If agricultural measures can be reformed, State economy will skyrocket: Senior General

 

IF agricultural measures can be reformed, it is believed that the State economy will skyrocket. Hence, it is neces­sary to focus the discussion on boosting the agricultural capa­bility to boom the State econo­my, said Chairman of the State Administration Council Prime Minister Senior General Min Aung Hlaing at the agricultural capacity enhancement meeting at the Department of Agricultur­al Research in Zeyathiri Town­ship of Nay Pyi Taw Council Area yesterday afternoon.

Need to openly report on re­quirements of agricultural development

In his opening speech, the Senior General urged all attend­ees to openly report on require­ments in agricultural develop­ment tasks. Those attending the meeting are professionals in the relevant sectors. Hence, priority is given to the improvement of the agricultural sector to boost the State economy.

 

 If agricultural tasks are suc­cessfully improved, the lives of rural people will remark­ably develop

According to the 2019 cen­sus, some 45 per cent of the rural people are related to the agricul­ture and livestock businesses. Hence, if the farming industry develops, the lives of rural people will remarkably improve.

An increase of double crop­ping capacity will help raise the income of the State

The country places mon­soon paddy on 15 million acres of farmlands. In 2022, there were 14.9 million acres of monsoon paddy, 13.175 million acres of which are farmlands, 600,000 acres of land are croplands and 190,000 acres are hillside farm­lands.

Monsoon paddy is grown on rainfed farmlands while other crops are cultivated in other lands to raise the double crop­ping capacity. This year, summer paddy was grown on some 1.8 million acres of monsoon paddy fields. Various crops were cul­tivated on 7.473 million acres of farmlands among 13.175 acres of cultivable lands.

So, the land on which monsoon paddy alone was cultivated is 5.73 million acres of land.

So far, more than 5.7 mil­lion acres of land are not placed under any crops in regions and states. Last year, monsoon paddy yielded 72.64 baskets of paddy per acre. If income from the agricultural sector increases, demand and supply will rise, benefiting the State.

Efforts to be made for an in­crease of cotton sown acre­age to ensure the sufficiency of clothing

In 2022, the country cultivat­ed 450,000 acres of cotton plan­tations and more than 800,000 acres in 2011. It is necessary to encourage the successful culti­vation of cotton in order to en­sure the sufficiency of clothing for the people. Textile factories and garment factories must be established for the production of quality threads.

Needs to meet the target for local sufficiency of cooking oil

If groundnut, sesame, sun­flower and Niger can be grown to meet the target, oil sufficiency will exceed 200 per cent without palm oil. It is necessary to pro­duce healthy oil for consumers. Hence, an emphasis must be placed on the cultivation of oil crops and the increase of per-acre yield.

A sufficient supply of agri­cultural water

River water can be efficient­ly utilized to feed the agricultural water to the farmlands through ways and means. If agricultural water is supplied to farmlands, agricultural tasks will have achievements. If agricultural tasks can be reformed, the State economy will skyrocket.

Reports in respective sectors

SAC member Deputy Prime Minister Union Minister Admiral Tin Aung San reported on plans to sufficiently supply water to raise agricultural capacity in re­gions and states including Nay Pyi Taw. Other Union ministers also presented reports on efforts being made for enhancement of agricultural capacity with supply of electricity, and manufacturing of fertilizers.

Officials also explained re­search for oil palm and rubber cultivation and production, con­struction of temporary dams and embankments, farmland reform process, and human resources for raising the agricultural ca­pacity.

Supplementary instructions over reports

In his instructions, the Senior General called for imple­menting mechanized farming for the development of human resources to operate agricultur­al tasks. He stressed the need to supervise the prevention of the loss of farmlands and the use of farmlands in other ways. Policies must be adopted for un­derground water tapping. Wa­ter must be efficiently utilized through proper water supply systems.

The Senior General stressed the need to manufacture agricul­tural machinery at home in im­plementing mechanized farming.

In conclusion, the Senior General said that farmland preparation is crucial for the agricultural sector. Creeks and drains should be dammed to ir­rigate farmlands. As Myanmar is endowed with sound founda­tions, it can strive for gaining success in agricultural tasks. A larger volume of agricultural produce can earn income from export for a booming State econ­omy.

Later, the Senior General viewed paddy, pulses and beans, maize, sunflower, edible crops, kitchen crops and honey pro­duced by the Department of Agricultural Research through research works and gave nec­essary guidance.

MNA/TTA

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