Myanmar Agriculture and fishing!

Agriculture and fishing

Farmlands in Burma. Photo by Rijstvelden, taken on 7 October 2006. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

Agriculture is the mainstay of the Myanmar’s economy, contributing 37.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010, down from 47 percent in 2005/2006. Agriculture, which includes crops, livestock, fisheries and forestry, accounts for just over 52 percent of the working population aged 15 years and over.¹

It also accounts for between 25 and 30 percent of exports in 2013. Agricultural exports dropped to 26 percent in 2008, reflecting the devastation of the rice and other crops by Cyclone Nargis. In 2009, agricultural exports accounted for 28 percent of total exports.²

It is estimated that the annual income per agricultural worker in Myanmar was US$ 194 in 2012 compared to US$ 6,680 in Malaysia and US$ 706 in Thailand.³

Agricultural policy
The government places a high priority on the agriculture sector, especially the food crop sub-sector, relying on it to be an engine of inclusive economic growth. In 2003, the government ended production quotas and opened up the export market to the private sector. Innovative measures have been taken to promote increased agricultural production, designed to improve rural livelihoods.

Land and water use of the Myanmar’s total landmass of about is around 68 million hectares, of which land and water use accounts for  around about 12 million hectares or 18 percent, with about 12 million hectares  are cropped currently. Some 5.7 million hectares is considered cultivable but is currently unused. Forest cover accounts for 48 percent of the total land mass. The 2003 Myanmar Agricultural Census showed that there were about 3.46 million farm families, cultivating about 8.7 million hectares of land. ⁴

There are several ministries involved in agriculture, natural resources and rural development. The Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development was tasked with the overall planning and development of all national economic sectors, including the agriculture sector with its crop, livestock, fishery and forestry sub-sectors. The Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (MoAI) is responsible for overall development of the crop sub-sector.

The government has introduced significant political and economic reforms since 2011. Among these, the Farmland Law and Foreign Investment Law address issues fundamental to development.⁵Under the Farmland Law, once the owners have registered their land, they have the right to sell, pawn, lease, exchange, donate, and/or enter into a joint venture.

Although the law pleased the farmers whose lands were not confiscated, it did not benefit those whose lands were seized during the military regime, triggering farmers’ protests in many parts of the country.

In November 2011, the government launched the National Strategy on Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation, a policy focusing on the agriculture production, livestock and fisheries production, rural productivity and cottage industry, micro savings and credit enterprises, rural cooperatives, rural /socio economy, rural renewable energy and environmental conservation areas.

 Crops and commodities

Rice is the most important agricultural commodity of Myanmar as a staple food, and production has increased from 18 million tons in 1995 to over 22 million tons in 2010. Myanmar was once Asia’s largest exporter of rice and Other main crops include beans, sesame, groundnuts, pulses, sugarcane and lumber.⁶ Low agricultural productivity is the result of multiple factors, many of which are associated with the under supply of quality agricultural public goods. A decrease in labor availability can be driven by rising wages outside of agriculture.

According to the statistics from the Customs Department, up to January 28 in 2016 , maritime exports of Myanmar rice reached 66,393 tons,  just over 7 percent of total export, while border trade accounts for 840,804 tons, which forms the rest of total export at  almost 93 percent. Despite the government’s target for lifting production to two million tons of milled rice for export by 2015 and four million tons by 2020, actual rice export has reached only about 1.3 million tons in 2012/13.⁷

Myanmar exported 1.54 million metric tons of beans and pulses in 2015, up 25 percent from the same period last year 7. According to the Ministry of Commerce, approximately 80 percent of Myanmar’s total bean and pulse exports in 2015 were shipped to India. 

