The Southeast Command of the Burmese Army plans to extend agricultural land up to 1 million acres in Mon State according to The New Light of Myanmar.

The Southeast Command Commander Maj-Gen Thet Naing Win has told the Myanmar Agriculture Service (MAS), Myanmar Land-surveying Department, and Irrigation Department to try hard and complete the project.

According to a former MAS manager, Mon State increased agricultural land up to 0.7 million acres in 2008 of which cultivation was done in about 0.6 million acres in keeping with the Minister of Agriculture' statement.

The former MAS manager said "It is impossible to reach the target (about 1 millions acre) in a year. It is difficult to fulfill it, including the rainy season and summer paddy. Mudon and Kyaikmayaw Township have extended cultivating paddy."

He said that they could extend paddy field in deep water fields and in some land in Kyaikmayaw.

The authorities reported to senior officers that they had seen to cultivation of about 0.2 million acres in summer, which was below the target because it is difficult to get water from dams and canals.

Kyaikmayaw could cultivate more summer paddy than other townships because it got water resources from Gying and Attaran Rivers. Farmers got a little water from the dam at Thaton Township similar to Mudon Township.

According to a farmer from Winphanon Dam area, about 200 acres around the dam site at Winphanon and fields around Kataik Dam in Paung were damaged by building, digging the creek and flood waters from the dam.

The government plans to get paddy of about 0.6 million basket in Mudon, 0.2 million basket in Thanpyuzayart, 0.4 million basket in Chaung zone, 0.3 million in Kyaikmayaw, and 0.2 million in Ye. It is also pushing for planting paddy in Shwe War Tun, Manor thukha, Shwe tasoat to harvest in time for two crops a season.

"Most farmers didn't grow what they said they would. We grow Kyaikgyi paddy over 140 days because it gives good yield," said a farmer from Young-doung village, Modon.

On the other hand, the district authorities had ordered farmers to grow a third crop in a year and two crops a season since 1993 as a government policy.

According to government statistics, Burma has about 16.434 million acres of cultivable land and about 3.4 million acres of summer paddy.