Myanmar works with OECD to formulate agricultural policy

01 June 2015
Myanmar works with OECD to formulate agricultural policy
Farmers in a rice field in Pegu region. Photo: Ye Min/Mizzima

Myanmar’s government is working closely with the 34-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to formulate a policy framework to boost foreign investment in the agricultural sector according to a report by Xinhua on 31 May.
OCED officials were quoted as saying that allowing foreign ownership of land and creating a legal framework to encourage contract farming will attract foreign direct investment in Myanmar’s agricultural sector.
The OECD held a workshop in Yangon on Saturday on modernizing Myanmar's agricultural sector.
According to official statistics, Myanmar's agricultural sector ranked the ninth out of 11 sectors in terms of foreign direct investment with approved capital of 242.686 million U.S. dollars as of March 2015 since late 1988 when the country started to open up to foreign investment.
Meanwhile, the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) has offered aid to Myanmar to carry out a project for agricultural development that lasts from 2013 to 2015 covering three villages in central Magway region.
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) also helped the country grow rice under a Myanmar Rice Sector Development Strategy and Program.