Belin, 3 September
Flood damaged paddy nursery plants in early August in Belin Township, Mon State, and famers said to Than Lwin Times that they cannot do replantation this monsoon.
The rising price of paddy seeds, the difficulty of buying seeds, and the fact that it is too late to plant rice mean that even if it were possible to replant paddy, farmers do not plant again because they are not sure of good rice yields.
A farmer who owns 10 acres only replants rice on two acres for family sustenance.
Farmers claim that, despite flooding damage to rice paddy fields, the military council has not distributed or sold paddy seeds.
The floods that occurred in early August submerged nearly half of the monsoon rice fields in Belin Township, destroying nearly 30,000 acres of rainfed rice in more than 30 villages.
As farmers are unable to replant the flood-hit rice fields, the public will once again bear the brunt of high rice prices.
News-Than Lwin Times
Photo-CJ
Thanlwintimes