Pa-O region, southern Shan State, will focus on modernizing its agriculture and livestock economy while prioritizing the construction of hydropower stations and the development of vocational schools

31 Jan 2018

Pa-O region in southern Shan State will focus on modernising its agricultural and livestock economy while prioritising building hydropower stations and developing vocational schools as well as ecotourism.

In an exclusive interview with The Myanmar Times, U Khun San Lwin, chair of the Pa-O leading body, outlined his government’s key economic priorities, which will form a core part of the upcoming development blueprint.

On January 15, the Myanmar Institute for Integrated Development (MIID) and the DaNa Facility (DaNa) signed a US$400,000 three-year grant agreement to improve the economic opportunities for 400 smallholder farmers in Pa-O. Both DaNa and this programme are funded by the UK Department for International Development.

Six agriculture challenges

Farming is the overarching sector in the region, with 80 percent of the population deriving their livelihoods from farming.

U Khun San Lwin sketched out six challenges for the region’s agriculture: lack of technology, low market demand, absence of necessary machineries due to high cost, natural disasters and reliance on rainwater for irrigation.

“We’ve noticed the overuse and unsystematic use of chemicals. For example, the chemicals might be used more than the specified amount or handled without any kinds of protections. There are still technological shortcomings in how to properly handle these chemicals,” he said.

Farmers do not have to know-how to source high-quality seeds, cultivating the farmlands, managing microbes and maintaining a fertile topsoil. Neither do they have access to post-harvest technology, such as storage tech or how to process harvested crops. 

“For example, maize is produced in many tonnes, but storing and drying the harvest maize are still extremely difficult for us,” he went on.

The lack of technology also hinders the farmers from undertaking value-added activities. Reforms could only move ahead with the manpower, investment and machineries.

The production cost, quality, and size of agricultural products are still not sufficiently competitive in the face of foreign imports. For example, Pa-O produces many tonnes of potatoes and onions, but those cannot compete with imports in terms of variety and quality. 

“The government needs to enact strong import/export policies; it’s extremely crucial that the government also creates a market system that has guarantees for the citizens,” the Pa-O chair noted. Smallholder farmers should come up with researches in market demands and implement collective marketing. 

The lack of technology is also a consequence of scarce financial resources. There isn’t capital for acquiring the necessary farming machineries. 

“Farmers face the obstacle of high cost for farming products like fertilisers, pesticides and seeds.”

In addition, the market for domestic maize is going downhill because of imported maize. 

Farmers do not have the resources to conduct research on raising the quality of local maize and to make it competitive. He argued for the need to educate farmers to label their plantation and make sure the crops are compatible with the region.

The crops are also threatened by a myriad of natural disasters and climate changes, including deforestation, drought and irregular rainfall. These occurrences are the primary challenges for agriculture.

Last but not least, the majority of the farming community still relies on rainwater for irrigation. This is highly unstable.

“If closed-end water dams are constructed and hydraulic rams are installed in creeks, more areas will be arable and the sector will secure more stability because they don’t have to depend on weather conditions,” U Khun San Lwin observed.

Out of the major produces from Pa-O, paddy, maize, sugarcane, butter, potato, coffee, onion are crops and products which fetch a good price. 

Economic priorities

The Pa-O leading body named eight key economic policies beyond agriculture: tourism, road and transport, livestock, industrialisation, education, boosting domestic and foreign investments, power supply and grain drying-storage facilities.

His government has outlined seven immediate priorities.

Firstly, agriculture will modernise and “catch up with times” in technology, seeds and equipments.

Secondly, the post-harvest process will be revamped with a focus on cold storage, drying facilities, grinding machines and other equipments in order to raise the value of products.

Thirdly, Pa-O’s small-scale livestock industry will take the first step towards commercialisation, looking at expanding the market, scaling up the investment and upgrading the tech.

Fourthly, alongside finance and hardware upgrades, the region will boost human capital by setting up vocational schools for agriculture, livestock and production. This will equip the population with the necessary skills and manpower to modernise the agriculture economy. 

Fifthly, hydropower stations will be built to meet the power demand.

Sixthly, the preservation of forests and environmental protection will be led by a group which will involve public participation.

Lastly, the government will develop ecotourism and the service economy.

Development plan

The Pa-O leader said that the 2012-17 development plan has achieved 80pc of the targets.

“The things which couldn’t be completed are finance, and sectors which are not directly under our management,” he said.

In the following seven months, DaNa and the MIID would join forces to update the Development Plan for the next five years. The revised blueprint will build on the previous scheme while seeking to scale up the involvement of young people, women, people with disabilities and other excluded groups in both the consultation process and actual project activities.

“We submit development project proposals to the Shan State government, which then allocates the budget,” the leader said, adding that the region has outperformed what is set out in the budget in terms of road infrastructure, the provision of water, crop production, education and healthcare sectors.

 

(The Myanmar Times:https://www.mmtimes.com/news/pa-o-leader-outlines-key-economic-priorities-agriculture-hydropower.html )