Myanmar Agriculture Development Strategy and Investment Plan (2018-23).

The Agriculture sector is a high priority for the Government of Myanmar. Agriculture contributes about a third and most of rural population relies on crop husbandry and livestock for their livelihoods and incomes. The vision statement of the agriculture policy establishes that by 2030, Myanmar achieves inclusive, competitive, food and nutrition secure, climate change resilient, and sustainable agricultural system contributing to the socio-economic well-being of farmers and rural people and further development of the national economy. To pursue this vision the agriculture development strategy proposes a sequence of interventions that will pave the way to: commercial expansion of crops and livestock production, increased incomes for farmers and better access to international markets, ultimately contributing to the country’s food security and economic development.
The Agriculture Development Strategy (ADS) and Investment Plan (IP) responds to the need: for the consolidation and integration of various plans, strategies, and approaches currently developed by various stakeholders; for a systematic approach to operationalize agricultural policy implementation and link it to the IP; to coordinate activities, projects, programs, and policies; and to build a dialogue with domestic and foreign investors and harmonize foreign aid to the sector (pag. 4). The overall impacts of the ADS consist of the five dimensions of: 1. increased food and nutrition security; 2. poverty reduction; 3. competitiveness; 4. higher and more equitable income of rural households; and 5. strengthened farmers’ rights (pag. 36). Agricultural development contributes to food and nutrition security through different channels including increasing farm and rural household income; nutrition behavioral change communication, initiatives such as home economics and backyard gardening, and agricultural diversification; the comprehensive inclusion of women in development programs (including the application of a minimum quota for women’s participation where necessary), social mobilization, and group formation (pag. 33).
The Agricultural Policy vision underpins the ADS formulation: An inclusive, competitive, food and nutrition secure and sustainable agricultural system contributing to the socio-economic well-being of farmers and rural people and further development of the national economy. The following approaches will underline the design and implementation of the ADS: (i) Linkages across agricultural subsectors and between the agricultural sector and the agri-food sector; (ii) Coordination for improved policy-making and implementation; (iii) Integrated and effective MOALI Structure; (iv) Monitoring the effectiveness of policy implementation enhances accountability; (v) Regional planning (pags. 34 and 35). The ADS has three objectives corresponding to the three strategic pillars of governance, productivity, and competitiveness: Objective 1 – Enhanced governance and capacity of institutions responsible for agricultural development; Objective 2 – Increased productivity and farmers’ income; Objective 3 – Enhanced market linkages and competitiveness (pag. 39).
The ADS is a strategy for the implementation of the agricultural policy to guide the Myanmar agricultural sector over the next 5 years, during which agribusiness growth is expected to outpace that of agriculture. Strong linkages between agriculture and other economic sectors will be critical to the reduction of poverty particularly in rural areas where the development of non-farm activities based on agriculture will be fundamental for the growth of an overall robust economy, a more balanced rural economy, and employment generation. Focus on male and female smallholders might not only bring benefits in terms of poverty reduction and reducing inequality, but also in terms of economic efficiency and growth. Development strategy cannot ignore male and female smallholder farmers and, especially, female smallholder household members who perform most tasks in crop agriculture. Improved productivity of land and labor is at the cornerstone of the ADS. Agricultural productivity requires the adoption of appropriate technologies and know-how to increase the efficiency and sustainability of agricultural production, consistent with market demand. The measures to raise agricultural productivity include: effective agricultural research and extension; efficient use of agricultural inputs; efficient and sustainable practices and use of natural resources (land, water, soils, and forests); and increased resilience to climate change and disasters (pag. 52).
Building resilience of farmers to climate change and disasters will require the combination of adaptation and mitigation measures at the household, community, and national level. The ADS will promote research on stress tolerant breeds of crops, livestock and fish that can be resilient to climate change and stresses such as salinity intrusion, drought, and flood. Landscape-based measures to promote Community Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) will help farming communities to be better prepared to respond to risks such as flood and drought through structural (eg flood protection infrastructure, reservoirs, drainage, safe areas) and non-structural measures (eg rain water harvesting, crop diversification, early warning system, emergency kits). Early Warning Systems will be strengthened to provide adequate lead time for communities to respond effectively to drought, heat waves, flash flood, dam spillage, and flood. Preparedness system at the community or region (pags. 66 and 67).