Myanmar's Long Road to National Reconciliation (24 page)

1.   Policy and strategy;

2.   Infrastructure;

3.   Transportation and communication;

4.   Power and energy supply;

5.   Technology and services;

6.   Institutional arrangement and capability;

7.   Co-ordination and co-operation;

8.   Finance and Investment.

By improving agro-based industries, the problems of rural unemployment and rural poverty can be solved to some extent. In the agriculture sector, favourable conditions exist for the establishment of new agro-industries in the area of crop production, upgrading the existing processing and other post-harvest facilities, and expansion of downstream industries using advanced modern technologies.

Agricultural education, agricultural research, and agricultural extension are the three important areas for agricultural development. In agricultural education, the formal system involves ten agricultural high schools (AHS), seven state agricultural institutes (SAI) and one agricultural university. The agricultural high schools have an important role in educating rural youth of poor families. Educating such persons will improve the prospects for the employment of trained groups of low-level service personnel, especially in remote areas. However, some of these schools have been closed down, for two main reasons — inefficient performance and low student enrolment. The schools were also facing a shortage of trained teaching staff and farm facilities.

There are seven state agricultural institutes responsible for vocational agricultural education. The vocational agricultural education system is in a better situation, because there are job opportunities for diploma certificate holders, and they have a good chance to go on to higher-level agricultural education at Yezin Agricultural University (YAU).

For higher agricultural education, there is only one centre in Myanmar, Yezin Agricultural University, which was established in 1924. Between 1924 and 2004, the university has turned out 7,083 graduates, as well as 107 Master of Agricultural Science graduates. A doctoral program was initiated in 2001. Most of the graduates have gone into jobs in the departments and enterprises of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation.

About 52 per cent of staff members at YAU have post-graduate degrees from various foreign countries. The rest of the staff will be equipped with postgraduate degrees within two to three years. In this connection, YAU is currently working in close scientific co-operation with some foreign institutions and organizations to create better conditions for the teaching and research activities of its academic staff and students.

At the present time YAU has signed MOUs with ten international institutions to promote activities for staff development, staff and student exchange, and joint research programs. We are in the process of collaborating with ten other universities and research institutions. About 180 fresh graduates are being sent annually to Arava Co Ltd in Israel for eleven months of on-the-job training and to undertake an agricultural business studies diploma course.

Myanma Agriculture Service (MAS) is the biggest organization within the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation. It coordinates agricultural research and extension in the country, and under it are various research institutes and divisions, such as:

1.   Central Agricultural Research and Training Centre (CARTC);

2.   Vegetable and Fruit Research and Development Centre (VFRDC);

3.   Plant Protection Division (PPD);

4.   Land Use Division (LUD).

The Central Agricultural Research Institute (CARI) has been upgraded as a separate Department of Agricultural Research (DAR) with a Director-General as head. The Seed Division (SD) has also been given separate status. There are other research stations or units under other departments that conduct various kinds of research, such as the Agriculture Mechanization Department (AMD), Myanma Sugarcane Enterprise (MSE),
Myanma Cotton and Sericulture Enterprise (MCSE), Myanma Perennial Crops Enterprise (MPCE), Myanma Jute Industries (MJI), and the Yezin Agricultural University (YAU).

Under the breeding program of the Department of Agricultural Research (DAR), sixty-two varieties of rice, seven varieties of OPVs, and four varieties of hybrid maize, four varieties of groundnut, four varieties of sesame, fourteen varieties of food legumes, two varieties of cotton, four varieties of jute, and four varieties of sugarcane have been released for farmers.

The research approach and research priorities are mostly targeted towards increasing the productivity of individual crops.

