Dry zone agriculture at mercy of weather

Dry zone agriculture at mercy of weather

By Khin Su Wai   |   Saturday, 31 August 2013

Farmers in Myanmar's central dry zone, which comprises parts of Mandalay, Sagaing and Magwe regions, face a difficult future unless improvements are made in many sectors – and the weather improves.

The biggest challenge for farmers everywhere is the weather, and the dry zone, which is characterised by limited rainfall and high temperatures, is no different. However, the climactic conditions, which appear to be worsening in line with climate change, has spawned a number of other problems that have cast a dark cloud over the future of production.

Daw Myint Myint May, a Myanmar Agricultural Services expert in Mandalay Region, said work needs to be done to mitigate the impact of bad weather on farmers in the zone.

"It is inevitable that average crop production will fall following periods of drought, such as the one we saw last year," she said. "Yields are almost totally dependent on environmental factors and agricultural management."

"But even in the most terrible weather patterns, things could be done to boost production," she said.

Daw Myint Myint May said young people who would form the rural workforce in coming years – and perform the arduous work of ploughing fields, building embankments and planting crops – are being drawn to big cities to work in higher paying jobs such as labouring and building.

This has resulted in an ageing workforce, where many farmers are at least 60 years old. Daw Myint Myint May said many younger farmers lack patience and frequently seek easier methods. But when drought comes, they lack experience in selecting the correct crop and planting at the right time, which further reduces yields.

Better roads to farming areas and better irrigation and draining infrastructure, which would enable mechanised farming, would also improve yields but would cost at least K160,000 an acre, she said.

World Food Program (WFP) Myanmar performed a special study in the dry zone in March, which showed that food security has been a major concern for at least the past six months. More than half of the townships surveyed reported high levels of food insecurity, even in the post monsoon (and post-harvest) period, the food security assessment found.

It reported said that close to 35 percent of monitored households reported severe food insecurity, which is little changed since the mid-monsoon monitoring round and dietary diversity remains unsatisfactory with almost 30pc of households reporting inadequate diets.

Reliance on food-based coping mechanisms has risen post monsoon, with close to 35pc reporting frequent dietary restrictions associated with food shortages.

"We encourage farmers to use short-period crops that are the suitable solution for them," Daw Myint Myint May said. "The best crops in the dry zone are sesame, paddy and gram. We encourage farmers to use a raised bed system but there needs to be an agricultural laboratory for upper Myanmar.

"We do get support in the form of agricultural equipment from NGOs but it's mostly useless because we don't get enough electricity," she said.

U Thein Hsu, a retired professor from Yezin Agricultural University, said farmers and administrators need to make sustainable methods the focal point.

"We need to use sustainable farming to conserve our natural resources," he said "I don't think there is any need to do furrow ploughing during the summer months if the land is fenced with Gliricidia sepium," he said, referring to a medium-sized tree that is commonly grown for fencing.

"Of the many solutions to farming in the dry zone, this is the best way I know of to prevent wind and soil erosion," he said.

He added that erosion is a major problem in the dry zone; in some places the topsoil has been almost completely removed.  
Soil erosion and land degradation are the two components responsible for possible declining production, a Land Degradation of the Dry Done of Myanmar report commissioned by the Asia-Pacific Network on Integrated Plant Nutrient Management (APIPNM).

A recent study by International Water Management Institute), which was conducted between January and June, showed that land degradation has long been recognised as an issue in the dry zone. It also stressed the importance of finding incentives to involve farmers and communities in watershed management programs, where the benefits are often long-term and dispersed.

"We have introduced information about conservation and sustainable agriculture that mixes formal, modernised and organic agriculture," said U Thaung Shwe, a project coordinator of the Green Network sustainable group in Magwe Region.

"Farmers have replied that they are interested.  But the biggest challenge for us is the weather. I think the government should take some responsibility for farmers, who should also repay their taxes to the government.

"If the irrigation systems were repaired and extended it would be great. Government agricultural loans should also be given to farmers in time for harvests, so they would not have to borrow money from informal lenders at high interest rates."

Magwe Region also suffered major water shortages this year. WFP assessed water collection ponds in Yenanchaung, Pakokku, Yesagyo, Natmauk, Chauk and Pauk townships. Of 271 ponds, 234 (86pc) were completely dry, forcing villagers to buy water from tube well owners, some of whom lived as far as two hours' walk away.

Only 17 ponds (6pc) had sufficient water to last until the next monsoon season, while an additional 20 (8pc) had water to last one to two months, WFP reported.

U Nyo Maung, a farmer from north Htone Pauk Taw village in Magwe Region, said: "If you asked me five days ago about the situation of my plantation, I couldn't have said it was okay."

"But we got rains two days ago, so it's much better now," he said. "Last year peanut prices were high and farmers earned up to K800,000 an acre."

The dry zone covers more than 54,000 square kilometres, encompassing 58 townships from lower Sagaing Region,

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2013/09/01/dry-zone-agriculture-at-mercy-of-weather/