Farmers in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State are struggling to grow rice, the country’s staple crop, as the impacts of last month’s Cyclone Mocha linger on.
June brings monsoon rains that signal the start of rice-planting season in Myanmar.
However, the May 14 storm left thousands of ploughing cattle dead, as well as contaminating farms with saltwater in Rakhine, which is home to more than 3 million people. Agricultural equipment and rice seeds were also inundated by rainwater and floods during the cyclone, which cut a swathe through northern Rakhine.
“The majority of farmers still can’t go back to their farms,” U Than Htay, a farmer in Kyein Kwe Maw village, Pauktaw Township told The Irrawaddy.
“Some are still repairing their power tillers that were damaged by floods. Some are unable to make the repairs because the price of spare parts is high. Others are still trying to buy cattle to replace livestock killed in the storm.”
In the seaside town of Pauktaw, livelihoods are hanging by a thread after the storm surge contaminated farmland with saltwater and damaged fishing trawlers.
In Rathedaung Township, just up the coast, 90 percent of houses were either damaged or destroyed by the storm.
“As everyone suffered damage to their houses during the storm, they don’t have time to take care of their farms,” said U Maung Saw Win, a farmer from Zedi Taung village in Rathedaung. “People have to prioritize rebuilding their homes as it is rainy season. Most houses were flattened, and they need to rebuild their houses as well as farm huts. So, it is costing them a lot.”
The storm left more than 30 people dead in Rathedaung Township while also killing thousands of cattle and wrecking rice mills in villages, said locals.
Agricultural equipment and silos were also destroyed or damaged in Mrauk-U, known as the rice bowl of Rakhine.
“There are various difficulties but the main problem is rice seeds,” said farmer U Soe Naing of Kan Sauk Village in Mrauk-U. “Almost all the silos were blown down and the rice seeds got wet. Almost all farmers have lost their rice seeds and it is very hard to buy new stocks. Some have dried the wet rice seeds, but we are not sure if they will grow.”
Meanwhile, the majority of farmers in Rakhine State have been denied bank loans they need to cultivate new crops. Every year, the state-run Agricultural Development Bank provides loans for farmers ahead of the monsoon growing season. Farmers have to pay back the loans in full ahead of next year’s season to get new loans.
Some 80 percent of local farmers in Rakhine have not been able to repay their loans since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and armed conflict.
The acreage under rice cultivation has declined year by year in Rakhine State, bringing steadily lower yields. Cyclone Mocha is likely to hurt the industry further, said chairman U Kyaw Zan of the Rakhine State Farmers’ Union.
“Since many people have lost their houses in the storm, it will be difficult for them to invest in their farms. Their cattle are gone and so are their rice seeds. Farmers will grow as much as they can, but they won’t be able to cultivate all of their farmland,” he told The Irrawaddy.
According to government data, the state has over one million acres of paddy fields and average annual output of 70 million baskets of rice. But field surveys show only 850,000 acres of rice farmland with output of under 40 million baskets, according to Rakhine State Farmers Union.
Cyclone Mocha killed more than 100 people in the state but also left widespread property damage.
At the start of June, the UN Development Program (UNDP) warned of a “major food crisis” if Rakhine farmers were not able to plant food crops within the next few weeks.
