 2018; Tarkapaw et al. 2015; Suhardiman, Rutherford, and Bright 2017; Park 2019) and demands for the recognition of customary tenure systems in the ethnic borderland areas (CAT 2018, 2020; ECDF 2016). In this context, activists in Myanmar have found
opportunities and challenges in strengthening local community-building while at the same time strengthening national-level mobilizing and advocacy. As this paper will argue, they are both necessary in the struggle toward ‘agrarian climate justice’ and in the wider process of deepening democracy. National-level advocacy can create ‘openings’..."
Source/publisher:
The Journal of Peasant Studies via Routledge (London)
Date of publication:
2021-01-14
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Land research including land grabbing - global and regional, Law and policy on land in Burma/Myanmar, Land research including land grabbing - global and regional, Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Agricultural land confiscation/grabbing, Agricultural Land
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
2.54 MB
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Topic:
Agriculture, Food and Nutrition
Topic:
Agriculture, Food and Nutrition
Description:
"The average retail price of rice and cooking oil continue an upward trend.
Since January, the average retail price of rice has increased 5% across monitored markets, with higher increases in central Rakhine (7%), Chin (8%) and Kachin (11%).
The average retail price of cooking oil increased 9% month-on-month. Over the past two months, the average price of cooking oil has increased 18%.
The price of chickpeas increased 5% month-on-month on average, with higher increases over the past two months in Chin (9%), Kachin (18%) and southern Rakhine (19%).
In March, higher than average increases in the price of rice, oil, and pulses were recorded in southern and central Rakhine, Chin, and Kachin.
Transport difficulties are driving up prices and increasing lead times across the country.
In urban areas, between the last week of February to mid-March, a 7% increase in the retail price of rice and a 4% increase in the retail price of cooking oil was recorded in peri-urban Yangon. In Mandalay there has been a 6% increase in the retail price of cooking oil..."
Source/publisher:
World Food Programme (WFP) (Rome) via reliefweb (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-03-00
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
WFP (World Food Programme), Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Food Security in Arakan (Rakhine) State, Food Security in Chin State, Food Security in Kachin State, Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
255.02 KB
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Topic:
Agriculture, Camp Coordination and Camp Management, Coordination, Education, Food and Nutrition, Health, Logistics and Telecommunications, Protection and Human Rights, Shelter and Non-Food Items, Water Sanitation Hygiene
Topic:
Agriculture, Camp Coordination and Camp Management, Coordination, Education, Food and Nutrition, Health, Logistics and Telecommunications, Protection and Human Rights, Shelter and Non-Food Items, Water Sanitation Hygiene
Description:
"The present Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) seeks to mobilize assistance for close to 945,000 people in 2021, in support of the efforts of the Government of Myanmar to aid those affected by humanitarian crises and challenges in different parts of the country. As has been the case for previous years, the HRP places protection at the centre of an inclusive response tailored to the particular needs of the most vulnerable women and men, girls and boys.
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 further demonstrated the critical importance of localization in Myanmar. In 2021, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) will build on the partnerships with national NGOs and local civil society actors that were strengthened as we adjusted to new operational realities in 2020. We will redouble our efforts to put in place robust channels for systematic two-way dialogue and engagement with affected people, and to capitalize on innovations around cash and voucher assistance to further extend our reach.
Humanitarian partners remain committed to contributing to the achievement of durable solutions for displaced people. The National Strategy on Resettlement of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and Closure of IDP Camps provides a key entry point in this regard. Progress on implementation of the Strategy in 2020 was slowed down by COVID-19 but new opportunities are emerging. Our efforts in this regard in 2021 will seek to create new links across the humanitarian-development nexus, while remaining firmly anchored in the perspectives and concerns of displaced people themselves. In Rakhine, the recommendations of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State will continue to be an important reference point for engagement between humanitarian organizations and the Government of Myanmar.
Our dialogue with the authorities will continue to emphasize the importance of humanitarian access, so that needs can be fully assessed and analyzed, humanitarian activities can be prioritized on the basis of those needs, and the impact of our efforts can be effectively monitored. The Myanmar HCT remains committed to working in accordance with the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, and without any adverse distinction based on region, ethnicity, religion or citizenship status..."
