A Year of Heavy Losses for Farmers Amidst the Falling Paddy Prices and General Hardships
The late summer days of May felt endless. After hearing news that the monsoon would arrive early, Ma Aye (name changed) and other farmers working in the middle of their summer paddy fields began praying fervently.
But their prayers went unanswered. Ma Aye wasn’t the only one—farmers across the region who had planted summer paddy were hoping desperately for a few more dry days.
Over the Bago Yoma Mountains, dark clouds gathered and swept in like a sheet of sleet. It was no time to admire the flashes of lightning or the rumble of thunder.
Farmers and harvesters rushed onto the paddy dykes, carrying tarpaulin sheets to shield their harvested rice from the sudden downpour.
“It rained heavily right on the day of harvest. We couldn’t even rent a cart to transport the rice,” said Ma Aye on May 19, as rain fell on her field.
Some paddy fields were also damaged by wind and rain, making it difficult to harvest and dry the rain-soaked rice. If the paddy remains wet for several days, its quality deteriorates, and buyers are unlikely to offer a fair price.
In fact, the price of this year’s summer paddy is already so low that there’s hardly any room for it to drop further.
Farmers are now practically begging for buyers, offering their paddy at around 1.1 million kyat per 100 baskets.
Ma Aye lives in Paunde Township, in the western part of Bago Region, one of the major summer paddy-producing areas. She owns about 10 acres of summer paddy fields.
“No one is coming to buy the paddy, so we’re left practically pleading with potential buyers—asking whether they’ll buy the paddy or buy us,” Ma Aye said with a tone of despair.
She added that, as of May 17, the price in her area was only 1.1 million kyat per 100 baskets. In some parts of Paunde Township, it had dropped to around 1 million kyat. In nearby Nat Ta Lin Township, the market price hovered around 1.2 million kyat, while in Pyay Township, it was only about 1 million kyat.
Similarly, in the Ayeyarwady Region, the market price of summer paddy is around 1.2 million kyat per 100 baskets for 90-day varity, Thai-grain, and Sinthukha varieties, and about 1.1 million kyat per 100 baskets for GW 11, New Ayar, and Byaw Thukha Thai paddy varieties.
“According to farmers, summer paddy prices are lower than usual. Rice mills can’t operate regularly due to power outages. Unlike monsoon paddy, summer paddy shouldn’t be bought or stockpiled in large quantities—it can only be stored if it has low moisture content. That’s why it must be sun-dried immediately after harvesting for milling,” said an experienced rice merchant.
Electricity outages are a major obstacle, preventing many drying and grinding machines from operating. With extremely high fuel prices, it has become too costly for farmers to rely on generators to power the machines needed for post-harvest processing.
Due to the unstable market, traders are buying crops at lower prices. In addition, poor crop quality—resulting from weather damage and post-harvest delays—is another reason prices have fallen.
On March 22, the Myanmar Rice Federation announced it would purchase 15 million baskets of paddy in April and May from farmers concerned about declining prices and difficulty selling their harvest. The statement added that the current situation is largely due to reduced demand in both international and domestic markets.
“If the price of 100 baskets of paddy reached 1.7 million kyat, farmers could earn a reasonable profit,” said a farmer in Pyay Township.
Farmers face high interest rates on high input costs
Farmers said that the cost of planting this year’s summer paddy totals about 1 million kyat per acre. That includes 130,000 kyat for paddy seeds, 120,000 kyat for plowing, 20,000 kyat for scattering seeds, around 300,000 kyat for chemical fertilizers, 60,000 kyat for pesticides, approximately 200,000 kyat for harvesting, and 70,000 kyat for transportation and labor. Depending on the location, the cost can be even higher.
“We are also facing high cultivation expenses. The general cost, excluding family’s labor, is about 1.5 million kyat per acre. Even if we manage to produce 100 baskets of paddy per acre, we’re still losing 300,000 kyat,” said an activist who interviewed farmers in Nat Ta Lin Township.
Because of the high input costs, farmers are cutting back on agrochemical use to reduce expenses, which affects yields. Although chemical fertilizer shops allow purchases on credit, the interest rates add to the financial burden.
This year, the average summer paddy yield is only about 80 baskets per acre, and in some fields, it has dropped to below 70. Only those who received sufficient fertilizer and irrigation have managed to harvest up to 100 baskets per acre.
“Agrochemicals are sold on credit with a 4 percent interest rate, while gold can be pawned for two months at 3 percent. The difference is small, so we had no choice but to accept the 4 percent interest at the agrochemical shops,” said Ma Aye, indignantly. “In the end, we’ll have to repay the debt with our own bodies.”
Military Council troops and local administrations burning rice granary
The Ayeyarwady Region, often referred to as the rice granary of Myanmar, remains the country’s largest rice-producing area, with 1.3 million acres of summer paddy planted. It is followed by Bago Region, where the Military Council’s Department of Agriculture has set a target of expanding the cultivated area to 400,000 acres. The Myanmar Rice Federation has also announced plans to increase summer paddy cultivation nationwide to more than 2.5 million acres.
These records existed only in statements and spreadsheets, while the farmers working on the ground had to shoulder the real burden of rising agricultural input costs. On top of that, the military council’s imposition of fees following the enactment of the People’s Military Service Law, along with the arrest of young people for forced portering, has had a significant impact on the agricultural sector.
On May 20, at the Natmauk intersection in Padaung Township, military council’s police and militia groups opened fire to arrest two young farmers riding motorcycles. That same day, a young man operating a tractor in a field narrowly escaped junta forces after abandoning his machine.
“Now, farmers no longer dare to work in their own fields. Even tractor drivers are being arrested for portering, making it extremely difficult for us to continue farming,” said a farmer from Padaung Township.
Arrests and forced portering have become daily occurrences in villages. Farmers whose names appear on conscription lists are being targeted, and local administrators are collecting monthly payments ranging from 20,000 to 50,000 kyat per household in exchange for temporary exemption from conscription.
Families with two sons are required to pay double the monthly fee, placing an even heavier burden on rural farmers. In many cases, if families want to retrieve a conscripted son, they are forced to pay up to 8 million kyats.
To cover these costs and interest payments, many have been compelled to sell their land and livestock.
“The villagers don’t want to pay the conscription fees. It feels like we’re paying for funerals every month. For those already struggling to survive, it’s even worse. They’re not spending on living expenses anymore—just on conscription fees. Each month, the elders go and plead with the authorities just to gain their favor,” said a woman from Shar Pin Kone Village in Shwedaung Township.
The military council’s actions are like setting fire to a rice barn. Their columns continue arson attacks and violent raids, severely disrupting the farming activities of locals who are already struggling to preserve the fertility of their land.
Some farmers are now abandoning rice fields that are ready for harvest.
Farmers losing interest in growing paddy
“After suffering losses from summer paddy due to falling crop prices and rising costs of fertilizer, labor, and fuel, some farmers are no longer willing to grow monsoon paddy,” said an experienced rice merchant. “Only those with no other options are continuing.”
He added that many farmers are walking away from both owned and rented farmland.
Climate change, the inability to invest in yield-enhancing inputs, unfair market prices, the aftermath of the military coup, destruction of trade routes and markets, and growing insecurity have all led to widespread disillusionment among farmers.
“In short, there’s no more will to farm. That’s what the farmers growing summer paddy are saying now,” said Ma Aye, pausing her account.
Then, with a bitter laugh, she added, “Our lives now feel like drying in the sun by day, and turning to prostitution by night.”