Title of document: Paradigm Trap: The development establisment’s embrace of Myanmar and how to break loose Authors: Walden Bello Journal’s name if any: Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: TNI Year of publication: 2018 Geographic focus: Myanmar Main issues / topics addressed (for example: Introduction: Paradigm Trap; The Countryside: From Coercion to the Market; Extraction as Industrial Policy; Crony Capital: A Necessary Evil?…) School of agroecology (if any): Web address to original document (if any): Summary: Before elucidating this alternative paradigm, the report discusses Myanmar’s economic past and where it’s headed under the current paradigm.  Starting with land and agriculture, it explains how the repressive extraction of the agricultural surplus coupled with massive land-grabbing produced a crisis-ridden and stagnant agriculture during the military regime. The paper then moves to a discussion of industrial policy, where it probes how and why the military regime’s experiments with industrialization failed, after which it lays out a critique of the foreign investment-led and export-oriented industrialization process promoted by the Japanese government, subjecting to close scrutiny the key pillars of this strategy: economic corridors to promote regional connectivity, special economic zones (SEZ’s), and the “fragmentation” of the process of production that is supposed to benefit Myanmar.   Read More

Title of document: Food Security and Nutrition in Myanmar: Policy Landscape Authors: Thanda Kyi Journal’s name if any: Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: MOALI Year of publication: Geographic focus: Myanmar Main issues / topics addressed (for example: Poverty situation, food security and income generation; Myanmar National Action Plan for Food and Nutrition Security; Draft framework for multi-sectoral national plan of action for nutrition…) School of agroecology (if any): Web address to original document (if any): Summary: For the agriculture sector, the aim is to increase the productivity and diversity of food stuffs and will focus on nutrient-dense crops, fish and animal-based foods, with an effort to integrate these into mixed farming systems   Read More

Title of document: Farmland policies for young generation in Myanmar: Purchasing and Leasing Authors: Mar Mar Kyu Journal’s name if any: Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: Year of publication: Geographic focus: Myanmar Main issues / topics addressed (for example: Country Profile of Myanmar; Land resources of Myanmar; Overview of Agriculture in Myanmar; Agricultural land in Myanmar …) School of agroecology (if any): Web address to original document (if any): Summary: The Union Parliament of the Republic of Union of Myanmar enacted The Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Law and The Farmland Law in 2012. And also The Law of Protection of the Farmer Rights and Enhancement of their Benefits was enacted in 2013. These laws are encouraging to the farmers and the young generation because they become to have rights to own, mortgage, heir, rent, exchange and perform other economic practices.   Read More

Title of document: Learning together in the Ayeyarwady Delta: Lessons and Good Practices Authors: U Htet Kyu; Libera Antelmi-Dazio and Shagun Gupta Journal’s name if any: Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: LIFT Year of publication: Geographic focus: Myanmar Main issues / topics addressed (for example: Agricultural Production and Post-Harvest Management; Integrating farmers in the rice value chain; Turning Income Generating Activities into Profitable Business…) School of agroecology (if any): Web address to original document (if any): Summary: This document compiles lessons and good practices that arose from implementation of the Delta 2 Programme, funded by the Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund (LIFT). The lessons were presented by implementing partners during Learning Alliance workshops held in Bogale and Yangon on 1st and 3rd October 2014 respectively. The purpose of this report is to share the experiences of LIFT’s partners in the implementation of their projects during Delta 2. The report presents lessons shared at a series of workshops organised by LIFT in October 2014, focusing on agricultural production and post-harvest loss reduction, integrating farmers in the rice value chain, making income generation activities profitable, organising collective services.  Participants also shared their experience of hire-purchase models, market price information and agricultural finance.   Read More

Title of document: Farmland policies for young generation in Myanmar: purchasing and leasing Authors: Mar Mar Kyu Journal’s name if any: Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: CIDSE Year of publication: Geographic focus: Myanmar Main issues / topics addressed (for example : Overview of Agriculture in Myanmar; Major crops grown in Myanmar; Agricultural education sector in Myanmar; Land Laws in Myanmar ……) School of agroecology (if any): Web address to original document (if any): Summary: The Union Parliament of the Republic of Union of Myanmar enacted The Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Law and The Farmland Law in 2012. And also The Law of Protection of the Farmer Rights and Enhancement of their Benefits was enacted in 2013. These laws are encouraging to the farmers and the young generation because they become to have rights to own, mortgage, heir, rent, exchange and perform other economic practices   Read More