Source/publisher:
OCHA (New York) via Reliefweb (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-01-27
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Human rights and education, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Racial or ethnic discrimination in Burma: reports of violations against several groups
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
10.58 MB
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Topic:
Agriculture, Recovery and Reconstruction
Sub-title:
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Government of Myanmar's Department of Agriculture (DoA) recently conducted a series of training sessions to support the capacity development of farmers and technical experts. The training aimed to support and restore the agricultural production and livelihoods of communities affected by the heavy monsoon rains in southern Myanmar.
Topic:
Agriculture, Recovery and Reconstruction
Description:
"A total of 214 farmers from communities in Mon and Kayin States and Tanintharyi Region participated in face-to-face training sessions in the following topics.
Good Agricultural Practices: The topics covered in this session included farming practices such as vegetable production, soil fertility management and the proper use of fertilizers to help farmers improve their yields. Participating farmers gained knowledge on practices aimed towards enhancing the production of safe, high quality food, promoting environmentally friendly agricultural practices, and ensuring the welfare of farm workers.
Climate-Smart Agriculture: The training session was designed to help farmers understand how climate-induced shocks affect the agricultural sector and share climate-smart agricultural practices that enable families to improve production in a sustainable manner.
Nutrition: The session covered topics related to basic nutrition including a balanced diet, meal planning, food hygiene, and the special feeding needs of children, women and men.
Improving Knowledge: Post-Monsoon Forums
In relation to strengthening early warning early action systems, FAO and the Myanmar Department of Meteorology and Hydrology organized virtual Post-Monsoon Forums in December 2020 for technical officers from relevant line ministries and agencies to share experiences, challenges and lessons learned during the 2020 southwest monsoon season. Some 200 technical officers participated in the discussions which aimed to review the southwest monsoon seasonal forecasts and seasonal climate and water level forecasts in Mon and Kayin States and Tanintharyi Region. Furthermore, the forums also aimed to solicit feedback from end users on the usability of the forecasts and recommendations to enhance the early warning system in order to respond to potential disasters through early action.
Participants raised recommendations, gaps and challenges such as the need for meteorological information technology training for DoA staff, dissemination of real-time meteorological information, capacity development on collection and storage of meteorological records, installation of weather sensors in townships (where there are no meteorological centers in the region) and strengthened coordination and sharing of meteorological information and forecast reports with the DoA..."
Source/publisher:
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (Rome) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2021-01-06
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Agricultural Land, Commodities - agricultural products, Adaptation to climate change, Sustainable agriculture - Burma/Myanmar, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Sustainable/alternative development in and for Burma, Urban development
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Sub-title:
COVID-19 does not appear to have had a significant impact on monsoon planting for paddy despite some farmers facing financial difficulties, and the agriculture sector is expected to keep growing amid a slump in other parts of the economy.
Description:
"Myanmar’s most important crop – grown on roughly half of its arable land – appears to have emerged relatively unscathed from the coronavirus pandemic.
When the country’s first COVID-19 cases were reported on March 23, harvesting had begun for the summer rice crop; three months later, as efforts continue to keep the coronavirus under control, planting has begun for the monsoon crop.
Overall, the agriculture sector, which accounts for 22 percent of GDP and 38pc of employment, had been “resilient”, the World Bank said in its June Myanmar Economic Monitor, and is expected to grow by 0.7pc for the year.
This is mostly due to strong production of crops, such as rice, and beans and pulses, with COVID-19 inflicting a much greater impact on export-oriented agriculture sub-sectors, such as livestock, fisheries and fruit production.
A World Bank survey in May found that while agriculture firms were the most likely to have experienced cash-flow shortages and reduced access to credit due to COVID-19, just 6pc of them were forced to close. In contrast, 12pc of manufacturers, 15pc of retail and wholesale businesses and 39pc of service companies shut their doors.
But the impact of the virus remains a threat, says the Myanmar Rice Federation. It has asked the government to take a range of measures to strengthen the sector during the pandemic and beyond, including mitigating the impacts of climate change, particularly flooding, along with increasing financial and technical support. The government should ensure farmers have greater access to low-interest loans for buying inputs in order to ensure higher yields, the MRF said. It also urged greater flexibility on repayments so that farmers can wait a few months after the harvest, when overseas and domestic demand usually rises, rather than sell their crop at the same time to pay off debts, which pushes prices down.
“We want to work with the government to create a mechanism to [maintain price stability]; the situation requires smart intervention from the government,” said MRF chair U Ye Min Aung..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-07-23
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Rice, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy
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Description:
"Labor and farmers rights activists say they will run in the November election as independent candidates for both Union and regional parliament seats in 11 constituencies in Yangon Region, in a bid to raise their voices in the legislature and bring about change.
