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

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1. Trends <strong>in</strong> <strong>rice</strong> area and production.and Jayasuriya 1986). The same pattern was observed <strong>in</strong> 1984 and 1985. Inearlier years, agriculture represented even a larger share <strong>of</strong> GDP and exports.<strong>Burma</strong>’s economy is clearly dependent on agriculture. Crop production is themajor agricultural activity and is largely dependent on weather. A limitedirrigation system, restricted to the dry zone <strong>of</strong> Upper <strong>Burma</strong>, <strong>of</strong>fers some help,largely <strong>in</strong> the form <strong>of</strong> supplemental water.Soils and climatic conditions <strong>in</strong> many parts <strong>of</strong> <strong>Burma</strong> favor <strong>rice</strong> cultivation.Rice is the pr<strong>in</strong>cipal agricultural crop and is the staple food <strong>of</strong> the entirepopulation. Rice dom<strong>in</strong>ates the national economy, and any shortages <strong>in</strong>supply cause spirall<strong>in</strong>g p<strong>rice</strong> <strong>in</strong>creases <strong>in</strong> many other commodities, thuscreat<strong>in</strong>g political <strong>in</strong>stability. A <strong>rice</strong>-surplus country, <strong>Burma</strong> has one <strong>of</strong> thehighest levels <strong>of</strong> per capita <strong>rice</strong> consumption <strong>in</strong> the world. Rice has beencultivated <strong>in</strong> <strong>Burma</strong> for domestic consumption s<strong>in</strong>ce prehistoric times. Rice islife for the Burmese, be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>terwoven with the social and economic fabric <strong>of</strong>the people’s lives. This book exam<strong>in</strong>es the <strong>rice</strong> economy <strong>of</strong> <strong>Burma</strong> over the 100-yr period from 1885 to 1985.Rice production <strong>in</strong> the country <strong>in</strong>creased nearly 1400% <strong>in</strong> 100 yr, butgrowth was not even. An annual <strong>rice</strong> production <strong>of</strong> a mere 1 million t <strong>in</strong> 1870rose to over 14 million t <strong>in</strong> 1985 (Fig. 3).INTRODUCTION 3

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