Interview
Border News Agency
Mrauk-U, August 7.
Farmers in Arakan are facing numerous challenges, including natural disasters, and are struggling with long-term livelihood insecurity.
Border News Agency spoke with Ko Tun Tun Win, a local farmer in Arakan, about the situation.
“I’ve been farming for about ten years, having started when I was young. Right now, I’m working on six plots of farmland. This year has been especially difficult for us. Selling rice hasn’t been easy either. We don’t have the capital to invest in the next planting season. It’s hard to afford fertilizer, and even buying fuel for the tractors has become a major challenge. There are so many hardships we farmers are facing.”
“We have to pay 20,000 kyats per day for a male laborer, and 15,000 kyats for a female worker. Fertilizer prices range from 280,000 to 300,000 kyats. For the white fertilizers that we commonly use here, the seasonal market price can go up to around 320,000 kyats.”
“These past years have been extremely difficult. Fertilizer is completely unavailable. Farmers’ lives are in crisis. There are no buyers for the rice, so we haven’t been able to sell it. And no one is even asking about our situation.”
“If there’s anything we could ask for, it’s for the fuel prices to be reduced so we can afford to farm. After planting rice, we also urgently need fertilizers to nourish the crops. Only then can we farmers have a chance at a better life.”
“Farming ends in losses because we can’t get a fair price for our rice. The market price doesn’t match our production costs. Farming equipment and supplies are extremely expensive. That’s why farming has become unprofitable.”
“Still, we can’t abandon our land, so we have no choice but to plow and plant. We want those in charge to consider our situation and take action. We hope fertilizers, fuel, and farming equipment can be made available at affordable prices. Only then will life be manageable for us farmers.”
“The Arakan People’s Government has provided some support. They’ve given us rice seeds—two 4-basket sacks per farmer, totaling eight baskets. But they haven’t provided anything else yet. If they could give us clean, pure rice seeds without mixing different varieties, we farmers would really appreciate it. That’s what we’d like to see. We farmers are always facing difficulties.”
“Another thing we need is properly organized farmland. When we sow rice in these fields, rats become a major problem.”
“That’s why we want these farmlands to be leveled and systematically prepared using machinery so there are no low or high patches. Only then can farmers work peacefully and effectively.”
