Numerous piles of rice paddy are left to dry in the Sun after they’ve been reaped before they are spoiled. Photo: Phoe Htaung
The Department of Mechanized Farming, Ministry of Agriculture, livestock and Irrigation has been harvesting in Maungtaw region the ripened monsoon paddy which are now lacking ownership with the help of Union Government, State Government, related departments and administrative organizations. In 7 village groups of Maungtaw such as Myothugyi, ondaw, Alethangyaw, Kyaungtaung, Kanphu,Nwayontaung and Thandar rain rice paddies are reaped with the force of 32 machinery and it is learnt from the Department of Mechanized Farming that estimated 1261.29 acres have been finished and attained 49000 baskets of paddy. This year the paddy was grown over 70,000 acres in Maungtaw area.
News team interviewed the responsible personnel of State Government and the departments concerned who are taking care the harvesting of the rice paddy without much wastage.
U Kyaw Lwin
Rakhine State Minister for Agriculture, Livestock, Forest and Mine
Question: : How would you manage accepting the harvested paddy?
Answer: : We are divided into groups. DMF is harvesting the rice paddy while the Agricultural Department is collecting the rice paddy and then we will sell them to the businessmen. The selling program has been already set during the Maungtaw visit of State chief minister.
Q: : Who will be included in the paddy-collecting team.
A: : There are also 7 groups to collect the harvested grains. Agriculture Department, Mechanized Farming Department and administrative and management teams are the main organizations in the collecting groups. Besides, persons from local administrative organization and other related departments will be consisted of.
Q: : In which way the paddy of no ownership will be sold.
A: : These are not ownerless paddy. These actually are ripened paddy without any harvester. Therefore, we are harvesting using harvesters procured by Rakhine State Government Fund and also by Union Government fund. Frankly speaking we have some difficulties in storing the harvested paddy. Therefore the harvested paddy will be sold and the earnings will be deposited at a bank opening an account number. We are just helping by harvesting the ripe paddy which are going to become overripe and damaged.
U Khin Zaw Ohn (Department Manager)
Department of Mechanized Farming
Q: : With which departments are you cooperating in harvesting the paddy?
A: : The ripe rice paddies are reaped by harvester and the harvested rice are transported to the drying sites. The Agriculture Department collected the harvested rice and dry them and store them. Settlement and Land Record Department takes the detail statistics of the owner’s name and number of acres. The Department of Agriculture advises on which field of paddy be given the priority of harvesting depending on the ripeness of the rice grains.
Q: : I would like to know the main intent of the harvesting the ownerless rice paddy.
A: : The rice paddies grown reach their mature stage and some fields show over mature stage. They are going to be damaged. In some places rice were damaged. Some fields were destroyed by strayed cows and buffaloes. We will harvest at the most of our capacity in man power and machine power under the guidance of Union Minister.
Q: : Let us know the difficulties you have faced in harvesting the rice.
A: : Untimely rain is a hindrance in harvesting process. The rice cannot be reaped immediately after it becomes wet by rain. The harvesters cannot drive well on the field wet with rain. So, it can’t be finished in time. Though a machine can normally finish 5 acres, it cannot do it when the field is soaked by rain.
Q: : What do you have anything to say more.
A: : Here, workers are scarce. As a consequence the field cannot be reaped in time and the ripe rice fall on ground as wastage. That is the loss for individual owner and also for the country. That is why our department is helping in harvesting as hard as possible.
U Thein Wai
Township Agriculture Department
Q: : In harvesting the rice paddy how your department is cooperating?
A: : Our department is taking part in drying the rice paddy under the sun in the area where the spacious land is available like foot ball ground of Alethangyaw. The dried rice are put in heap in the nearest suitable places. For the time being rice paddies are still in the drying stage.
Q: : At what time the rice should be reaped and at what condition rice grains can encounter damaging?
A: : Every year most of the rice fields have already been harvested in November. The rice in this area are late growers and they are still in good condition to be reaped. They can be reaped till December. During the time of terrorist attack, paddy fields were destroyed by the cattle.
Q: : In what way are you cooperating with?
A: : We are transporting the rice paddy harvested by Department of Mechanized Farming to the drying land. Then we managed to store the dried rice at the nearest places. For the time being closed schools are managed to store the dried rice paddy. The main place for storage now is Alethangyaw school.
Q: : There are some damaged paddy fields. Why they are damaged?
A: : We also find those damaged fields. The damage is due to late harvesting. They could not be reaped in time when they are ripe. The heaps of rice are covered by tarpaulin cloth as a measure of protecting from untimely rain. Bringing the rice to the shelter in time is our priority.
U Maung Maung Kyaw Win (head of department)
Land Management and land Record Department
Q: : How your department has cooperated in harvesting the ripe rice?
A: : Our department has differentiated between rice paddy fields of ethnic people and those of no harvester. After harvesting the statistics regarding production amount of each field and number of field and the name of owner of respective fields are treated by our department. We have. As we levied the tax regularly we have the statistics who owns how much of the fields in the area.
Q: : How do you record the damaged fields and the rice field which cannot be reaped in time?
A: : If we list the harvested rice field, we can know the remaining are damaged and unable to be harvested.
Q: : Have you harvested the rice fields of ethnic people?
A: : Now we are prioritizing the fields of no harvester. We don’t harvest the rice paddy fields which have their owners.—Phoe Htaung
Laborers hard at work carrying rice paddy and sorting out the grain in a farm in Rakhine State. Photo: Phoe Htaung
The post Paddy harvesting in Maungtaw region in progress appeared first on Global New Light Of Myanmar.