2017 ASHS Annual Conference

Myanmar is in the midst of a political transition after a half century of military dictatorship. With this political transition comes increased foreign investment in infrastructure and agriculture. Myanmar is a land with incredible horticultural potential having vast water resources, good soils and a wide range of climates. However, most of the agricultural production, government subsidies, educational curricula and cuisine is focused on rice. As a result, there is considerable underinvestment and lack of access to horticultural crops, leading to a high rate of malnutrition in the population, especially in the remote mountain states. Chin State is located in the mountainous area of western Myanmar on the border of India, and has few transportation links. It has the highest poverty gap ratio, highest occurrence of food deficits, and the highest rate of out migration of all states and regions of Myanmar. The Myanmar Institute for Integrated Development (MIID), a local research and development institute cooperating with Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is facilitating a project to explore the opportunities and challenges for horticultural crops in the region for improved nutrition and farmer income. The project also aims to strengthen the capacity of government and agricultural extension educators, so practices and technology are properly disseminated to farmers. Efforts are underway to educate communities about the value of consuming horticultural crops, but there is only one agricultural university that awards advanced degrees so the number of researchers and extension educators is woefully short of the need. There are 1,000 farmers for every extension educator and these are poorly paid and trained. NGOs like MIID, and private-public partnerships are helping to meet this need, but the 135 different ethnic groups in the country, manywith their own spoken languages, make education and communication difficult. About 70% of the population depends on agriculture as a primary occupation, so investing in agricultural research, developing new markets, expanding exports, and adding value to agricultural products is pivotal to improving food security in the country. If the new government establishes better priorities and addresses conflicts in ethnic border areas, then the tremendous potential for horticultural production may be realized.