Myanmar has 33 million acres of cultivated land, which is sufficient for its needs. Rather than expanding cultivated areas, it is necessary to make efficient use of land and increase productivity. In particular, to achieve food security, efforts should be made to raise the target yield per acre, while also working to improve and enhance cropping intensity.
About food security, it is necessary to ensure sufficient production of non-direct food items. Ensuring national food sufficiency is a key policy priority. In some regions and states, food items that are not available locally are supplied from other regions and states where they are produced. In doing so, efforts should be made to ensure that such food items are sufficiently available domestically, so as to achieve overall national food security.
A policy has been set to ensure that target yields per acre are achieved in agricultural activities. Research activities must be conducted systematically in multiple sectors so as to ensure food security nationwide by comparing and analyzing research data collected across Myanmar with international research findings. Similarly, in livestock farming, it is necessary to select and raise high-quality, purebred animals that yield better productivity.
It is possible to improve cropping intensity in upland farming by ensuring an adequate irrigation water supply. Upland cultivation is widely practised in regions such as Sagaing, Mandalay, and Magway. A policy should be formulated to transform upland fields into irrigated paddy fields through land preparation and development, supported by river water pumping projects for implementation. In areas with sufficient irrigation water, efforts should be made step by step to increase cropping intensity up to 300 per cent.
Efforts should also be made to produce chemical fertilizers domestically, while ensuring the systematic and proper use of both chemical and organic fertilizers. In particular, arrangements should be made to enable the local production and utilization of organic fertilizers in remote border areas where transport is difficult. For the further development of agricultural activities, the State will provide all possible support, including the extension of additional agricultural production loans.
The State is producing human resources for agricultural and livestock industries, and in order to further develop human resources in each region and state, it is necessary to provide scholarships in relevant agricultural and livestock disciplines. Only then will skilled workers and human resources be developed in the industrial, agricultural, and livestock sectors. That is why all citizens have to join hands in implementing the food security policy through efforts to develop industry, agriculture and livestock sectors.
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