Myanmar Rice Federation to provide assistance for paddy fields affected by flood damage

The Myanmar Rice Federation has announced that it will provide assistance for paddy fields that have been damaged by floods in the Letpanar Township. The association plans to implement assistance measures in cooperation with the Ayeyarwady Region government, regional parliament representatives, and the regional agriculture department. According to a statement from the Myanmar Rice Federation, 3.7 million acres of paddy fields have been cultivated in the Ayeyarwady Region, and the flood damage accounts for about 0.31 percent of the region's total paddy cultivation area. In some flooded areas, assistance is needed to prevent a decrease in yield after the water recedes, and in areas where the water has taken a long time to recede and has caused damage, assistance is needed for replanting paddy or cultivating other crops. A virtual meeting was held on August 2nd to plan assistance for farmers in the paddy cultivation areas affected by flooding in Henzada District and Myanaung District of Ayeyarwady Region. The meeting was attended by regional parliament representatives, district and township heads from the agriculture department, the chairman and secretary of the Myanmar Rice Federation, its members, and the chairman and officials of the regional committee. At the meeting, it was discussed that depending on the water level in the flooded areas, the extent of damage could vary, and therefore, the situation after the water recedes should be continuously assessed. It was also discussed that support materials such as fertilizers, pesticides, and inputs should be pre-stocked and systematically distributed to prevent a decrease in yield in the areas where the water has receded. Furthermore, it was discussed to enable the cultivation of short-term paddy within the time frame for damaged acres, to pre-cultivate seedlings in vacant plots, to use seedling trays and seedling beds for seedling cultivation, to pre-collect the necessary materials for water recession and replanting, to cultivate using seeders if cultivation is not feasible, and to cultivate winter crops such as green beans and soybeans in a timely manner if paddy cultivation is not possible within the season, and to pre-collect seeds.