Myanmar will hold general elections on Nov. 8 with 97 registered political parties vying for a total of 1,171 parliamentary seats. Yangon has a total of 149 seats, 57 of them in the Union Parliament and the rest in the regional parliament.
The advocates-turned-political candidates come from a variety of farmer and labor advocacy groups and said they want to amend labor laws.
They will run in the industrial town of Hlaing Thar Yar as well as Htan Ta Pin and Kawhmu—the constituency where State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was elected to Union Parliament in the 2012 by-election and the 2015 election.
Daw Su Su Nway, farmers’ rights activist and chairwoman of the Myanmar Farmers Union, said she will run for the Union Lower House seat in Kawhmu.
“I will contest in my hometown. I decided to become a candidate as I want to work not only for the farmers from my area but also for those across the nation whose land rights are being violated,” she told The Irrawaddy on Monday.
“We want to work on enacting laws that would benefit farmers and help farmers to get their land rights, so I ask you to put your trust in me,” she added.
U Htay, a lawyer who works to help laborers, plans to run for the Lower House seat for Hlaing Thar Yar Township. He said he wants to work on behalf of laborers and farmers and promote their rights..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2020-07-07
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Labour issues in Burma, Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Myanmar has approved a K92 billion COVID-19 relief plan for the domestic food production industry, U Hla Kyaw, Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, said on June 26. The approved funding will enable the ministry to support people in the rural areas amid the pandemic.
Description:
"Under the government’s plan, nearly K15 billion will be spent on establishing contract farming jobs on 100,000 acres of farmland. Investment capital totalling K41 billion will be allocated to more than 1700 villages in all the states and regions.
Around K25 billion will be used to acquire and distribute agricultural machinery to farmers in 11 regions and states including Nay Pyi Taw. Furthermore, about K6 billion will be spent on assisting local fish farms and training, while K1.5 billion will be used to create jobs in the livestock industry in 100 townships.
“The goal is to create jobs for as many people as possible. Our plan will benefit more than 120,000 families,” said U Hla Kyaw.
The plan was announced on the same day the World Bank approved a US$200 million credit from the International Development Association to increase agricultural productivity and diversification and enhance market access for Myanmar farmers. The funds will go towards supporting income retention for farmers by improving the quality and utilisation of agricultural inputs, and generate labour-intensive cash-for work-activities to create jobs for poor households, in particular for migrants returning to Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-06-29
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
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Description:
"The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors have approved a $200 million credit from the International Development Association (IDA) to increase agricultural productivity and diversification and enhance market access for Myanmar farmers, with a strong focus on inclusion for smallholder farmers, women and other vulnerable groups.
Measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Myanmar—including the temporary shutdown of wet markets and animal feed factories, movement restrictions, the disruption of logistics and transport systems, and tightened restrictions on cross-border flows—has created disruptions in the agriculture and food system. Supply chain disruptions have resulted in market losses and increased feed costs to poultry farmers, small enterprises, and meat producers.
According to the Myanmar Economic Monitor, released by the World Bank on June 25, economic growth is estimated to drop from 6.8 percent in FY18/19 to just 0.5 percent in FY2019/20, with significant downside risks. Agriculture is the source of livelihood for nearly 70 percent of the population and accounts for nearly 30 percent of national GDP and merchandise exports. It is the main sector of employment for the poor with 85 percent of the rural population living in a household with one or more members engaged in agriculture..."
Source/publisher:
"Mizzima" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-06-28
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved a $200 million credit from the International Development Association (IDA) to increase agricultural productivity and diversification and enhance market access for Myanmar farmers, with a strong focus on inclusion for smallholder farmers, women and other vulnerable groups.
Measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Myanmar—including the temporary shutdown of wet markets and animal feed factories, movement restrictions, the disruption of logistics and transport systems, and tightened restrictions on cross-border flows—has created disruptions in the agriculture and food system. Supply chain disruptions have resulted in market losses and increased feed costs to poultry farmers, small enterprises, and meat producers.
According to the Myanmar Economic Monitor, released by the World Bank yesterday, economic growth is estimated to drop from 6.8 percent in FY18/19 to just 0.5 percent in FY2019/20, with significant downside risks. Agriculture is the source of livelihood for nearly 70 percent of the population and accounts for nearly 30 percent of national GDP and merchandise exports. It is the main sector of employment for the poor with 85 percent of the rural population living in a household with one or more members engaged in agriculture.
