Phyo/Saw  (NSS) - August - 26 

An agricultural expert familiar with the matter told The Statesman that improving seeds, soil, water and farming systems is necessary to develop the agricultural sector.

Currently, the capacity of domestic fertilizer factories is 100,000 tonnes, and depending on Myanmar's annual fertilizer demand, about 1.5 million tonnes are imported from countries such as Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, China, and Middle Eastern countries.

“The varieties grown in Myanmar cannot produce as much as those grown in Thailand or other countries, no matter how much fertilizer is applied. Their genetic potential is limited that they have to be improved. As the country’s leaders, they need to improve the varieties, improve the soil, and improve farming systems. All of these things will take time. That is why it means that we only need one and a half million tonnes. In fact, there is a need for more than that. If we calculate it by planted area. For the fertilizer requirement, we cannot calculate the planted area and how much is needed per acre. It depends on the crops planted and the varieties planted,” he said.

Thailand, a neighboring country with different farming systems from Myanmar, has a fertilizer requirement of about 7 times that of Myanmar, and Vietnam has a fertilizer requirement of about 6 times that of Myanmar.

“It is related to the seeds. We need to improve the seeds, as well as the land and water supply. In Thailand, water supply systems, dams and other infrastructure were developed during the Bhumibol era, so they have these facilities in place, which allows them to use more fertilizer effectively. It is like feeding a Norwegian child beef, providing proper nutrition and having them exercise, and then watching them grow. However, if we give a Myanmar child the same diet as a Norwegian child, they will not necessarily grow to the same size. The same principle applies to water for agriculture,” he continued.

Currently, a Belarusian potato variety with larger size and more fleshy flesh is being trialed in Myanmar for re-distribution, and employees from some private agricultural companies in Myanmar have been sent to Belarus as scholars to learn about agriculture.

The aim is to promote trade and technical cooperation between Myanmar and Belarus in the fields of agriculture, livestock and agro-technology, including acquiring cotton growing technologies from Belarus. –