Fund crunch threatens rice production in Burma: WFP

by Solomon

New Delhi (Mizzima) - Farmers in the cyclone affected areas in Burma are in acute need of cash and credit assistance to buy inputs for the ensuing monsoon planting season, the United Nations World Food Programme said.

Chris Kaye, country director of the WFP in Rangoon, told Mizzima on Wednesday, “The current priority of the assistance community generally is to help ensure small farmers have the required cash and credit to purchase inputs for the current planting season.”

While WFP is able to continue work without many problems in distributing food assistance, “food and water remains critical for cyclone survivors, in many areas of Burma’s Irrawaddy delta” he said.

But he said the current priority is to help farmers, whose farms were inundated and destroyed by the cyclone, plant crops in the current planting season.

The Irrawaddy delta, also known as Burma’s rice bowl, was laid waste by the deadly Cyclone Nargis, leaving at least 130,000 dead or missing and devastating the lives of more than 2.4 million people.

Sean Turnell, Professor of Economics in Macquarie University in Australia said in an earlier interview to Mizzima that the rural economy in Burma is on the verge of collapse due to lack of funds and micro-credit system.

Earlier, he said, most farmers rely on money lenders for loan or credit, but with the impact of the cyclone, farmers can no longer rely on money lenders as they face equal devastation.

He said farmers are facing extreme difficulties as they were unable to get enough cash from the sale of their paddy products in the last season, because of the decreasing prices caused by the global economic recession.

He urged the Burmese regime to inject money in the rural economy to help the farmers.

Meanwhile, farmers in the Irrawaddy delta complained of lack of available funds even for borrowing and are desperately in need of assistance to be able to plant in the current season.

“We are facing difficulties in starting our work because of financial problems. It is very difficult to get loans,” said a farmer who could only cultivate half an acre in the last monsoon.

“I did not get any monetary support or material for farming except tarpaulins,” he said.

He said like him, most farmers are still unable to cultivate all their farmland as they have no money to buy inputs for cultivation. And some have already stopped farming.

UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) earlier told Mizzima that shortage of fund is becoming a big challenge in continuing with the recovery work.

Shin Imao, FAO’s representative in Burma told Mizzima, rice production has drastically plummeted and the recovery of livelihoods and food security is still a big challenge.

“Production is down, so we need to have more quick responses to assist farmers to recover production,” said Imao.

Rice production in the delta dropped drastically after Cyclone Nargis struck, “with the produce 45 per cent less than previous years,” Imao said.

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Drinking water scarcity needs long term solution

by Salai Pi Pi

New Delhi (Mizzima) – The acute scarcity of drinking water is one of the main challenges which need immediate attention in some of the Cyclone Nargis devastated areas in Irrawaddy delta in Burma, said relief workers.

“The shortage of drinking water in some areas close to the sea in Irrawaddy region is a major problem. This needs to be solved urgently,” a Burmese relief worker told Mizzima.

Several areas in Irrawaddy delta were covered by saline water when the deadly Cyclone Nargis struck Burma’s coastal area on May 2 and 3 last year. The cyclone reportedly killed about 140,000 people and severely affected 2.4 million people.

After the cyclone, drinking water sources like ponds and wells were not cleared of debris properly and got mixed with saline water.

“As a consequence the areas close to the sea in Irrawaddy division are facing acute shortage of drinking water,” a Burmese relief worker said.

The most vulnerable areas are the villages in Pyikhayine village tracts of Laputta town in southern Irrawaddy delta.

Meanwhile, James East, Regional Communications Advisor of World Vision Asia Pacific, said the challenge of lack of access to drinking water is getting worse in the dry season.

“Lack of access to water was a huge challenge immediately after the cyclone and was further exacerbated in the dry season,” James East told Mizzima.

James said International Government Organizations (INGOs) including World Vision had assisted vulnerable villagers in order to increase the availability of drinking in the cyclone affected areas.

“Drinking water ponds were cleared of debris, water purification machines were installed, sanitation facilities were provided and hygiene awareness training given by NGOs like World Vision,” James East said, “Together, these measures have increased access to water.”

Another local relief worker said that they also distributed bottles of drinking water and water storage facilities such as locally made earthen pots and plastic buckets to the villagers so they could keep drinking water in the coming monsoon.

“The distributed drinking water just lasted two or three days. Providing drinking water and other facilities so far could solve the problem just for the time being,” he added.

James East from World Vision also said that long term measures are necessary to prevent the scarcity of drinking water occurring in the dry season.

