A century of rice improvement in Burma - IRRI books - International ...

14. Production camp at Hmawbi township.for the VEMs and a training hall for both VEMs and farmers. The VEMs stayedin production camps and visited their families once a week. Given theresponsibility to implement the WTRPP in the area allotted to the camp, theydivided the task among themselves by dividing the same area into three or foursubareas.Such a division clearly defined individual responsibilities and groupaction. The work of the township and production camps was supervised by amain committee and four subcommittees (Agricultural Management, CultivationActivities, Procurement and Distribution of Inputs, and Disease andInsect Control). At the township level, the Chairman of the Township People’sCouncil led the main committee, composed of representatives from the masses,class organizations, and government agencies. He was assisted by the TownshipExtension Manager. At the production camp level, one executive member ofthe Township People’s Council led one subcommittee and was assisted by themost senior VEM. The activities of the four subcommittees were organized andcoordinated by the main committee.The Agricultural Management Subcommittee determined resourceavailability and allocated shares to places where they were most needed.Statistics on labor, cattle, and land were collected by this subcommittee. It alsoprescribed individual, communal, and governmental action in the detailedplanning of the township.The Cultivation Activities Subcommittee oversaw timely cultivation—from tilling to harvesting and threshing. It advised farmers on such topics asproper tillage, correct seedling age, correct plant population, and correct time90 A CENTURY OF RICE IMPROVEMENT IN BURMA