'Emergency relief' for food crisis in Burma's Chin state

by Mungpi

Tuesday, 26 August 2008 00:00

New Delhi - Plague with rats and severed by drought, people in Chin state of western Burma are facing food shortage that needs 'emergency relief aid', a humanitarian agency in Rangoon said. Country Agency for rural Development (CAD) in Rangoon, said in several parts of Chin state a particular type of bamboos attracted rats that starts destroying crops in farmlands. While in several other parts of the state a major drought has hinder crops from yielding causing great danger to food security, Joseph Win Hlaing Oo, director of CAD said. "Rats have destroyed food and crops largely in areas along the Indo-Burmese border lines but in many other parts, drought has brought severe difficulties for farmers," Joseph told Mizzima. Meanwhile, exiled based Chin Humanitarian groups claimed that at least 44 children in Thantlang Township had died of food poison after eating jungle fruits due to food shortage. "Though we could not confirm of the deaths, it is very much possible, because people in some villages have lost all of their food stocks and are dependent on jungle fruits and roots," Joseph said. He said rats have plagued largely the southern most Township of Paletwa, leaving literally nothing left in farmlands and cornfields. "In some of the cornfields, nothing is left but the stems of the corn," Joseph said. In an email message to Mizzima, Chris Kaye, Country director of the United Nations World Food Programme, which conducted an assessment, said, there are possibilities of the deaths as reported, though their group has no information to verify. "The reports we have received tell us that the situation is grave as indeed the rats have destroyed crops and continue to impact on the future food security of people living in those townships - particularly in the western, more remote parts of the state, Kaye said. The rats, according to Joseph and elderly Chin people, are attracted by a particular type of bamboo flowers that blossoms once in nearly fifty years. The Bamboo flowering began in late 2006, along the Indo-Burmese border line, and attracted rats in the region to multiply. The rats gradually invaded the farmlands and destroyed crops including paddy and maize – the main staple food of Chin state. But, Joseph said, in several townships including Hakha, where Chin state's capital is located, are affected by the unusual drought this year, leaving farmlands unable to produce food for villagers. "Though it will be an assumption to call the situation a 'Famine', I must say the food security is largely in danger," he added. In response to the ongoing crisis, six Organizations including the United Nations agencies such as UN Development Programme, Food and Agriculture Organization and WFP are ready to provide 'emergency relief' to villagers in Chin state. In a meeting on Monday, the six Organizations - WFP, FAO, Groupe d'échange et de Recherche Technologiques (GRET), Care, Karuna Myanmar Social Services (KMSS), and CAD – decided to come up with a joint proposal to help people in Chin state, Joseph said. The proposal, he said, will cover seven of the nine Townships in Chin state, excluding Falam and Kanpalat townships, which are currently facing food crisis. "Our group [CAD] will focus on more than 20 villages in Hakha and Thantlang townships," said Joseph, adding that they are awaiting approval of their proposal by the United Kingdom's Department for International Development. The proposal, which is for six months duration, would allow the groups to distribute free food to villagers that are impacted. CAD said, while it will provide free food for the initial three months in the next three months they will implement a food for work, which will include constructing of roads and repairing basic infrastructures that will benefit the locals in the long run. Kaye said, "When we undertook an initial assessment in March of this year, we were told by community members that food aid was not needed although an expansion of our food for work activities would be appreciated." "This we have been pursuing as far as our resources have allowed us," Kaye added. Joseph, meanwhile said, a 'Green Revolution' is necessary for the long-term solution of the food crisis in Chin state and to resolve the current crisis the 'emergency relief' should be continuing until farmers could re-start planting in June-July 2009. < Prev   Next >