A good harvest for U Zaw Myo Htike

By Naw Thet Thet Mar and Gurudatta Shirodkar, IFRC
May 2011

Paddy farmer U Zaw Myo Htike was among the 2.4 million people estimated by the UN to have been affected by Cyclone Nargis which devastated the Ayeyarwady Delta three years ago. His home and five-acres of paddy fields were damaged.

Due to financial difficulties, he was not able to farm all of his land after the cyclone. Prior to Nargis, he harvested about 48 baskets of paddy per acre. After the cyclone, in the harvest period of December in 2008 and 2009, U Zaw Myo Htike could only harvest about 36 baskets per acre, and that too was for only a portion of his land. “It was a difficult time for my family and me,” he says. The farmer and his wife and three children live in Nyaung Lann village in the township of Dedaye, one of many townships affected by the cyclone.

Last year however, their fortunes changed for the better. U Zaw Myo Htike managed to farm all five acres of his land and reaped a harvest of 50 baskets per acre in December. He sold 60 per cent of his harvest at a rate of about CHF 600 per 100 baskets.

“I am very happy”, he says, adding that he plans to use the cash earned to cultivate a second round of paddy, during the summer months of March to May. Due to his financial diffculties, U Zaw Myo Htike had only been able to grow paddy once a year by planting during the monsoon season of June to Oct, and harvesting in December.

U Zaw Myo Htike has been able to strengthen his livelihood with the support of the Myanmar Red Cross Society. He was one of 8,721 people selected to participate in a livelihoods project targeted at paddy farmers. He was provided with fertilizer support in June last year which U Zaw says was timely because “that is when we start preparing the fields for planting”.

The Triple Super Phosphate and Muriate of Potash fertilizers provided were different from the urea which U Zaw Myo Htike normally used. During training sessions by expert trainers hired by the MRCS, farmers were taught that these new fertilizers were effective for better root growth and for protection against major pests. Attesting to their effectiveness, U Zaw Myo Htike says “There was no difficulty in my farming”. Other aspects of training included the use of advanced technology to produce higher yield and the preparation of organic manure. Impact monitoring in the field being gathered currently indicates that farmers are seeing higher yields.

The farmers were also provided with cash grants to cover labour costs. This too has been helpful as previously U Zaw Myo Htike had to borrow money from money lenders.

With the promise of good summer and monsoon harvests this year, U Zaw Myo Htike believes his family will find it easier to meet household expenses and to even have some savings. Managing the schooling needs of his three children has also been difficult but now they “will be able to continue their education”.

The assistance which U Zaw Myo Htike has received is part of the Myanmar Red Cross Society’s extensive livelihoods programme which has reached a total of 26,797 beneficiaries and their families across 11 townships. The programme includes assistance to the following groups of people in regaining their livelihoods: crop and vegetable farmers, livestock farmers, fishing communities, and small businessmen.

The programme is part of the Myanmar Red Cross Society’s overall Nargis Operation that provides assistance to 100,000 families across 13 targeted townships. The assistance spans several sectors: shelter, livelihoods, health, psychosocial support; water, sanitation and hygiene promotion; and disaster preparedness and risk reduction. The three-year operation which began in May 2008, is conducted with the support of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.