Myanmar War Taw Sun
$54,588 needed of $102,777
Implementing Organization
Catholic Relief Services (CRS)
Program Summary
Farmers in Myanmar face a variety of challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic weakened the already-fragile economy of Myanmar, which has also been impacted by ongoing armed conflict. The socioeconomic landscape of Myanmar has been profoundly affected by the conflict as well as the natural distasters that hit the country each year, resulting in increases in poverty across the country.
In War Taw Sun, farmers typically grow rice during the rainy season and black gram during the dry season. Excessive flooding in 2024 made it difficult for farmers to grow enough rice. Black gram growers also faced challenges due to a virus and the use of less effective traditional growing practices. Flood-resistant rice varieties, disease-resistant black gram seeds, and farming inputs in general have been difficult to obtain due to inflation, escalating input costs, restricted credit access, and tightened lending conditions that have placed additional pressure on rural communities. Conflict has also caused reduced access to agricultural extension services, making rice production more difficult, especially for smallholder farmers with fewer inputs. As a result, farmers have reduced the size of their cultivated areas, returned to traditional methods, and encountered difficulties obtaining high-quality seeds.
The rising cost of nutritious food, especially in rural areas with limited access to diverse crops and effective home gardening, has worsened food security. In War Taw Sun village tract in Nyaungdon township, every household in rural areas has adequate access to land and water to grow a homestead garden, at least for family consumption, but not every household has the knowledge or inputs required to start growing.
The War Taw Sun program is working to address these challenges by helping farmers access high quality rice and black gram seeds and improve their production methods so they can produce sufficient food to eat and sell. The program is working with other households to increase their income and food security through the production of nutritious crops in homestead gardens.
This program builds on the successes of the Myanmar Nyaungdon program, which covered other villages in the same township.