Flooding hits farmers in Myanmar's delta region

YANGON, Myanmar — Farmers across various townships in Myanmar's delta region, the Ayeyarwady Region, are facing severe challenges due to massive flooding. The torrential rains have resulted in the loss of paddy farms.

"Due to flooding, more than 250 acres (101 hectares) out of the 700 acres of paddy fields in our village tract were submerged. I have 20 acres of rice, and half of it is under water," said U Tin Win, a farmer from Ta Laing Kwin village tract in Kyangin township of Ayeyarwady Region.

"Although we've experienced floods in previous years, the damage this year is worse due to excessive water, causing more crop losses than before," he said.

Kyaw Soe, a farmer from Ingapu township of Ayeyarwady Region, said about 80 villages and 5,000 acres of paddy fields were inundated in the township.

"Farmers lost about a third of their fields. The impact of flooding is especially severe for those who can't afford fertilizers and seedlings, forcing them to seek loans," Kyaw said.

"My family owns over 50 acres of paddy fields, and all of it was submerged. Right now, I feel hopeless because everything has been washed away. We just have to wait for the water to recede," said Kyaw Win, a farmer from Zalun township of Ayeyarwady Region.

Aung Ye, a rescue worker from Ingapu township, said: "We faced five to six consecutive days of torrential rains. Several villages in Ingapu were submerged. This season, during monsoon paddy cultivation, farmers had already spread saplings and applied fertilizers when the floods hit. They lost everything. The paddy dies if flooding occurs at the beginning of cultivation."

"Last year, the flooding happened in August, which was manageable. But this year, flooding at the start of the cultivation period means we won't get a monsoon harvest," he said.

The Ayeyarwady Delta is known as the "rice bowl" of the country because of its extensive rice fields.

Xinhua