The National Food and Agriculture System Project will support parts of the government’s COVID-19 Economic Relief Plan (CERP), which aims to mitigate the economic impacts of COVID-19 and facilitate the country’s economic recovery..."
Source/publisher:
World Bank via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2020-06-26
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
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Description:
"Myanmar government planned to provide special relief loan to farmers to relieve the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the agricultural sector, according to Ministry of Planning, Finance and Industry on Thursday.
Local farmers will be provided 50,000 kyats (35.7 U.S. dollars) loans per acre at 5 percent annual interest rate starting this month.
This loan program will be effective for this year as part of the government's relief measures for agribusiness affected by COVID-19, a ministry's official told Xinhua.
Both paddy and crop farmers are eligible to apply for the special relief loan until September.
Meanwhile, the government has been providing annual monsoon agricultural loans to farmers since May 15 this year..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-06-18
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
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Topic:
Agriculture, Forest
Topic:
Agriculture, Forest
Description:
"Mangrove forests are under threat across Southeast Asia and in the country of Myanmar alone more than 60% of them were lost within just two decades between 1996 and 2016, according to researchers at the National University of Singapore.
“Mangroves are one of the world’s most threatened ecosystems, and Myanmar is regarded as the current mangrove deforestation hotspot globally,” the scientists write in a study published in Environmental Research Letters. “Net national mangrove cover declined by 52% over 20 years, with annual net loss rates of 3.60%–3.87%. Gross mangrove deforestation was more profound: 63% of the 1996 mangrove extent had been temporarily or permanently converted by 2016.” Most of the country’s mangroves have been converted into rice paddies, oil palm and rubber tree plantations, as well as areas used for aquaculture. The profound loss of deforestation in the country’s mangrove forests, which are critical for biodiversity, is the reason why Myanmar has been described as a primary hotspot of mangrove loss in the world. “It is quite incredible to consider that nearly two-thirds of all mangroves in Myanmar were deforested over a 20-year-period,” says Edward Webb, one of the authors of the study. Mangrove trees grow in various depths of water in coastal areas and they are crucial for coastal marine ecosystems. Their dense entangled roots stabilize coastlines and provide homes to a variety of marine species, including fish and crustaceans. Mangroves can also absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide, as a result of which these forests play an important role in the fight against climate change.
Mangroves growing in South Asia, in Southeast Asia and elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region account for nearly half, or 46%, of the world’s entire mangrove forests. Southeast Asia is home to the world’s highest rate of mangrove biodiversity. Many of the region’s mangroves, however, have been lost owing to agricultural activities..."
Source/publisher:
"Sustainability Times"
Date of publication:
2020-06-12
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Mangrove swamps of Burma/Myanmar - general studies and articles, Mangrove swamps: articles and reports referring to Cyclone Nargis, Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, The forests of Burma/Myanmar - General
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Description:
"This policy bulletin has three main objectives: (i) to outline key risks and policy options to address COVID-19 impacts on the agriculture and food sector in Myanmar, (ii) to facilitate policy dialogue with MOALI around concrete policy objectives to address the COVID-19 emergency in the short and long-term, and (iii) to support coordination of Myanmar‟s Agriculture and Rural Development Sector Coordination Group and its key recommendations.
Myanmar‟s social and economic fabric, like most countries around the world, is being strained by COVID-19. Health systems are under enormous pressure, people are experiencing high levels of stress due to restricted mobility and fear of outbreaks, and economies and food system are under increasing pressure. On 10 March 2020, Myanmar‟s State Counsellor H.E. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi noted that Myanmar‟s economy “was suffering from the fallout of the COVID 19 outbreak that has already spread worldwide.” In tandem, The World Bank has predicted a slowing of economic growth in Myanmar, down from 6.3% to 2 or 3% in the 2019-20 fiscal year. As reported in The Frontier on March 30th, “In Myanmar, the 'cure' for COVID could be deadlier than the disease”.
There are a number of potential impacts of COVID-19 on food security and livelihoods in Myanmar.
