Under fire and deep in debt: The reality facing Myanmar’s farmers

For farmers in Myanmar’s central plains, like Ko Htwe from Yedashe Township in Bago Region, joy comes only twice a year—during the rice and bean harvests, when they finally have a chance to earn a meaningful income. In recent years, however, these once joyful seasons have been overshadowed by mounting debt and growing doubts about their prospects for survival. Since early 2021, when Covid-19 deaths surged and a brutal coup ignited a nationwide armed resistance movement, many of Myanmar’s millions of farmers have found themselves trapped in a spiral of debt that is endangering their lives and threatening the country’s largely agrarian economy. A World Bank report from June 2024 states that farmers in Myanmar have been driven to harmful coping strategies, like borrowing money, selling assets, and even cutting back on food. The report, outlining the economic collapse across rural Myanmar, highlights the nationwide hardships farmers like Ko Htwe endure. More than a year after that report was released, the situation has only gotten worse, raising concerns about how much longer it can continue before it ends in a full-blown catastrophe. A farmer ties sheaves of rice after harvest (Photo: AFP) A four-acre farm and 10 million kyat in debt Living beside the Sittaung River, Ko Htwe is among the rural farmers who make up nearly 70 percent of Myanmar’s population. When floods destroyed his rice fields last year, his only livelihood vanished. Owning just four acres of farmland, he was left with more than 10 million kyat in debt. With no flooding this year, Ko Htwe hoped he could finally repay some of his debt. After harvesting, he stacked the rice sheaves with care so nothing would be lost. Before threshing, wary of thieves, he put up a simple tent in the field and stayed there overnight to guard his crop. His elder son’s private high school in the city costs nearly 5 million kyat a year for tuition, dormitory, and meals, while his daughter’s government school adds another 2 million kyat. Gazing at the rice sheaves that night, Ko Htwe realized that the yield from his four acres was just a drop in the ocean against such huge expenses. Then one night, half-asleep and troubled by his worries, he was abruptly awakened by the sounds of fighting erupting from Ywar Thit, a village on the eastern bank of the Sittaung River. “The fighting had started, but I had already harvested and stacked the rice. When the gunfire erupted, I wasn’t sure whether to abandon it and flee. In the end, I decided to stay on the farm, since it was far from the village,” he said. Ko Htwe had good reason to stay by the rice sheaves despite the fighting. For months, the eastern bank of the Sittaung River in Yedashe Township had been quiet. Desperate to repay his debt, he had decided to take his chances and keep working in the field. And then disaster struck, at the worst possible moment. “The fighting restarted after I’d harvested the rice, but before I could sell it. Once again, I was in deep trouble,” he said. With low rice prices and transport challenges, farmers are finding it difficult to cover costs and sell their harvest (Photo: AFP) Struggling to sell Fighting broke out at Ywar Thit on October 20. Junta forces stationed there suffered heavy losses, with nearly 15 killed—including a lieutenant colonel—and two captured. In the aftermath of the clash, the military carried out clearance operations, forcing thousands of civilians from their homes and preventing farmers from selling their rice. Forced displacement, transportation disruptions, and obstacles to farming and harvest are among the challenges facing farmers caught in conflict, according to the World Bank report. The reports states that 25 percent of highland farmers and 21 percent of those in coastal areas have had to flee their homes due to security concerns. The report also highlights that the agriculture sector is increasingly strained by volatile crop prices and fluctuating market demand, rising production costs, climate change, and ongoing conflicts. This season, rice sells for nearly 10,000 kyat per tin (a unit roughly equivalent to 41 litres), but in the eastern Sittaung River region—where fighting continues—it fetches only about 7,000 kyat per tin, according to local farmers. Cultivating an acre, including input and harvest costs, runs nearly 1 million kyat, yet farmers are sinking further into debt because of poor rice yields, a farmer in Yedashe Township said. “With a full yield of 100 tins per acre, profit would be just over 1.1 million kyat. But the current yield is only 60 tins, leaving very little profit and already resulting in losses. On top of that, the price has fallen to 7,000 kyat per tin, causing further setbacks,” the farmer explained. “The rains are too heavy for the seedlings to survive, and most that do grow end up dying. With such extreme weather, the losses are significant.” Farmers who have tended the fields for nearly five months are now grappling with the dual challenges of climate change and ongoing conflict, he added. Residents said the junta has restricted food transport, enforcing strict limits and checks to prevent rations from reaching resistance forces. Rice mills areas both east and west of the Sittaung River are reportedly allowed to process only small amounts for local consumption. Since the coup, mismanagement by the junta has caused prices of basic goods—including rice and oil—to soar. World Bank reports indicate that retail food prices in Myanmar have risen 54–74 percent, while farmers still struggle to get fair prices for their crops. Having fled to safety, Ko Htwe earned just over 2 million kyat from more than 300 tins of rice harvested from his four acres. Already owing 10 million kyat, and with 7 million kyat in annual school fees to pay, he remains mired in debt. Many other rural residents face similar hardships. “Those who stay behind are mostly people who couldn’t move to the city. When fighting breaks out, they flee to nearby villages and return afterward,” Ko Htwe said. “We always come back, because farming is all we know.”

Under fire and deep in debt: The reality facing Myanmar’s farmers

Climate change, volatile prices, and nearly five years of conflict are pushing the country’s farmers closer to catastrophe

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