Myanmar's Long Road to National Reconciliation (26 page)

Agricultural extension means the transfer of knowledge and solutions obtained from agricultural education and research to the farmers in the field. It is important to find local ways of strengthening the links between scientists and farmers that exist even in a developing country such as Myanmar. Information or knowledge transfer through extension programs is more effective if farmers participate directly in the process of problemsolving using a Participatory Extension Approach (PEA). This means facilitating participation in a bottom-up problem-solving approach. The key players will be not only the government extension officers but also the farmers, local community, local administrators, and non-government organizations (NGOs).

Traditional agricultural extension started in Myanmar in 1927, about the same time as Myanmar produced its first Diploma in Agriculture graduates from Mandalay Agricultural College. The “training and visit” approach and the “selective concentrative approach” in the 1970s were top-down approaches and mainly aimed at “technology transfer”. Those methods did not cater for “participation, decision-making, leadership, and ownership” of farmers.
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The Agricultural Extension Division (AED) is one of the largest branches of the Myanmar Agricultural Service with about 1,200 staff, of which 1,000 are agricultural university graduates. The ratio of extension agents to farmers is about 1:500.

The Central Agriculture Research and Training Centre (CARTC) regularly trains personnel of AED but the participatory training for farmers needs to be improved.

The Plant Protection Division (PPD) runs training in integrated pest management (IPM) and the Land Use Division (LUD) runs training courses for farmers in soil conservation, soil survey, soil and water testing and analysis.

UNDP/FAO and NGOs have implemented a number of human development and extension projects in the dry zone, in Shan State and in Ayeyarwaddy Division.

For the agricultural extension programs in Myanmar to be successful and effective, the major objective would be the alleviation of rural poverty by increasing their net income from agriculture. We suggest that extension activities be aimed at obtaining information and demonstrating best management practices for local conditions in areas such as:

•   fertilizers and plant nutrient management;

•   crop rotation and crop management;

•   farm machinery and tools;

•   water management;

•   soil management;

•   agricultural chemicals;

•   farm budget management;

•   irrigation and drainage;

•   soil conservation;

•   post harvest operations;

•   marketing.

Although these topics are being researched and information is being extended, progress would be more effective with financial and technical support from developed countries.

An agricultural project, whether big or small, and whether at village or district level, is the amalgamation of agricultural education, research, and extension. Agricultural projects are the building blocks of agricultural development, which is the pathway to a country’s economic growth.

Except for small village-level projects (less than US$50,000) operated by non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations (CSO), Myanmar needs support from developed countries for major projects in agricultural training, and for education infrastructure such as laboratories and research facilities.

For any major project to be successful, it is important that reliable data and information should be gathered. Projects should, therefore, be long-term — operating for a minimum of ten years — and built step-by-step from shorter-term projects of one to three years. Project outcomes should be profitable for farmers, and should have the potential to increase economic
growth. One important outcome of such projects should be a reduction of poverty, which in turn would foster peaceful and stable communities, and could ultimately lead to democracy.

Carefully-planned agricultural projects should be seen by the international community as important humanitarian assistance. Food is more important than health, since health depends on food. Of the thirty-five international NGOs at present operating in Myanmar, only six have agriculture and rural development programs among their activities.
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International aid donors and policy-makers should consider the positive impact agricultural development plays in strengthening peace through food and poverty reduction in conflict-prone regions of Myanmar, and rethink their programs to give more support to agricultural assistance.

Rural development programs in Myanmar are being carried out by the Myanmar government to improve the rural economy. Some of the notable rural development programs and projects include the following:
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1.   the development of border area and ethnic groups, by the Ministry of Border Areas and National Races and Development Affairs;

2.   the National Program for Nine Districts Greening, by the Ministry of Forestry (MOF);

3.   the National Program for Development of Irrigation and Rural Water Supply, by MOAI;

4.   the Model Mechanized Farming Village Project, by MOAI;

5.   the Contract Farming System in Livestock and Fisheries, by the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries (MLF);

6.   the Rural Credit Scheme, by MOAI;

7.   environmentally-sustainable food security and micro-income opportunities in some deteriorating ecosystems, by MOAI, UNDP/ FAO, MOF, MLF, and the Ministry of Cooperatives;

8.   capacity-building and empowerment of women and self-help groups through micro-credit and social mobilization, by MOAI and the Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific, funded by the Government of Japan.

At the Fourth ASEAN Meeting on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication held in Singapore on 7 October 2004, the Minister for Progress
of Border Areas and National Races and Development Affairs reported on the implementation and successes of five key rural development activities in Myanmar:

•   rural roads;

•   rural water supply;

•   rural education;

•   rural health;

•   rural economy.
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These programs are indicators of the government’s commitment to rural development programs using the limited resources which the country can afford. However, greater injection of national and international funding is needed to have more impact on reducing rural poverty and increasing food security.

The construction of additional storage dams (for irrigation), roads, and bridges have been significant improvements that support increasing cropping area and the transport of farm produce.

Recent infrastructure developments in Myanmar include:

•   Roads constructed and upgraded: 45,000 km of earthen road, 2,692 km gravel roads, and 489 km of tarred road constructed, and 3,030 roads in border areas upgraded;

•   Bridges: 43 large bridges, 661 small bridges, 16 suspension bridges in border areas;

•   Dams: as of 2004, 155 dams have been built and commissioned, and there are 34 dams under construction. Of these, 118 dams are located in the dry zone area of Sagaing, Bago, Magway and Mandalay Divisions.
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These achievements are frequently publicized by the government, reflecting their desire to demonstrate the progress that has occurred during their term of office. These changes do constitute a basic improvement in infrastructure and provide the foundation for increased, more reliable production, transportation, and distribution of agricultural and food products. Other priorities for infrastructure that is essential for supporting agriculture include provision of processing and storage facilities for
agricultural crops, and improvement of the railway transport system. The government of India is involved with some projects to upgrade the rail transport system that could be of benefit to the agriculture sector.

The majority of farmers in Myanmar are small-scale farmers, having less than four hectares per family. The relatively high costs of agricultural inputs such as fertilizers, farm machinery, and fuel have limited the production potential of the average family farm. Net income of farm families is often further eroded by poor marketing, interventionist export policies, and the poor transport system.

By adding value to their farm product (for example, by processing), and with additional small livestock and fish farms, rural families could generate additional income to support their overall performance. We suggest that there are many opportunities to further enhance incomes in rural areas by encouraging agro-based cottage industries; for example, tourism; food preservation; handicrafts; tailoring, weaving and knitting; growing fruit trees and horticulture.

In addition to national and international investments in rural electrification, and the present development in rural roads, the removal of sanctions by Western nations — especially those being enforced through multilateral agencies — is essential to speed up this rural development.

The future of rural development of any country depends on how well young men and women in rural areas are educated and trained. In Myanmar a considerable number of young people, especially in rural areas, need help in their education and vocational training. They have great potential to help in alleviating rural poverty and enhancing rural development and food security.

It is important to give job or trade opportunities to those whose academic levels are low and who have failed to gain entrance into either state agricultural institutes or Yezin Agricultural University. This problem could be overcome by creating income-generating agricultural and rural
development projects and businesses. These should focus not only on field operations but should also cover all aspects of processing, storage, transportation, marketing, and entrepreneurship.

The needs and challenges for rural youth are greater than ever. In most developing countries, youth represent more than 50 per cent of the total rural population.
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Their potential impact is tremendous; with adequate education, training, and support they could become active partners contributing to food security through sustainable development. Significantly, in Myanmar one of the few matters on which all political parties agree is the need to pay greater attention to the needs of youth.

Agri-business opportunities and entrepreneurship training for rural youth are worthwhile investments for rural development. It is a way to eradicate rural poverty and create productive farmers and farm businessmen. While male youths have the opportunity to enter military service or the police service, females tend to rely on jobs in factories producing textiles and other goods, mainly for export. Here, again, sanctions are limiting job opportunities.

Young children and pregnant mothers in rural areas are most vulnerable to health-related problems, and the situation is exacerbated by poor nutrition and remoteness from hospitals or health clinics. Health problems in rural communities are one of the main constraints on improving agricultural productivity and enhancing food security. The Myanmar Maternal and Child Welfare Association (MMCWA) has been achieving some success in providing maternal and child-care services and social welfare.

Another source of support comes from UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) and international NGOs. All thirty-five NGOs operating in Myanmar have a rural health component in their program. Using both field-based clinics and mobile clinics, the programs focus on nutrition, malaria, HIV/AIDS education, home-based care, tuberculosis, and sexually-transmitted diseases.

Availability of clean drinking water and of good sanitation are essential to solving health problems related to water. There are ongoing projects by UNICEF and international NGOs in those two areas. For more than thirty
years Australia has been helping the development of better rural water supplies, especially in the dry zone, working mainly through UNICEF.

Credit must also be given to local Myanmar doctors and nurses, who do an enormous amount with scarce resources. Both Western and traditional medicines are used to treat ailments, but the rural population relies more on traditional medicines. Aid should be directed to projects which aim to identify, collect, preserve, and cultivate sources of the traditional medicines. One such project is headed by Daw Khin Win Myint at the Institute of Forestry, Yezin.

Maximizing a profit or minimizing the loss from farm produce depend on the market and on marketing strategies. In Myanmar there are some situations in which farmers do not bother to make an extra effort or to use inputs such as fertilizers on a particular crop because it has insufficient market value to make a profit. For example, a farmer may use his expensive and limited supply of fertilizer on his vegetable crop rather than on his paddy field, even though the latter is showing signs of low nitrogen, because the cash return from the vegetable crop is larger and can be realized more quickly than with rice. The farmer will have even more advantage if his farm is less than a day’s journey from a city.