Myanmar

General information

• Internal renewable water resources: 1,802 km³
• Main food consumed: rice, oil and fat, pulses, sugar and honey, nuts
• Rice consumption, 1999: 210.6 kg milled rice per person per year

Myanmar is the largest country of the Southeast Asian mainland. It lies between 10° and 29° N latitude and 92° and 101° E longitude. Myanmar has a common boundary with Bangladesh, India, China, Lao PDR, and Thailand. There are six distinct regions: the western, northern, and eastern mountain ranges; the delta area of the Ayeyarwady and Sittoung rivers; the coastal strips; and the central plain or dry zone. The land area is about 66 million ha, of which only 9.6 million ha are under cultivation for annual crops. There is a large potential for reclamation of substantial arable land.

Myanmar is largely in AEZ 2, characterized as warm subhumid tropics. The southern coast, where most of the rice is grown, however, is under AEZ 3, humid tropics. Generally, the country receives rain from the southwest monsoon, which normally starts in May and ends in October. Being on the windward side, coastal strips and deltaic regions receive heavy rains, ranging from 2,560 to 6,150 mm annually. The leeward central plain or dry zone receives lower and erratic rainfall, ranging from 700 to 1,200 mm annually.

About 72% of the 45 million population in 1999 lived in rural areas and most of the people were engaged in agriculture. The population grew at 1.2%/year during the 1990s. About 70% of the rural labor force (26.3 million) is employed in agriculture. The agricultural labor force grew by 18% during the 1990s compared with 23% for the total labor force.

Recent developments in the rice sector
Myanmar has a predominantly agricultural economy based on rice production. The agricultural sector, including livestock and fisheries, accounts for 53% of the country's GDP. Rice is the single most important crop, grown on 6.0 million ha or about two-thirds of the country's total cultivated area. Rice production employs 40% of the total labor force and consumes 70% of total commercial fertilizers. Rice maintains its position as the main staple food crop, accounting for 97% of total food grain production. The importance of rice as a major foreign exchange earner, however, has declined over time. Before World War II, Myanmar was the largest rice-exporting country in the world. However, because of stagnation of production since the early 1960s, Thailand took the place of Myanmar in the export market, as exports declined from 1.7 million t in 1962 to 0.3 million t in 1975. Annual exports had fluctuated from 0.5 to 0.9 million t during 1976- 86, a period of respectable growth in rice production. Exports in recent years have fallen below 100,000 t. Myanmar has the capacity to substantially increase rice exports, but it is constrained by poor grain quality, inadequate processing and marketing infrastructure, and an underdeveloped trading system.

To meet the increasing demand for rice and to sustain exports, Myanmar embarked on a program to increase rice production through area expansion, yield increase, and crop intensification in the early 1990s. The area under rice increased from 4.8 to 6.0 million ha during 1990-94, which raised annual rice production from 14.0 to 17.9 million t within a 4-yr period. But the growth in production could not be sustained. Rice yield increased from 3.17 t/ha in 1994 to 3.33 t/ha in 2000.

Rice environments
The rice ecosystems of Myanmar include irrigated lowland, rainfed lowland (including late-sown and Mayin area), deepwater, and upland. Late-sown rainfed lowland is the area sown during the monsoon period; Mayin area can be transplanted only after the monsoon when floodwater recedes. The rainfed lowland area is by far the largest, accounting for 52% of total rice land. Irrigated lowland accounts for about 18%. Deepwater rice is planted on about 24% of rice land; upland rice makes up only about 6%. The area under dry-season irrigated rice has been growing in recent years with the spread of small-scale irrigation through low-lift power pumps.

Rainfed lowland and deepwater rice are confined to the delta region and coastal strip of Rakhine State. Irrigated lowlands are mainly in Mandalay, Sagaing, and Bago divisions. The upland area is mostly in Mandalay, Sagaing, and Shan states. Some upland area in Shan State occupies sloping land and is exposed to low temperatures starting in November.

Production constraints
Problems in rainfed lowland production include inadequate labor for transplanting, inadequate supply and high cost of fertilizer, and flooding in low areas. Farmers who practice wet seeding face problems of insect pests, poor crop establishment,
and weeds in upper fields. Modern varieties are cultivated widely with very little application of chemical fertilizers, contributing to a decline in soil fertility.

In the upland areas at Aungban and Kyaukme (hilly regions), problems are weeds, insect pests (stem borer and white grub), low soil fertility, soil erosion, poor crop establishment, drought, and reduced fallow period.

Problems encountered in deepwater rice are unfavorable water conditions, weeds (particularly wild rice), soil physical problems, and pests (stem borer and white grub). The high cost of labor, declining rice yield, excess water, and low soil fertility are the main problems in irrigated rice ecosystems.

In the hilly region, the problems are mainly related to infrastructure-lack of good roads for transporting rice, and, in the main rice-growing areas, inadequate storage and postharvest facilities, which lower grain quality, particularly for export. The high cost of imported fertilizers and low rice prices have reduced fertilizer consumption and are considered the major constraint to the growth of rice production in Myanmar.

Production opportunities
Significant yield increases were recorded during 1977-82, from 1.95 to 3.15 t/ha. Several factors explain this impressive performance. Foremost is the introduction of high-yielding modern varieties (MVs) and technologies developed at the Central Agricultural Research Institute. Fifty MVs were released in Myanmar from 1966 to 1990. Of these, 11 were produced by Myanmar scientists using selected genetic materials from the International Network for Genetic Evaluation of Rice (INGER), and from local rice germplasm collections. The rest were direct selections from INGER nurseries tested in Myanmar. Increased plant densities and increased fertilizer usage, particularly for MVs, also had a significant effect on production. However, yield has fluctuated around 3.0 to 3.3 t/ha since 1983 mainly because of the inadequate supply of chemical fertilizers.

To overcome the labor shortage, farmers practice the wet-seeding method of crop establishment, do late transplanting using overaged seedlings, exchange labor, and grow cash crops. They substitute gypsum and farmyard manure for expensive fertilizers, fertilize selectively, and wet-seed the crop or change cultivars.

Choosing suitable cultivars and constructing fishponds are the solutions to the problem of excess water in lower areas. To control soil erosion, farmers construct erosion-control structures above fields and drainage and diversion canals around fields.

The production gains achieved by improved rice technology in the rainfed lowlands must be maintained. The government also considers it important to develop new technology for the coastal and saline rice environment and for the upland ecosystem, which experience stress from drought, erosion, weeds, insect pests, nematodes, and low temperature. The technology needs are being met in part through the Myanmar IRRI collaborative research program.

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