These include i) disruption of food product market chains due to decreased production and transport constraints affecting both producers and consumers; ii) volatility of prices that could create social tensions and conflict iii) decline in household income sources, livelihoods and purchasing power; iv) and fatalities, should COVID-19 spread seriously across urban and rural areas. It can be expected that households with direct incidences of COVID-19 will be the most severely affected through the loss of labour opportunities and income, incurred expenses, and decreased agricultural production. Those already economically disadvantaged, suffering from food insecurity and malnutrition, or vulnerable to socio-economic shocks, natural hazards and conflict are more likely to suffer severely from COVID-19 as it will deepen their vulnerability in the short and long-term..."
Source/publisher:
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (Rome) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication:
2020-06-09
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
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254.83 KB
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Sub-title:
Economists said the government's COVID-19 Economic Relief Plan (CERP) should focus more on essential sectors such as agriculture and livestock, which affects longer term food security.
Description:
"The CERP was announced on April 27 to mitigate the negative impact of COVID-19 on the economy.
“Myanmar is an agricultural country so we should support these sectors to be prepared for a recovery in foreign demand,” said garment business owner U Tun Tun. As the agriculture and livestock breeding businesses are ready to operate and also have a secure workforce, these sectors should be prioritised when allocating funds under the CERP, others suggested.
“Currently, the most viable sector in Myanmar is agriculture and livestock sector. The sector is important because it is essential for the masses. Although this sector is just 30 percent of the country’s GDP, it employs 70pc of the population. So, if we prioritise this sector, we can continue to support the country’s economy,” said U Nay Lin Zin, secretary of the Shwe Lin Pan Industrial Zone.
The government said it will receive foreign assistance in implementing the CERP, according to U Set Aung, Deputy Minister for the Ministry of Planning, Finance, and Industry.
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-05-04
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
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Description:
"From a boat on the Salween River in southeastern Myanmar, Than Zaw Oo pointed to a brown stretch of water he said was once full of lush paddy fields. “This used to be my land,” said the 51-year-old farmer, frowning at the murky waves.
All but six of the 24 acres where he used to grow rice and vegetables have slipped into the water in recent years, he said. Another farmer, Than Tun, said he had lost 15 acres of his land to erosion. While official records were not available, other villagers backed their accounts.
Farmers and politicians in Chaungzon township, just outside the southern town of Moulmein, worry that erosion in the area is being exacerbated by the ships that dredge its bed for sand each night. The sand is mainly bound for Singapore, the world’s biggest importer, for use in reclamation and construction projects. Both the Myanmar government and the company whose ships do the dredging in Chaungzon deny the dredging is causing the erosion. But the dispute highlights the fractious issue of sand-mining in Southeast Asia as Singapore is forced to look farther afield to slake its thirst for the mineral following bans on the trade in countries like Malaysia and Indonesia over environmental concerns..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2020-03-04
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Environmentalists of Burma/Myanmar, Climate Change - Burma/Myanmar: general, Singapore-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Integrated fish farming may be toxic, but farmers say banning it will raise prices and put people out of work
Description:
"At a Yangon fish farm one recent morning, Myanmar Now watched as chicken faeces fell from coops suspended above a pond, down into the water, where a scrum of fish formed to snack on it.
The practice, known as integrated animal-fish farming, pairs fish ponds with other livestock - often chicken, but also pigs and geese - grown in close proximity, with the animal waste used to generate fish feed.
Advocates say the method is economical, and that the animal waste acts only to fertilize the phytoplankton in the ponds that fish feed on. They deny the fish eat the animal waste itself.
But Myanmar Now saw fish feasting on such waste at six separate integrated farms in Yangon’s Hlegu and Mingalardon township during trips in January and February.
Public health experts say the practice encourages the spread of harmful bacteria and that toxic metals found in chicken feed accumulate in fish, from both the chicken waste and from chicken feed that spills into ponds from the coops above. Trade groups also worry about the practice. It’s banned in much of the developed world, and they say Myanmar’s continued use of integrated farms makes Myanmar a pariah in international seafood markets..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-26
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Public Health, Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Fisheries (including aquaculture and fishing)
Language:
more
Topic:
cattle, trade, Ministry of Commerce, exports, livestock, farming, Ministry of Agriculture Livestock and Irrigation, China, taxation, corruption
Sub-title:
Exports of animal products have risen dramatically since the government lifted a ban on the export of live cattle and buffalo in October 2017, but new regulations have taken some of the shine off the trade.
