Biting the hand that feeds the nation
Pascal Khoo-ThweMar 2, 2009 (DVB), As Peasants' Day is marked in Burma on 2 March, the plight of farmers in the country remains desperate. Farmers or ‘peasants’, including tribesmen, are[…]
Biting the hand that feeds the nation
Pascal Khoo-ThweMar 2, 2009 (DVB), As Peasants' Day is marked in Burma on 2 March, the plight of farmers in the country remains desperate. Farmers or ‘peasants’, including tribesmen, are[…]
Bean farms flooded by authorities in Bago
Jan 9, 2009 (DVB)-About 60 acres of bean plants were destroyed in Bago division’s Nyaung Lay Pin province when authorities opened the nearby floodgates, allegedly to force farmers to grow[…]
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Pyapon rice farmers expecting low yield
Oct 24, 2008 (DVB), Rice farmers in Pyapon township in the Irrawaddy delta are worried that rice production will be low this year due to infestations and a lack of[…]
Farmers concerned by embankment project
Oct 20, 2008 (DVB), Farmers in Kyauktaga township, Bago division, have complained that local authorities' plans to build an embankment across Ye Nwe creek could cause flooding on farmlands. A[…]
Rice farmers struggling with lack of fertiliser
Sep 2, 2008 (DVB), Farmers in the Irrawaddy delta who have been facing various difficulties since Cyclone Nargis are in danger of losing their young rice plants due to insufficient[…]
Bogalay farmers threatened with land confiscation
Aug 27, 2008 (DVB), Farmers in cyclone-hit Bogalay township in Irrawaddy division have said that local authorities are threatening to confiscate their land if they do not grow any rice[…]
Villagers' livelihoods threatened by fishing permit scheme
Aug 14, 2008 (DVB), A new scheme by local authorities in Lappadan township in Tharwaddy province, Bago division, to put fishing permits up for auction has left local villagers unable[…]
Villagers' woes continue in Bogalay
Jul 11, 2008 (DVB), Residents of Phoe Lay village, south of Bogalay, are lacking food, shelter and clean water and have been unable to restart farming after a tiller provided[…]
Burst embankment floods 30,000 acres of farmland
Jul 11, 2008 (DVB), A burst embankment caused by heavy rain in Bago's Nyaung Lay Pin township has flooded nearly 30,000 acres of farmland south of the Sittaung river, local[…]
Daydaye farmers lack means for rice cultivation
Jul 1, 2008 (DVB), Cyclone-affected farmers in Daydaye township, Irrawaddy division, have faced difficulties with rice cultivation due to the lack of paddy seeds and tractors, local farmers said. A[…]
Authorities collect money and paddy for rice cultivation
Jun 26, 2008 (DVB), On the pretext of helping cyclone-affected farmers resume their rice cultivation, authorities have been collecting money and paddy in Irrawaddy division and other areas, locals said.[…]
Farmers left in debt after land seizures
Jun 25, 2008 (DVB), Thousands of acres of privately-owned farmland in Bogalay have been seized by authorities after the farmers had already received farming equipment and seeds bought on credit[…]
Labourers forced to work on seized cyclone lands
Jun 24, 2008 (DVB), Government authorities have forced unemployed people across Burma to work for low pay cultivating farmlands seized from cyclone victims in the Irrawaddy delta, according to locals.[…]
Military seizes farmlands in Arakan and Magwe
Apr 11, 2008 (DVB), Increased incidences of forced land seizure in Arakan state and Magwe division have raised tensions between local residents and military troops, a local labour rights campaigner[…]
Bean farmers hit by poor harvest and low prices
Mar 18, 2008 (DVB), Bean farmers in Tharawaddy township in Bago division have suffered losses due to low bean prices and a poor harvest caused by unseasonal rains. A local[…]
Water diversion for forced paddy-growing threatens farmlands
Mar 18, 2008 (DVB), Authorities in Zee Gone township, Bago division, have been forcing local bean farmers to grow summer paddy and diverting a water channel from another village to[…]
Farmers forced to relocate to villages
Mar 11, 2008 (DVB), Local authorities in Rangoon division's Hle Gu township have forced farmers who live in huts on their farmlands to relocate to villages, leaving them unable to[…]
Lawyer slams junta's treatment of farmers
Mar 4, 2008 (DVB), Lawyer U Aye Myint, a lawyer and leader of the dissident Guiding Star legal aid group, has criticised the Burmese regime's poor treatment of farmers. Aye[…]
Junta bans slash and burn farming near Naypyidaw
Feb 26, 2008 (DVB), The Burmese government's Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation has imposed a ban on slash and burn agriculture in ethnic Kayan villages near the new capital Naypyidaw.[…]
Water project destroys farmlands
Feb 20, 2008 (DVB), Around 70 acres of farmland have been destroyed by heavy machinery used in a sluice project run by Ye Nwe hydropower department in eastern Bago division,[…]
Rice export restrictions drive up prices
Feb 18, 2008 (DVB), Burmese government restrictions to prevent companies that have not been approved by the regime from exporting rice are leading to a rise in the price of[…]
Farmers suffer losses after forced crop growing
Dec 3, 2007 (DVB), Farmers in Mandalay and Magwe divisions have been faced with rising debts and failed harvests after local authorities forced them to grow particular crops. In Ma[…]
Small farmers hurt by bird flu measures
Nov 30, 2007 (DVB), Village farmers from Kengtung township have complained that government measures to combat bird flu in the community have unfairly targeted smaller chicken farms. Following "unusual deaths"[…]