Local aid groups and agriculture specialists are warning of imminent food shortages in Myanmar’s war-torn Karenni and Shan states after flooding that has impacted thousands of acres of farmland since last month.
Agricultural production in war-ravaged Karenni State is likely to decline sharply relative to previous years due to the floods’ occurrence during the monsoon rice growing season, according to the Karenni Human Rights Group (KHRG).
“Rice production could fall 30 percent or more, because we now have only two months left for growing monsoon rice,” a KHRG representative said.
“It could also disrupt the timing for cultivating dry season rice in the coming year,” he added.
Crops, especially rice, grown in Karenni State account for more than half of the state’s food supply, with the cultivation process typically lasting four months from planting to harvesting.
Severe flooding, one of the cataclysmic. . .
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