Farmers in Arakan State report that they are facing difficulties cultivating monsoon paddy this year due to rising prices of commodities, including diesel, fertilizers and farm equipment, as the military council has blocked transport routes amid escalating conflict in the region.
Since the outbreak of fighting, the military has closed all land and water routes, leaving farmers unable to procure the inputs needed to grow rice.
“This rice-growing season, we can’t buy diesel, fertilizer or farm equipment. Prices have skyrocketed. It’s unlikely that farmers will be able to cultivate the fields in this situation,” said a farmer from Mrauk-U Township.
At present, a barrel of diesel costs around 1.8 million kyat in Arakan State, a bag of fertilizer costs up to 300,000 kyat starting from 250,000 kyat. According to the farmers, the prices for agricultural machinery are about four times as high as last year.
In addition to the high cost of inputs, farmers say that the area under rice cultivation could decrease significantly this year due to displacement caused by the conflicts as well as the threat of landmines and unexploded ordnance in the region.
“The situation doesn’t allow farmers to cultivate the fields. Only 10 out of 100 farmers in a village can grow paddy. It’s unlikely that the other 90 will be able to do so,” said U Maung Kyaw Hlaing, a farmer from Phaya Paung village in Kyauktaw Township.
The farmers therefore hope that the Arakan People’s Government will introduce fair prices and provide support so that they can grow monsoon rice this year.
“We’re on the verge of using up our stocks. In this situation, the Arakan People’s Government needs to come up with something. Only then can the farmers plant in time,” said U Maung Sein Pe, a farmer from Kyauktaw township.
There are more than 1.2 million acres of rice cultivation area in Arakan State. In the 2023 growing season, just over 1 million acres were cultivated. Agriculture is the backbone of the economy in Arakan State, where over 70% of the population live from farming.
Sent by DMG.