Myanmar
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Photo: Benny Manser/Mercy Corps -
Fifty-five-year-old Daw Than Than Shwe, a mother of two, grows 27 acres of rice in Kyu Taw village in Myanmar's Irawaddy Delta. Since the cyclone, Mercy Corps has been helping Daw Than Than Shwe and 131 other rice farmers in her village by creating a seed bank. Each participating farmer member received 60,000 Kyat — about $80 U.S. — for seeds and fertilizer. After each harvest, they put some of their rice seed into storage as insurance against future crop failures. So far, all of the farmers have contributed their share. Five of Daw Than Than Shwe's acres are also planted with improved seeds provided by Mercy Corps. The (non-GMO) seeds yield more rice and show better resistance to droughts and pests than the rice currently used to plant fields. Photo: Benny Manser/Mercy Corps
Our strategy
Make vulnerable communities more food secure and resilient to climate change, while enhancing economic opportunities, strengthening civil society, and improving health and nutrition.
The context
Recent large political reforms have resulted in opposition parties, relaxed media censorship, and thawing relations with countries like the United States. Yet Myanmar’s socio-economic situation remains extremely dire. Heavy reliance on agriculture for livelihoods makes communities vulnerable to droughts, floods and tropical cyclones, all of which are liable to increase in intensity with climate change.
Our work
- Agriculture & Food: Providing tools, high-quality seeds and skill-building to boost rice production; funding roads and other infrastructure to connect remote farmers to markets
- Economic opportunity: Running resource centers for vocational and agricultural training and resources that grow household incomes
- Women & Gender: Helping women organize village vegetable gardens that provide food for their families and turn them into businesses for additional income
All stories about Myanmar
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Myanmar: An acre of rice for Kyi December 5, 2012
In rural Sit Kone village, accessible only by a two-hour boat ride from the closest town, Kyi (pictured left) depends on his land to support his family of eight.
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Myanmar: Bringing abundance back to the land of temples October 4, 2012
Many families in Myanmar’s Northern Rakhine state don’t have enough to eat during the year. Unpredictable weather patterns have plagued small farmers and disrupted their productivity.
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Myanmar: Innovative conservation efforts honored July 31, 2012
Mercy Corps' innovative efforts to save valuable mangroves in Myanmar has won a big accolade.
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Myanmar: A father plants seeds for a new future February 17, 2012
A wide grin spreads across U Myo Zaw’s long, lively face as he eyes his new watering cans and vegetable seeds. The relatively simple supplies will help him cultivate his own small plot of land, a tremendous symbol of personal progress for him.
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Myanmar: Making our land green again January 19, 2012
I’m 19 years old and live in Bokone village, in Myanmar’s Ayeyarwaddy Delta. Together with eight other people from my village, I am part of a community organization called Sein Pyae Aye Yar. In English, it means Full Green Ayeyarwaddy Delta.
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Myanmar: Cookstoves to the rescue December 8, 2011
Myat Soe and his family lost their house, fishing business and small grocery in the 2008 cyclone that devastated Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Delta. Afterwards, they moved in with his father and struggled just to make ends meet.
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Myanmar: Changing times November 30, 2011
Change was a theme that kept cropping up during my visit to Myanmar earlier this year. The changes the country has seen since my grandfather lived there in the 1940s. The changes Cyclone Nargis brought in 2008 to the thousands of families it affected.
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Myanmar: Daw Than Than Shwe, rice farmer November 28, 2011
Fifty-five-year-old Daw Than Than Shwe, a mother of two, grows 27 acres of rice in Kyu Taw village in Myanmar's Irawaddy Delta.
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Myanmar: Improving harvests in a cyclone's wake November 28, 2011
Tun Myint, 61, has been farming since he was a teenager. Smiling broadly under a bamboo hat, he greeted us and was eager to take us to see his 20 acres of rice fields.
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Myanmar: Water buffalo in Myanmar July 18, 2011
A water buffalo in Myanmar’s Delta region. Cyclone Nargis killed more than 90 percent of the region's buffalo; Mercy Corps is helping farming families buy buffalo and get back on track.