Topic:
cattle, trade, Ministry of Commerce, exports, livestock, farming, Ministry of Agriculture Livestock and Irrigation, China, taxation, corruption
Description:
"CATTLE AND buffalo exporters enjoyed a profitable year in 2018, after the Ministry of Commerce lifted a ban on live exports the previous October, but regulations introduced in 2019 have taken the shine off the trade.
The lifting of the ban saw more than 260 companies apply for export permits by mid-2019, of which more than 90 were approved, and exports of animal products rose from just $10.627 million in the 2016-17 fiscal year to $366.359 million in 2018-19, Ministry of Commerce data shows. China is the largest importer of cattle and buffaloes from Myanmar, followed by Thailand.
But traders grumble about delays in issuing the licences they need to send livestock across borders and say the government could do more to support live exports by simplifying regulations. Other challenges facing the cattle export industry, say livestock specialists, include the need to upgrade the quality of livestock.
Most of the nation’s cattle farms are in Mandalay, Sagaing and Magway regions. Many of the farms are small plots owned by traders, who do not breed livestock but buy on the domestic market and keep the animals until they can be exported at times of high demand. Support more independent journalism like this. Sign up to be a Frontier member.
Frontier met cattle traders at Latpan village, in Mandalay Region’s Kyaukse Township, who said they were unhappy at not being able to get export licences in 2019..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-14
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Border Trade with China, Border Trade - general, Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Smallholder farming and farmers in Burma/Myanmar, Illegal Economy - general
Language:
more
Description:
"For many farmers in rural Myanmar, Facebook embodies the internet. With scarce availability of WiFi, they often reserve their mobile data usage for the social network.
That habit is difficult to break. Adrian Soe Myint, CEO of Yangon-based agritech startup Village Link, said it was challenging to convince farmers to allot part of their mobile data for the startup’s app, Htwet Toe, which means “higher yield.” The app’s name is exactly what Soe Myint wants for farmers in his country. Founded in 2016, the startup uses mobile technology to connect farmers and other stakeholders in Myanmar’s agriculture sector, which accounts for 38% of the country’s gross domestic product, as estimated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
But agricultural productivity in Myanmar is extremely low – the national output falls far behind that of neighboring countries. In a blog post, the World Bank explains how the country has not been able to capitalize on its “fertile soils and abundant water source.” A rice farmer in Myanmar generates only 23 kilograms of paddy after one working day during monsoon season, compared to Vietnam’s output of 429 kilograms and Thailand’s 547 kilograms..."
Source/publisher:
"Tech in Asia" (Singapore)
Date of publication:
2020-02-12
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Sustainable agriculture - Burma/Myanmar, Rural development in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Topic:
Farmers , Benefit , China-Myanmar Cooperation
Topic:
Farmers , Benefit , China-Myanmar Cooperation
Description:
"As the time for growing rice in Myanmar approaches, Kyaw Thet Naing, a farmer who lives on the outskirts of the nation's capital Nay Pyi Taw, already has high hope for his harvest.
His confidence has grown from experiencing years of rich and quality yields on his five acres of rice, where he has kept planting paddy seed varieties from China and practiced related farming techniques since 2017.
"With our traditional ways of cultivation, we would normally produce about 60 baskets (1,260 kg) per acre. With China's assistance, we have added nearly 50 baskets per acre," he said.
In the past year, rice seeds and related techniques from China have become widely accepted among nearby farmers, he added. In 2017, the Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences (GAAS) in Nanning, capital of southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, worked with agricultural authorities in Myanmar as well as companies from both sides to build several research platforms in Nay Pyi Taw.
The platforms, which aim to introduce, select, demonstrate and publicize high-quality crop varieties from both countries, launched research projects targeting new ways to plant and grow crops more efficiently and with greener methods in pest and disease prevention and control.
Yang Mingtong, chairman of the Guangxi Haokay Biotechnology Co. Ltd., one of the contributors to the platform, said that the company has been conducting tests and plant trials for about 102 Chinese crop varieties, including rice, corn, cucurbit and vegetables, in Myanmar to see if they are suited to the local climate and soil conditions..."
Source/publisher:
"The Star Online" (Selangor)
Date of publication:
2020-02-03
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Shifting ("swidden", "jhum", "taungya", "kaingin") cultivation - regional and global, Sustainable agriculture - global and regional, China-Burma relations
Language:
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Description:
"Myanmar is earned US$1.082 billion from agricultural products exports from October 1 to January 17 in this fiscal year and it is more US$141.18 million compared with the farming products exports in the same period last year, according to Ministry of Commerce.
It is exporting agricultural products, animal products, fishery products, mining products, forestry products, CMP exports and other products mainly.
“Myanmar is exporting rice largely. Jade expos can increase the sale of jades. CMP is increased annually. Price of natural gas is soared to earn more. The export amounts are increased as well as their price. The bean export is decreased to 80,000 tons in compared with the same period last year but we earned the same,” said Khin Maung Lwin, Assistant Secretary of the ministry..."
Source/publisher:
"Eleven Media Group" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-03
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
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Sub-title:
Myanmar’s rice growers are increasingly concerned about the amount of water in the country available for the irrigation of their crops, industry insiders say.
Description:
"U Myo Tint Tun, assistant secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation recently said: “A reduction in water available for crop irrigation is likely. Right now, the rainfall the country receives has been lower than in previous rainy seasons. Water flowing into the county’s dams has been fluctuating over the recent years and the amount cannot be estimated accurately. What is definitely known is that the country has to be more effective in saving water.”
Rice is one of Myanmar’s major exports, and if shortages of irrigation water occur it would negatively impact a revenue source for the country. U Myo Tint Tun, says building more dams will not help the situation as there are already enough and that the problem is solely due to the climate.
Being an agricultural country, irrigation water is a critical issue for Myanmar, he added.
“Being an agricultural country, it is very important to have sufficient irrigation water. As rice is a major crop, Myanmar needs more water. The crop grows with rain water during the rainy season but in dry areas, irrigation water has to be supplied. If that insufficiency of irrigated water persists, it will be a great challenge for the agriculture sector,” said U Myo Tint Tun.
To address the situation, the Agricultural Development Strategy was drafted about two years ago under the present government and it features solutions to uncommon weather conditions, he said.
Myanmar’s 15 states and regions have different weather patterns, geographical features and water resources so approaches to deal with these are not the same, said U Myo Tint Tun..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-01-13
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Adaptation to climate change, Climate Change - Burma/Myanmar: general, Water resources of Burma/Myanmar
Language:
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Description:
"The Shan state government will focus on agriculture to drive its economy and bring prosperity to Myanmar, as well as the region.
Shan Planning and Finance Minister U Soe Nyunt Lwin said agriculture was one of the main resources in the state as the vast land and climate conditions were suitable for crops.
“Agricultural produce from Shan is much sought after in domestic and overseas markets. There is a lot of potential for investors to explore the agricultural sector.”
The state government recently held an investment forum on the agricultural sector for potential local and foreign investors, indicating its commitment to the economic focus on agriculture.
Many people in Shan rely on agriculture for their livelihood. Among the major crops in the state are rice, maize, soyabean, potato, sugarcane, tea, coffee and mangoes.
Chief Minister U Lin Htut said the state had sizeable land suited for agricultural cultivation, which also bordered China, Thailand and Laos.
“The state is also home to the Muse and Tachileik border trade areas and has moderate levels of water, power and road infrastructure that can be improved. All of these point to a positive landscape for investments in Shan’s agriculture sector.”
According to the state Department of Agriculture, there are 2.3 million ha of land suitable for cultivation in the state and only about 800,000ha are in use..."
Source/publisher:
"New Straits Times" (Malaysia)
Date of publication:
2019-12-14
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Sustainable agriculture - Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Sub-title:
China's state-owned CITIC Construction group, the Myanmar Rice Federation and Myanmar Agribusiness Public Corporation signed a cooperation agreement for the construction of agricultural centres in three key regions.
Description:
"The US$130 million (K197 billion) deal signed in Nay Pyi Taw last week will construct centres in Yangon, Ayeyarwady, Mandalay and Rakhine.
“The project intends to upgrade the quality of agricultural produce by providing services such as dryers and warehouses for post-harvest storage,” said U Ye Min Aung, chair of the federation.
It also plans to go into partnered cultivation, to support farmers in the marketing of high-quality products, and to arrange for systematic market access, he added.
The centres will be set up in Twante township in Yangon, Kyaiklat township in Ayeyarwady, Madaya township in Mandalay, and Kyauktaw township in Rakhine.
Details such the investment ratio and profit-sharing will be decided after further discussions, said U Myint Lwin of the federation..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2019-11-20
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Agriculture in Burma/Myanmar: general and research, Sustainable agriculture - global and regional, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more