The agricultural extension approach and methods are very important for effective transfer of technologies to farmers. The linkages between research and extension need to be strengthened. Also, in setting up the extension programs, attention should be given to differences in socio-economic and agro-ecological conditions. The following problems have been encountered in carrying out agricultural extension services:

1.   Poor technical knowledge

2.   Extension resources

3.   Market for farm products

4.   Finance for farmers, and

5.   Working environment.

Agricultural extension officers need relevant training to improve their knowledge and skills. CARTC offers different kinds of training to various service personnel, including extension officers, such as pre-service training, in-service training, on-the-job training, and training workshops. Some 2,089 trainees attended various training programs at CARTC during the five-year period 1995–2000. Similar kinds of training were also provided at DAR, PPD, and LUD.

In the case of improving rural development, the government is attempting to solve the rural poverty problem through implementing various policies such as agriculture-based development policy, agricultural price reform
policy, macro-price reform policy, technology development policy, credit policy, irrigation policy, marketing policy. and integrated rural development policy.

There is a relatively high incidence of poverty in the marginal agricultural areas such as dry zone and hilly regions of Myanmar. Common characteristics of these marginal areas are a high rate of degradation of natural resources, unreliable rainfall, lack of proper irrigation systems, and other problems. It is vital to strengthen the current Integrated Rural Development Projects in these marginal areas in order to achieve sustainable agricultural productivity and improved equity, and for promoting stability.

In regard to the fishery sector, Myanmar has a 2,800-kilometre-long coastline, with abundant fish and shrimp resources. There is huge potential for aquaculture and marine fisheries, but there are insufficient processing facilities and trained personnel.

In the forestry sector, Myanmar still retains a substantial coverage of valuable forests. However, due to agriculture expansion, shifting cultivation, urbanization, and the use of fuels by households, deforestation has been estimated at around 15,000 hectares annually. The Forest Department has been carrying out re-afforestation at the rate of 30,000 hectares annually.

Like other developing countries, Myanmar faces environmental deterioration in various forms, depending on the particular agro-ecological zone. Due to deforestation, soil erosion occurs in many of the hilly and mountainous regions. Unsustainable farming practices, such as the practice of slash-and-burn cultivation, are major threats for environmental degradation. As a result, environmental protection programs are very essential for combating poverty amongst the rural population.

Compared to other developing countries, Myanmar has received relatively little international assistance; multilateral development agencies and
bilateral agencies have provided only limited funds and assistance. But 2004 was encouraging for the agricultural sector as the OPEC Fund has agreed to provide US$12.3 million funding for a project on oil seed production. Since 1980, very little or no international aid or funding has been received for agricultural education, although Myanmar is an agricultural country.

Myanmar knows well the importance of agricultural and rural development, which is a key to social, economic, and environmental reform in Myanmar. The country is undertaking this heavy work-load mainly through its own efforts. With the help of international assistance, the development process would be more efficient and productive in the agricultural sector.

¹
   T. Kudo (ed.),
Industrial Development in Myanmar: Prospects and Challenges
(Chiba, Japan: Institute of Developing Economies, 2002).

Myo Win and Graeme Batten

“Anything can wait but not agriculture”
— Pandit J. L. Nehru

“Do not underestimate their [farmers’] knowledge and skill. Most of them are not lazy. They know the economic side of crop selection and operation. There are only a few points which they need advice from experts”
— U Ba Tin (1980)

Sustainable agricultural and rural development are the foundation for developing agro-based industries, and are positive pathways for solving many of Myanmar’s current issues and challenges related to rural poverty, unemployment, human development, and associated malnutrition and rural urban drift.

In a recent Human Development Report (HDR) of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
¹
Myanmar ranked 131st out of 175 countries in terms of the Human Development Index (HDI). The HDI is the average value of three other indices: Life Expectancy Index (LEI), Education Index (EI,) and GDP (gross domestic product) Index (GDPI). Myanmar’s LEI, EI and GDPI indices are 0.53, 0.72 and 0.39 respectively, resulting in HDI of 0.549. By comparison the HDI for Australia was 0.939 and for Luxembourg 1.0.

Based on GDP Index alone, Myanmar falls into the “least developed countries” category but on the Education Index measurement, it falls into the “developing countries” category. The final HDI for Myanmar sits between Low Human Development (0.440) and Medium Human Development (0.684) category.