Natural disasters

Myanmar’s agriculture is heavily dependent on the monsoon rains. While some areas suffer from too much rain, other regions receive too little. Floods occur regularly during the mid-monsoon season (June to August) in areas traversed by rivers and large streams. Climate change phenomena have been cited as the reason for late and lower rainfall, longer dry spells and increased temperatures. Myanmar was affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, Cyclone Nargis in 2008 and Cyclone Giri in 2010, events which all had a major impact on national agricultural output.⁸

Fishing and fisheries

Fish is an essential part of the Myanmar diet, second only to rice. Fishing occurs in both salt and freshwater, and an estimated 300 species live in Myanmar’s freshwater ecosystem. Fisheries may be classified into various categories: marine, coastal, river, inland and aquaculture.⁹ 

The total production of fish and shellfish in 2013 was 4.7 million tons (MT), 47 percent of freshwater and 53 percent of the sea. Capture fisheries contributed 3.06 million tons and aquaculture 0.78 million tons¹⁰. The fishery and aquaculture sector provided direct employment to 3.16 million people, with 22 percent of this figure in full-time work and the remaining 88 percent in part-time and occasional employment. Fisheries exports were valued at USD 497 million in 2010.¹¹

China is the largest importer of Myanmar’s fisheries products, particularly marine fisheries, based on Chinese consumers’ preference for saltwater fish species and shrimp, rather than the freshwater fish species traditionally farmed and caught in Myanmar. Myanmar exported between 5 and 10 percent of its production to the EU in 2010. ¹² 

 

Fishing, fisheries and aquaculture

Local fish market in Ayeyarwady delta, Photo by Jharendu Pant, Flickr, taken 27 November 2012. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Myanmar’s fishery sector has been the fourth largest contributor to the national gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest source of foreign exchange earnings in the past five years. As the majority of the households in Myanmar live along the four main rivers and in delta regions, the freshwater fish from the inland capture fisheries forms a mainstay of both daily diet and trade. Households generally prefer to consume freshwater fish over marine fish, while the national average annual consumption of fish and fish products is 55 kg per capita. A survey conducted by the UNited Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization in  2006 found that fish accounts for about 22 percent of protein intake of Myanmar households.¹

Fishery Production

Myanmar’s total production of fish and shellfish in 2013 was 4.7 million tonnes (MT), with 47 percent of that freshwater varieties and 53 percent from the sea. Based on Department of Fisheries (DOF) statistics, fishery production in Myanmar increased from 4,478.21 thousand MT in 2012 to 5,047.53 thousand MT in 2014.

Inland and marine fisheries make up nearly 80 percent of Myanmar’s fish production at 4.1 million tonnes, and remain a key contributor to the national fish supply. Aquaculture has grown significantly in the past decade, and has now accounts for 22 percent of annual fish production, producing 950,000 tonnes in 2015, according to government statistics reported to FAO. ²

Based on data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), world fisheries production in 2012 was at 158 million MT. Marine capture fisheries accounted for 50 percent of the global production or 79.7 million MT. About 76.2 percent of the production came from 18 countries with China as the top producer.³

Fisher’s harbour of Sittwe. Photo by dany13, Flickr, taken 15 March 2012. Licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Myanmar was the tenth highest producer of marine capture fisheries in 2012. Between 2003 and 2012, marine catch in Myanmar increased by 121 percent which was the highest among the 18 major producing countries.⁴

The Marine Capture Fisheries is focused on Myeik Township (Tanintharyi Region) and Yangon, which are the key production and marketing hubs of marine capture fisheries.⁵

According to the Ministry of Commerce, total border trade between Myeik and Thailand in 2012-13 was valued at US$ 125 million with seafood as one of the major export products. It is estimated that about 70 percent to 75 percent of the total fisheries production in Myeik was sold via the Myeik – Thailand border trade in 2013.⁶

Export Market

IIn 2013, Myanmar exported a total of 345,000 MT of fish and fishery products to 32 countries with a total value of US$ 536.27 million. Exported volume was about 7 percent of the total 2013 fishery production, with the majority of export sales occurring via border trade for the regional market.⁷

China is the biggest buyer of Myanmar fish in terms of export value. Myanmar’s export volume to China increased by 48 percent between the period 2009 and 2013.

In 2009, the European Union banned all Myanmar seafood imports. Imports of seafood were re-approved in 2010, while farmed products remain prohibited. Myanmar exports to the EU increased in 2013 amounting to €223 million, with fisheries products accounting for 8 percent of this total.⁸

Agriculture

Myanmar has historically been an agrarian society, meaning that agriculture the agriculture sector accounts for the majority of the country’s economic output.  The 2003 Myanmar Agricultural Census showed that there were about 3.46 million farm families, cultivating about 8.7 million hectares of land.¹ The estimated annual income per agricultural worker in Myanmar was US$ 194 in 2012 compared to US$ 6,680 in Malaysia and US$ 706 in Thailand.²

Myanmar’s farming systems are increasingly diversified. Most farms produce paddy rice during the monsoon season, mainly due to high humidity, which is better suited to wet rice production than cultivation of Myanmar’s other main cash crops. These are usually produced the cool and dry seasons, and include , mainly beans and pulses, oilseeds, and maize.³

Rice

Rice is the most important agricultural commodity of Myanmar and produced over 27 million tons in 2013.¹ Monsoon paddy is the main crop for both small and large farms in Myanmar.⁴

Most farms produce paddy during the monsoon season, mainly due to high humidity, which makes it difficult to produce other crops during this time. Myanmar sends 70 percent its rice exports to China, but most of these shipments are not authorized by China’s government.⁵

Chinese border authorities tightened controls over the import of agricultural products from Myanmar in 2016, including rice, maize, sugar and beans, with a great impact on the rice trade between the two countries. Rice exports through the Muse border gate had fallen from 5000 tons a day to under 1000 tons in October 2016.

Exporting paddy, as opposed to processed rice, would require a change in Myanmar regulation, as the government has typically restricted exports to rice.⁶

Other crops

Other main crops include beans, sesame, groundnuts, pulses, sugarcane and lumber. The most widely planted beans and pulses in Myanmar are chickpeas, black gram, and green gram. Myanmar is the world’s second largest exporter of beans and pulses after Canada, and the customers include India, United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Bangladesh, and China. In 2014, the export value of beans and pulses was $835 million, larger than the export value of rice, estimated at roughly $630 million..⁷

Agriculture’s place in a shifting economy

Agriculture composed 37.8 percent of Myanmar’s GDP in 2011, down from 47 percent in 2005/2006. It also declined from 57 percent in 2001 to 36 percent  in 2010.⁸In contrast, the share of GDP accounted for by the industrial sector more than doubled, to 26 percent in the same period, reflecting natural gas, oil, mineral, and gemstone exploitation. Liberalization of the economy and opening up to foreign direct investment (FDI) has contributed to the rapid growth of the industrial sector.⁹

There has also been an observable decline in agricultural output over the course of the last century. Before World War II, Myanmar’s rice exports amounted to 3.177 million tons (1936-40) while in 1961/62, Myanmar exported 1.676 million tons. Rice exports continued to decline from 1.52 million tons in 1962/63 to 0.3 million tons in 1987/88, and then again to 50,000 tons in 1988/89.¹⁰

According to the statistics from the Ministry of Commerce, this trend continues. Rice exports from April to September l2015 were valued at US$168 million, compared to only $122 million during the same period this year (2016).¹¹

Low agricultural productivity is the result of multiple factors, many of which are associated with the undersupply of quality agricultural public goods. A decrease in labor availability can be driven by rising wages in economic sectors outside of agriculture. Changes in the cost of working capital (interest rate) largely reflect macroeconomic developments rather than agriculture sector performance. Land prices fluctuate, responding to the changes in demand from industry or urban development.¹²

These are all examples of conditions which can create pressure on activities in the sector, potentially driving laborers to seek other kinds of work, and putting farm owners out of business.

Another influencing factor has occurred with the influence of foreign direct investment since the opening of Myanmar’s economy to international economic actors. Very little of the influx of foreign capital has contributed to supporting agriculture, with more than 70 percent of foreign investment was directed at the extraction of natural resources such as oil, gas and mining, but only one percent to agricultural enterprises. ¹³

Agricultural activities have attracted some investment from foreign entities, however. In recent years, China, Thailand, South Korea and Japan have invested in agriculture in Myanmar. China has invested in the plantations of sugarcane and fruit, while Thailand has invested in vegetable and fruit plantations throughout the country.¹⁴

Ref:https://opendevelopmentmyanmar.net/topics/agriculture/