Agriculture in Myanmar

Other main crops include pulses, beans, sesame, groundnuts, sugarcane, lumber, and fish. Moreover, livestock are raised as both a source of food and labour.

Agricultural products

Crops

• Rice
• Corn
• Pulses
• Peas
• Onions
• Groundnuts
• Niger seeds
• Sesame
• