Abstract
This study aims to estimate the intensification of rice farming in Myanmar particularly due to chemical fertilizer application, using farm-level data obtained from field surveys conducted in the 2000s. Relatively high-input rice farming was found in dry season crop in the delta zone and the double crop in well-irrigated lowlands of the central dry zone. The chemical fertilizer used there was about 88–159 kg NPK (nitrogen, N; phosphate, P2O5; and potash, K2O) ha−1 (76–110 kg nitrogen (N) ha−1), and the average paddy yield ranged from 2.8 to 3.5 ton ha−1. On the other hand, nutrient input in survey sites of rain-fed lowland was between 11 and 53 kg NPK ha−1 (5 and 36 kg N ha−1), and the yield ranged from 1.1 to 2.3 ton ha−1. The national average of paddy yield and nutrient input of fertilizer was roughly estimated to be around 2.4 ton ha−1 and 60 kg NPK ha−1, respectively. A gap was observed between these calculated values and the official statistics. A comparison of fertilizer use efficiency for rice production in Myanmar with that in China and Vietnam has shown that the efficiency in Myanmar has not declined to an inappropriate level even in its intensive ones. Rice production in Myanmar has room for increasing the yield by capital intensification. Nevertheless, considering its sustainability as well as productivity, further intensification in rice farming technology in irrigated lowlands of Myanmar may neither be the best nor the only way.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Central Statistical Organization (CSO). (2006). Myanmar agricultural statistics. Yangon: CSO, Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development, the Government of the Union of Myanmar.
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (2009). FAOSTAT. Statistical database. http://faostat.fao.org. Accessed 5 January 2010.
Fujita, K., & Okamoto, I. (2000). An economic study on irrigated summer rice production in Myanmar: The case of a village near Yangon. Southeast Asian Studies, 38(1), 22–49. (in Japanese with English summary).
Fujita, K., & Okamoto, I. (2009). Overview of agricultural policies and the development in Myanmar. In K. Fujita, F. Mieno, & I. Okamoto (Eds.), The economic transition in Myanmar after 1988: Market economy versus state control (pp. 169–215). Singapore and Kyoto: NUS Press and Kyoto University Press.
Garcia, Y. T., Garcia, A. G., Oo, M., & Hossain, M. (2000). Income distribution and poverty in irrigated and rainfed ecosystems: The Myanmar case. Economic and Political Weekly, 35(52–53), 119–138.
Hossain, M., & Singh, V. P. (2000). Fertilizer use in Asian agriculture: Implications for sustaining food security and the environment. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 57(2), 155–169.
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). (2009). IRRI World Rice Statistics (WRS). Statistical database. http://www.irri.org. Accessed 5 January 2010.
Ko, J., Hall, C. A. S., & Lemus, L. G. L. (1998). Resource use rate and efficiency as indicators of regional sustainability: An examination of five countries. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 51(1–2), 571–593.
Kurita, K., Okamoto, I., Kurosaki, T., & Fujita, K. (2004). Rice production oriented policy and rural economy in Myanmar: Income analysis on household survey data in 8 villages. Azia keizai (Monthly Journal of the Institute of Developing Economics), 45(8), 2–37. (in Japanese).
Kurosaki, T. (2008). Crop choice, farm income, and political control in Myanmar. Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, 13(2), 180–203.
Ma, W., Li, J., Ma, L., Wang, F., Sisák, I., Cushman, G., et al. (2009). Nitrogen flow and use efficiency in production and utilization of wheat, rice, and maize in China. Agricultural Systems, 99(1), 53–63.
Matsuda, M. (2009). Dynamics of rice production development in Myanmar: Growth centers, technological changes, and driving forces. Tropical Agriculture and Development, 53(1), 14–27.
Myint, K. (1999). Study on the changes of rice production in Myanmar. Yangon: Myanma Agriculture Service.
Nawata, E. (2008). Degradation of farm land and agriculture in Southeast Asia. In Y. Yamasue (Ed.), Sakumotsu seisan no mirai wo hiraku (Agriculture in the 21st century) (pp. 153–188). Kyoto: Kyoto University Press. (in Japanese).
Peng, S., Buresh, R. J., Huang, J., Yang, J., Zou, Y., Zhong, X., et al. (2006). Strategies for overcoming low agronomic nitrogen use efficiency in irrigated rice systems in China. Field Crops Research, 96(1), 37–47.
Pimentel, D., Hurd, L. E., Bellotti, A. C., Forster, M. J., Oka, I. N., Sholes, O. D., et al. (1973). Food production and the energy crisis. Science, 182, 443–449.
Saito, T. (1987). Introduction and extension of high yielding variety of rice in Burma: Present situation and problems. In T. Takigawa (Ed.), Revolution of farming technology and rural community (pp. 167–191). Tokyo: Institute of Developing Economies. (in Japanese).
Takahashi, A. (2000). Myanmar’s village economy in transition: Peasants’ lives under the market-oriented economy. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press. (in Japanese).
Takahashi, A. (2004). Economic status and resource management of rice terrace farming in the mountainous region of northeast Myanmar. The Memoirs of the Institute of Oriental Culture (the University of Tokyo), 146, 309–352. (in Japanese).
Tan, H., Zhou, L., & Xie, R. (2007). Farmland nutrient cycle and nutrient balance in various cropping systems for subtropical regions. Tropics, 16(2), 115–121.
Thawnghmung, A. M. (2004). Behind the teak curtain: Authoritarianism, agricultural policies and political legitimacy in rural Burma/Myanmar. London/New York/Bahrain: Kegan Paul.
Tilman, D., Cassman, K. G., Matson, P. A., Naylor, R., & Polasky, S. (2002). Agricultural sustainability and intensive production practices. Nature, 418, 671–677.
Tong, C., Hall, C. A. S., & Wang, H. (2003). Land use change in rice, wheat and maize production in China (1961–1998). Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 95(2–3), 523–536.
Udagawa, T. (1976). Estimation of energy use in rice production in Japan. Kankyo-Joho-Kagaku (Environmental Information Science), 5(2), 73–79. (in Japanese).
Yanagisawa, M. (2000). Agroecological evaluation of the intensified cropping systems in the Red River Delta, Vietnam. Doctoral dissertation (Agriculture) of Kyoto University. Kyoto: Kyoto University.
Acknowledgments
I express my thanks to the Department of Agricultural Planning, Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, the Union of Myanmar for their great support during my research. This research was financially supported by the Asahi Glass Foundation and Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (19710214 and 20401009) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan, and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Readers should send their comments on this paper to BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3-months of publication of this issue.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Matsuda, M. Intensification level of rice farming in Myanmar: implication for its sustainable development. Environ Dev Sustain 13, 51–64 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-010-9247-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-010-9247-7