Myanmar crops suffered less damage from monsoon flooding this year, U Myo Tint Tun, deputy permanent secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation said.
Myo Tint Tun claimed that although 728,000 hectares of farmland were affected and around 16,000 destroyed. That number represents only a fraction of the damage seen in last year’s monsoon season. “Last year, over 445,000 hectares were flooded, and in Kayin, Mon, and Bago, 161,000 hectares of crops were destroyed. It means crop damage this year is a tenth of the previous year,” he said.
Seasonal flooding is a yearly dread for Myanmar’s agriculture sector, which accounts for almost 40% of the nation’s GDP. Farmers in and around the Ayeyarwady River delta grow the highest quantities of rice and other staple crops. They also bear the brunt of the flooding, exacerbated by the region’s high poverty and poor infrastructure.
Despite the relatively low crop damage, the human toll is as high as ever. As of August 13th, 97,000 people were remained displaced, according to the latest data from UNOCHA. This week, the official death toll from a devastating landslide in Mon State rose to 75. More are feared to be trapped under the debris.
