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Sustainable Agriculture Management for Rural Poverty Reduction in Shan State

A. Project Context

1. General background

As one of the least developed countries of the Southeast Asia region, Myanmar is caught in a spiral of declining net agricultural productivity. This reduced capacity to produce a surplus results from the high current population growth rate, rising poverty and isolation from global technological research and development. Inadequate fertilizer management over decades has reduced the basal capacity for production under present arrangements.

Among the obstacles to improvement are technical issues such as this low soil fertility, soil erosion and other forms of land degradation, as well as poor irrigation water management in lowland regions. In addition, poor infrastructure, inadequate supply and the relatively high cost of agricultural inputs and an underdeveloped marketing system place undue pressure on rural communities that might otherwise be able to improve themselves if they could sell surplus produce and their national resources and environment.

The problems in the agricultural sector are particularly severe in the highlands of Shan State.

In the past, the agricultural service sector was underpinned by a vibrant agricultural education, research and outreach nexus. Higher agriculture education continues to be provided at the Yezin Agriculture University, which is under the authority of the Ministry of Irrigation and Agriculture and which is the source of staff for Institutes, research, and extension. Today, the seven State Agricultural Institutes and ten Agricultural High Schools for basic technical and vocational education, which operate under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, are severely constrained by inadequate budgets and facilities as well as isolation from external knowledge sources. As a consequence the Agricultural schools that provide training at middle or high school level are further disadvantaged as the knowledge of teachers continues to be constrained.

In the Myanmar, the Agricultural Institute at Pyinmana, which offers post-secondary training for agricultural extension workers and teachers of vocational agriculture in high schools, is affected by all of the above constraints in addition to a bias away from funding of facilities in these areas.

If there is to be a sustainable agricultural system in Myanmar, the declining research base needs to be reversed. If the global agricultural knowledge is to be applied to reduce rural poverty, then integrated rural development is required. In the first instance, the capability of researches to implement and interpret finding appropriate to the need of rural communities and skills of agriculture extension agents needs support. Then the capacity of the extension services to communicate with farmers should be addressed. The immediate need for international communication then forms a third set of needs in terms of developing a self-sustaining communication between professionals and scientists, extending ultimately to NGOs and progressive farmers.

From first hand experience in Myanmar, some specific project ideas in the agricultural sector may be suggested, as follows.

Project Ideas

Strengthening of national agriculture departments and educational institutions. This is essentially a human resource development program that could be conducted in conjunction with appropriate agencies in a developed and/or neighbouring country. In the case of departments, the process would begin with an organizational study that elicits new goals, objectives, programs and functions as a basis for training and re-training of staff as well as recruitment of new staff. In the case of the source of new staff, and the creation of locally applicable agricultural knowledge, the Yezin Agriculture University would require a similar activity and the formation of international linkages to ensure a conduit of communication, as it is not considered likely that Myanmar will resume its once elite status in this field as a result of its decades of neglect and will therefore rely on accessing information from other countries for adaptive research and teaching.

At the same time, smaller and similar studies would be conducted in the Shan States for both service delivering agencies and agricultural education and training.

Methodology

The project idea related here would be initiated by a mission comprised of persons experienced in Myanmar and the region, including language skills, which would prepare a detailed proposal for investment by a bilateral aid source. Further details are available on request from interested agencies.

2. Government strategy to address the problems

The government has recognized that declining net agriculture productivity and the depletion of soil resources can have profound economic implications, particularly for upland farmers in Shan State, attention on soil erosion as a physical process has in recent years shifted to its social and economic impacts. Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation planed a program for ‘Upland Soil Fertility Improvement Program’ on the sloping land of Southern Shan State The Land Use Division of the Myanmar Agriculture Department has implemented the ‘Upland Soil Fertility Improvement Program’ since 2000.

B. Project justification

1. Problems to be addressed

The hill communities in Shan State can no longer maintain an adequate living from agriculture because of the current farming systems are unsustainable for their food production and declining productivity. Agriculture development and crop production in Shan State is constrained by infertile acid soils, sloping landscapes and soil erosion, and a lack of farmer knowledge on soil fertility management. Nevertheless, these acid upland soils are the last and largest reserve of potential arable land in Myanmar. Research into sustainable agriculture management of infertile upland soils of Shan State, Myanmar has been very limited. One reason for the lack of good studies is inadequate research capacities on the subject matter, not enough qualified researchers, extensionists and educators in the agriculture and rural sectors. There is an urgent need for the strengthening of national agriculture departments, research centers and educational institutions for a sustainable agriculture management and rural poverty reduction in Myanmar.

2. Expected end of project situation

At the end of the project, the project will have greatly improved capacities for the various stakeholders, both at an institutional and personal level, and established the constructive collaboration between farmers, national agriculture research and extension department, education institutions and NGOs in research analysis and policy implementation. By providing the agricultural education and training that the farmers’ crop yields can be substantially increased through further protection of soil erosion and depletion of soil fertility, farmers will be encouraged to apply the concepts of balanced nutrition and sustainable farm productivity. This project will also enhance the identification and implementation of improved land management strategies in an economical and sustainable manner through reducing of the poverty in the country.

Contacts

1. Institute for International Development Ltd, as per this web page

2. J. E. Leake M.Agr.Sc. j.leake@iid.org

3. Dr. Tin Maung Aye, Research Fellow, Institute of Land and Food Resources, University of Melbourne 3010 Australia. taye@unimelb.edu.au.

4. Prof. Lindsay Falvey, Chair of Agriculture, University of Melbourne 3010 Australia. l.falvey@unimelb.edu.au.