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CHAPTER VIConclusionsBurma’s economy will continue to rely on the agricultural sector in theforeseeable future. Rice, which occupies a prominent position in that sector,will certainly shape the economic viability, political stability, and social statusof the country. Internal rice consumption will rise with increasing population.Other cereals are not expected to assume a significant share of the dietarystaple. The demand for rice in the international market will also grow becauseof increasing populations in the rice-consuming countries of Asia, Africa, andSouth America. It is therefore imperative that rice production in the country beincreased.Science, which induced rice production growth in the last period, can spuranother wave of growth if technology appropriate to the situation can bedeveloped and installed. Science has already exploited the areas with “immediategrowth potential,” and it is crucial to extend this to areas with “futuregrowth potential.” These are the areas where rice production growth isachievable once the correct strategy is employed. The 50% area coverage ofMVs in the last period indicates that 50% of the area has “immediate growthpotential,” while the remaining 50% represents areas with “future growthpotential.”It is also possible that some parts of the future-growth-potential regionmay consist of areas with low growth potential, where topography is toorough, the soils too poor, or water too scanty or too deep to encourage aneconomically feasible and technologically applicable rice production system.Elimination of such marginal lands with low growth potential must be madean integral part of the new production campaign. It will be an importantcomponent in the process of changing from a subsistence agriculture systemto a commercial one.The new approach should include steps to identify and eliminate lowgrowth-potentialareas, although people living in these places also merit
attention. It would be wasteful to devote scarce resources to ventures wheresuccess is virtually impossible. Major technological changes are necessary forthis situation, but breakthroughs in science cannot be foreseen. Thus, developmentalefforts in these areas must consider nonagricultural production activitiesor crops other than rice that are appropriate to the environment.The program must ensure a regular supply of rice. Areas with low growthpotential are estimated to be around 10% of the present rice area in the country.With this assumption, the remaining 40% of the area is considered to havefuture growth potential. A new strategy appropriate to this kind of area isrequired to induce another wave of production growth. In this case, thestrategy that proved successful in areas with immediate growth potential willnot work. The farmer participatory research and extension approach will bethe one most suitable.A carefully designed approach for technology development and transfercan bring about economic growth and can help attain key national objectives.The country now has the facilities and the experience to launch a new riceproduction program to take care of the remaining areas. Both financial andpolitical commitments are essential to achieve results in a short time. Thetechnologies developed under this approach will be immediately applicable,highly equitable, and socially acceptable.Resources for research should be divided into two components. The firstone should utilize existing technology within the current institutional frameworkand infrastructure through adaptive research conducted in close collaborationwith international research institutes. These second component shouldinitiate a new technology development program for areas with future growthpotential. The human-based concept must be integrated with the area-basedconcept.The development program should also include steps to promote progressin other aspects (e.g., credit, availability of farm animals, milling) that areknown to influence rice production. Such a program will certainly haveeconomic, political, and social implications for the whole population of thecountry. If successful, the program will earn more foreign exchange for greaterinvestments in irrigation, embankments, drainage, and land consolidation.The impact of modern agricultural science has to be seriously evaluated.Scientific advances should be utilized in the design of a low-energy, sustainableagricultural development system. This system should also conform to theagroecosystem and the socioeconomic conditions under which farmers live.Farmer participation, in this regard, will certainly lead to development withouthaving any adverse effects on the existing socioeconomic system.While increasing crop yield would be an important aspect of this program,experience has emphasized the need to improve the resource base and to usethese resources more efficiently.138 A CENTURY OF RICE IMPROVEMENT IN BURMA
Page 3 and 4:
The International Rice Research Ins
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Rice trading 29Rice milling 29Rice
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ForewordRice dominates Burma’s ec
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ice production in the last decade.
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CHAPTER IIntroductionBurma is situa
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1. Trends in rice area and producti
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3. Soil distribution.INTRODUCTION 5
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and the rest of the country in 1885
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Rice production growth during this
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4. Rice threshing with cattle.5. Ri
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7. Transplanting.Farmers classify r
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8. States and Divisions (1-7 are di
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Table 11. Rice mills, 1894-1934 (DA
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Rice area and productionAlthough th
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Table 16. Rice production in select
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Tenants of State Agricultural BankA
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in 1960, representing a 17% increas
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Table 20. Summary of extension acti
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Table 24. Rice procurement by diffe
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This trade reduction severely affec
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conditions and a weak international
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the design, implementation, and eva
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Table 27 indicates the areas plante
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The coastal zone comprised four ric
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In the meantime, local researchers
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Table 35. Rice area planted, by gra
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All fertilizers were imported until
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points, 3) availability of cash amo
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hispa Hispa armigera. Though annual
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The amounts of agricultural loans g
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from double-cropped areas (Table 44
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when investment in the agricultural
Page 96 and 97:
The program brought research and ex
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Table 46. Average area of responsib
Page 100 and 101: established practice among farmers,
Page 102 and 103: 12. Voluntary labor harvesting rice
Page 104 and 105: of harvesting. It sought voluntary
Page 106 and 107: nents that a larger project would r
Page 108 and 109: Table 48. Changes in area planted t
Page 110 and 111: Table 50. Average yield and product
Page 112 and 113: Results of analysisOf the variables
Page 114 and 115: Of the 19 variables used, 11 were s
Page 116 and 117: weather that it influenced rice pro
Page 118 and 119: Table 54. Present level of technolo
Page 120 and 121: size of holdings, 40% of the prize
Page 122 and 123: average yield at that time was 2.20
Page 124 and 125: Table 59. Monthly transactions of t
Page 126 and 127: Table 61. Irrigated areas for rice,
Page 128 and 129: Table 62. Tillage operation by trac
Page 130 and 131: 18. AFPTC rice procurement center.A
Page 132 and 133: Table 65. Annual rice procurement (
Page 134 and 135: for seeds; still others sold their
Page 136 and 137: primarily to help achieve the AFPTC
Page 138 and 139: Table 67. Annual rice production an
Page 140 and 141: Table 68. Comparison of paid-out co
Page 142 and 143: CHAPTER VImplications for the futur
Page 144 and 145: agricultural research can be brough
Page 146 and 147: Motivation of scientistsUnder these
Page 148 and 149: or as individuals. Research is to b
Page 152 and 153: References citedAdas M (1974) The B
Page 154: SRUB—The socialist Republic of th
Page 157 and 158: Appendix 1 continuedSown area Produ
Page 159 and 160: Appendix II continuedShareRice a Al
Page 161 and 162: Appendix IV continuedYear Exports Y
Page 163 and 164: Appendix VIcontinuedVariable Symbol
Page 165 and 166: All combined1977-84 1977-78 1978-79
Page 167 and 168: Appendix VIII. Correlation coeffici
Page 170 and 171: IndexAdas, M 6Africa 125, 137Agricu
Page 172 and 173: farmers 6-9, 13, 18, 23, 25-26, 29,
Page 174 and 175: Okpo Small Loan Department110, 111O
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