Title of document: Building Resilience of Mountain Communities: Himalica’s experience from HKH countries Authors: Surendra Raj Joshi Journal’s name if any: Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: ICIMOD Year of publication: 2017 Geographic focus: Asia Main issues / topics addressed (for example: Himalica – introduction; Resilience – the concept; Himalica - Key Highlights……) School of agroecology (if any): Web address to original document (if any): Summary: Presentation for workshop “Himalica’s experience from HKH countries” 06 November 2017, Kathmandu, Nepal   Read More

Title of document: Agroecology case study: Supporting sustainable livelihoods and reclaiming degraded land by enhancing agroforestry in southern SHAN state Authors: MIID Journal’s name if any: Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: MIID, ALiSEA Year of publication: 2017 Geographic focus: Myanmar Main issues / topics addressed (for example: Project area context; Research methodology; Response: approach and impact; Conclusions ……) School of agroecology (if any): Web address to original document (if any): Summary: This document is intended as information and sharing tool to support future programming initiatives and planning by government stakeholders, practitioners and communities working in similar contexts   Read More

Title of document: Agroecology case study: Addressing the challenges of upland farming in southern Shan state for climate resilience Authors: MIID Journal’s name if any: Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: MIID, ALiSEA Year of publication: 2017 Geographic focus: Myanmar Main issues / topics addressed (for example: Project area context; Research methodology; Response: planning and approach ……) School of agroecology (if any): Web address to original document (if any): Summary: This case study will examine transitions in the upland project area to contribute to a growing knowledge base on agro-ecology in the ASEAN region to support the adoption and promotion of these practices. Initiatives include conservation agriculture, organic agriculture and integrated crop management   Read More

Title of document: Dynamics of rice production development in Myanmar: Growth centers, technological changes and driving forces Authors: Masahiko Matsuda Journal’s name if any: Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: Ritsumeikan University Year of publication: 2009 Geographic focus: Myanmar Main issues / topics addressed (for example: Introduction; methods; Results and discussion……) School of agroecology (if any): Web address to original document (if any): Summary: Rice has been the predominant crop in Myanmar (Burma) for a century and is grown all over the country under various farming systems. The production showed several distinct periods of increase after the country’s independence. The present study focused on the latest developing trend in rice production, with the arm of the characterizing it in the relation to the history of the country. The development processes in Myanmar for the last century were reviewed using statistical data, and three rapid growth phases for rice production were identified: the first in the mid-1970s to early 1980s, the second in the early 1990s, and the third from the late 1990s. Their technological feature and major growth areas are discussed with the framework of agro-ecological zoning, which devices the country for four zones: the delta, costal, central dry and mountainous zones. The rapid growth in the first and second phases was caused by capital and land use intensification, respectively in the delta and central dry zones, which was the political center of the country. In contrast, the third phase has occurred in the mountainous zone, which has been political periphery. Is was also found that, in each of these phases, the growth was driven mainly by the government policy. The latest rice development may imply that the influence of the central government has recently been strengthened and expanded in the mountainous region.   Read More

Title of document: Intensification level of rice farming in Myanmar: implication for its sustainable development Authors: Masahiko Matsuda Journal’s name if any: Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: Springer Year of publication: 2010 Geographic focus: Myanmar Main issues / topics addressed (for example: Introduction; Materials and methods; Results and discussion……) School of agroecology (if any): Web address to original document (if any): Summary: This study aims to estimate the intensification of rice farming in Myanmar particularly due to chemical fertilizer application, using farm-level data obtained from field surveys conducted in the 2000s. Relatively high-input rice farming was found in dry season crop in the delta zone and the double crop in well-irrigated lowlands of the central dry zone. A gap was observed between these calculated values and the official statistics. A comparison of fertilizer use efficiency for rice production in Myanmar with that in China and Vietnam has shown that the efficiency in Myanmar has not declined to an inappropriate level even in its intensive ones. Rice production in Myanmar has room for increasing the yield by capital intensification. Nevertheless, considering its sustainability as well as productivity, further intensification in rice farming technology in irrigated lowlands of Myanmar may neither be the best nor the only way.   Read More