“Access to water remains a concern and long-term measures like providing families with water purification filters and drilling wells, where appropriate, will be crucial to avert water shortage during the dry season,” he added.

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Sittwe Residents Suffer Water Shortage

Sittwe (Narinjara): Residents in Sittwe have been suffering from a shortage of water supplied by the municipality since the beginning of summer, said Daw Hla Tin, a leader in Rupa Wra Ward in Sittwe.

"We are now facing a critical condition with the shortage of water. We receive water for only two hours every four days, and it is distributed to all the households in Sittwe by the Municipal authority. It is a big problem for everyone in Sittwe because the supply of water is insufficient for all the people in our city," said Daw Hla. In Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, there is a single reservoir pond named Kandawgyi that supplies water to the city. The reservoir was built by the British government in 1906 to supply water to the approximately 20,000 residents living in Sittwe at the time.

"As water is short in the pond, the officials reduced the number of times the water is supplied to the town. The pond is now unable to store water for all the people in our city because the population in Sittwe is now over 300,000. We people have to face such a water shortage problem every summer," Daw Hla added.

According to a local resident, many remote wards in Sittwe, including Kyi Pru Wra, Min Gan, Sat Rokya, Nazi Wra, and San Pya, have not received any water since summer started in Arakan.

A young girl from Min Gan said, "I heard water in Kandawgyi is short and the authority has saved water by decreasing the number of times water is supplied. Since then, people in our ward have not been receiving water. Now we use water from tube wells and well waters."

Women in some wards in Sittwe have to line up with water pots every day in the early morning near their local water wells to carry water to home for daily use.

A source from Sittwe said that due to the water shortage, some children from Kyi Pru Wra and Min Ga Wards are suffering from diarrhea but their families can not afford to take them to the hospital for treatment.

The Burmese military authority is aware of the water shortage that happens every summer in Sittwe, but has never tried to make upgrades to help meet the residents' water needs. Arakan State receives over 120 inches of rain every year during the rainy season, but due to poor infrastructure the state faces a water shortage every year during the dry season.

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Water Woes Still Plague Nargis Survivors

What lies ahead remains a big question mark. (Photo: Minn Minn / IPS Asia-Pacific)

By MINN MINN / IPS WRITER
The Irrawaddy News

“When the water is below us, we can make a living. But when it is above us, we die,” 76-year-old U Toe mused, looking back at the damage dealt by Cyclone Nargis nearly a year ago on May 2, 2008.

At the end of its fury, the cyclone, with sustained winds of close to 200 kilometers per hour, killed at least 137,000 people and destroyed the lives of thousands more. Many of these people depended on the natural resources of the fertile Irrawaddy delta, which was hardest hit by the disaster.

Those who survived the initial fury of the disaster soon faced—ironically enough—a lack of potable water. Wells and ponds, traditional sources of fresh water, had been inundated by the inflow of seawater. Water containers, which are typically large ceramic jars or clay pots, were smashed in the devastation. Long lines of survivors, carrying whatever containers they had in order to get water, became a familiar sight immediately after recovery efforts began.

In hindsight, the cyclone highlighted in the cruelest fashion the delicate balance between man and water in the delta. The fertile soil, availability of water and ample supply of labor once made this area the rice bowl of the world. The waters of the delta also supported rich fish and shrimp farms as well as natural salt farms.

But over the years, human habitation gradually changed the topography of the delta and weakened the environment’s ability to resist cyclone-induced strong waves and winds. This transformation accelerated over the past two decades, as mangrove forests were cleared for charcoal production and shrimp and fish farming. Dhani (nipa palm) trees were even more intensively felled to provide thatch for the roofs of traditional village homes.

Today, water problems continue to be among the biggest everyday concerns of local residents, although relief and assistance accelerated immediately after the cyclone.

In the months after the disaster, plastic jerry cans were imported for residents’ water needs, and traditional ceramic jars and clay pot water containers were brought in from other parts of Burma.

Ponds have been repeatedly cleaned since then, but survivors claim that seepage of saltwater into groundwater sources has increased and clearing is therefore of little avail. Digging of new wells may therefore not be an option.

Substantial resources have also been expended on fencing off the remaining 40 percent of usable ponds and reservoirs—although there are now few cows or buffaloes left to trespass into them.

Water filters of different types have been distributed by international and local non-government groups and water rationing was enforced in villages at one point, but water problems in the delta will remain for years to come.

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