This report was prepared by the WorldBank in partnership with the Livelihoods and Food SecurityMulti-Donor Trust Fund (LIFT). Both the World Bank and theLIFT are actively involved in supporting Myanmar’sagriculture sector given its significance in povertyreduction and food security, and they both consider the lackof reliable farm data to be a significant constraint todesigning effective programs and policies. This report fillssome of the data gaps. In addition to presenting thecollected data, the report offers the first analysis ofthese data. It focuses on the assessment of the extent ofcrop diversification and an analysis of farm productioneconomics, in particular (partial factor) productivity ofagricultural land and labor and crop profitability. Thisfocus was chosen to study Myanmar’s commercial productionareas and to facilitate international comparisons, as mostinternational studies follow a similar approach, focusing onadvanced farmers in commercial production areas. The fourmain findings of the report are as follows: (i) Myanmar’sfarming systems are diversified and during the monsoonseason most farms produce paddy, during the cool and dryseasons most farms produce crops other than paddy, mainlybeans and pulses, oilseeds, and maize; (ii) the analysisreconfirmed that agricultural productivity in Myanmar islow, irrespective of what indicators are used, limiting thesector’s contribution to poverty reduction and sharedprosperity; (iii) low productivity is a result of multiplefactors, many of them associated with the undersupply ofquality public services such as research, extension, andrural infrastructure, in delivery of which the governmenthas a key role to play; and (iv) going forward and giventhat paddy is less profitable and more costly to producethan other crops in most agro-ecological zones, especiallyduring the cool and dry seasons, it is desirable to redesignpublic programs from exclusive support of paddy productionto support for broad-based agricultural development.
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