CNI News

25 October 2023

The government should provide assistance to the farmers whose plantations in eastern Bago Region were destroyed due to flood a few days ago, said farmers and those working on farmers' issues.

In the law protecting farmers' rights, issuing long-term loans, providing service to enable farmers to get suitable profits for the crops they produce, Providing the necessary equipment on time, facilitating farmers to enter the workforce and the State must support farmers when their plantations are damaged by natural disasters are included.

According to the provisions imposed in the Farmers Rights Protection Act and the Interest Promotion Act, that rice fields were flooded and damaged in eastern Bago Region was because of natural disaster. 

So, the farmers should be given subsidies by the government, U Thein Aung, chairman of the Farmers Development Association, told CNI News.

“The fact that the government must give subsidies to the farmers whose plantations are damaged by the natural disaster is included in the Farmers Rights Protection Act and the Interest Promotion Act. So, the government support the farmers to an extent. The government should support about the loan for planting costs. Farmers had to spend at least 450,000 kyats for an acre, not including costs for reaping." he said.

while seeing flood in Bago

Due to flood, unripe rice fields cannot be harvested, and ripe rice fields were also damaged and yields will decrease, farmers will make a loss. Therefore they would not be able to repay the loans taken for agriculture this year, farmers said.

He wanted the government to provide loans for winter crops ahead of schedule in order to repay the debt and to re-plant crops, U Nyunt, s farmer from Thanatpin Township, in eastern Bago Region, told CNI News.

" The government should issue loans earlier for cold season crops. In the past, 100,00 kyats per acre was lent. But 200,000 kyats per acre cost farmers for cold season crops. Because there were plantations destroyed as well, in any case, the government should support 200,000 kyats per acre, not as a loan." he said.

Although the number of plantation acres destroyed due to flood is being recorded, the government has not done anything relating to supporting the farmers reportedly.

Due to flood, over 77,000 acres of paddy fields in the four townships in eastern Bago were sunk and 6,800 acres were damaged, according to the Bago District Agricultural Department.