Phyo Min Thein, Yangon Region Minister said the Yangon Regional Government has plans to spend about eight Billion Kyats to invest on development of the agricultural sector in Yangon Region, at a workshop which held at the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Yangon. The workshop aimed to accelerate the agricultural sector in Yangon Region. He also pointed out that the agricultural sector is weakening as the industry sector in Yangon Region develops. We need to energize the agricultural sector with the use of modern ways in attempts to accelerate the agricultural production.
The Yangon Region has more than 2.5 million acres of farmland. Yangon Regional Government is implementing a master plan for development of agricultural mechanization in the region within three years. First, irrigation will be extended in the 2017-2018 fiscal year
Currently, more than 700,000 acre feet of water stored in nine dams in the region have not been effectively used for irrigating farmland in the summer and winter seasons.
The Master Plan also focuses on getting quality rice strains and on producing value-added products for export. Vice President of the Myanmar Rice Federation, Aung Than Oo said “Yangon Regional Government should establish service centers in townships to grant agricultural loans to farmers efficiently through the centers. He added the government should assist the farmers to be able to use modern and upgraded agricultural machinery”. He also suggest to renovate dikes to prevent intrusion of sea water to farmland and dredge silt out of creeks and rivers so that water recedes quickly after flooding. Yangon Region faces natural disasters, especially flooding almost every year. Myanmar’s total rice export in the first half of 2016-2017 fiscal year reached 401,367 tons valued at $ 145.158 million. China is the top rice export market of Myanmar, followed by Singapore while the United Arab Emirates remains the third.
