Junta sells seeds which do not sprout to farmers in Irrawaddy

by Zarni

Saturday, 19 July 2008 15:32

Bangkok — Made to buy seeds that do not sprout, farmers in Burma's cyclone hit zone of Bogale township in Irrawaddy division are in trouble planting rice. A farmer in Bogale Township's Aye Chan Thar village told Mizzima they have to pay for the paddy seeds received from local authorities but the seeds have failed to yield. "A farmer is given one basket [equivalent to 16 bushels] of seeds. And we have to pay 1000 Kyat for it. But we found out that most of the seeds do not yield and we cannot use them for planting," the farmer told Mizzima. The farmer said, before the seeds could be used for planting, they needed to be kept in water and spread out on a mat until the seeds start sprouting. But the seeds they have received fail to yield, forcing them to buy seeds from elsewhere. "Since the seeds failed to yield, the seeds are of no use. We just feed them to chicken or to ducks. Now we are in difficulty as we do not know where to get the seeds for planting," the farmer added. He added that the amount of seeds provided by the authorities is too little, because a basket full of seeds are only sufficient to plant an acre of farm land. "Since a farmer is receiving only one basket of seeds, it is not adequate. Because one basket is only enough for planting an acre and most farmers here have at least 10 or more acres of land," he added. The farmer said he feared shortage of rice production in his village as the time for planting rice is running out and most farmers in his village failed to find alternative sources of seed procurement. An official in Burma's Ministry of Agriculture in Naypyitaw said they have begun providing paddy seeds to farmers in cyclone hit Irrawaddy delta to assist farmers to plant rice before the main planting season is over. "Yes, we have been providing seeds to farmers in the Irrawaddy delta," said the official, not willing to mention the areas in which the government had provided paddy seeds. But the official, when asked about the sales of paddy seeds in some areas and the unyielding seeds received by some farmers in Bogale township, declined to answer. According to the United Nations food agency, more than 52,000 farmers are in need of support including paddy seeds and other farming equipment to plant 183,000 hectares of paddy before the main planting season is over in August. The Food and Agriculture Organization had revised its aid appeal to US $ 33.5 million from the initial aid appeal of US$ 10 million to help Burma's cyclone affected farmers in the Irrawaddy delta, the main rice producing zone. According to the FAO, rice production in the Irrawaddy delta, known to be Burma's rice bowl, is likely to be reduced by one-third this year, threatening food security in the Southeast Asian country. Cyclone Nargis, which lashed military-ruled Burma in May 2 and 3, left more than 138,000 dead and missing and devastated over 2.4 million peoples' lives. It also flooded more than 780,000 hectares (1.9 million acres) of rice paddy fields and destroyed 90 percent of seed stocks. < Prev   Next >