The Japanese Government through JICA is assisting Rural Development of Chin State and Ayeyawady Region through mechanization of Agriculture, according to press release.

The move comes after the signing of Grant Agreement (G/A) for the “Project for Provision of Agricultural Machinery and Construction Equipment in Rural Areas”, between Agricultural Mechanization Department (AMD), Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (MOALI) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Naypyitaw on 4th November 2019.

Through the project, Japan/ JICA provides totalling (61) No. of Agricultural Machinery and Construction Equipment, which is summed up to four hundred and forty-four million (444,000,000) Japanese Yen. The equipment is used for actual rural development works in Chin State and Ayeyarwady Region.

In Chin State, the development of basic infrastructure is very poor and there are various needs for infrastructure development throughout the state. Meanwhile, Ayeyarwady region has many small-scale farmers who engaged mainly in paddy cultivation. As the poverty level in the area is quite high- and effective and efficient agricultural development can support farmers’ livelihood.

The project is to improve income and living standard in the rural communities and to contribute to the balanced growth between rural and urban areas, by accelerating the development of the basic infrastructures. In the implementation of the project, adding to AMD and MOALI, Department of Rural Road Development (DRRD) of Ministry of Construction (MOC) will make collective efforts to achieve the objective of the said project.

In order to develop socio-economic status in the rural areas, agricultural mechanization plays a crucial role for reducing the cultivation and labour cost.  It is dedicated to improvement of the quality and yield of agro-products to increase the income of the farmers. On the other hand, the enhancement of construction equipment contributes to the basic infrastructure development for safe and smooth access of the rural road network. Quality infrastructure in rural area can prevent frequent landslides and slope failures during the rainy season for those regions.

Aside from the grant assistance, JICA/ Japan is supporting improvement of farmers livelihoods through “Agriculture Income Improvement Project” in Shwebo, Sagaing and Ayeyawardy Region by improving agricultural productivity through rehabilitation and construction of infrastructures for agricultural production and distribution. The project is also to promote agricultural expertise extension and mechanization as well.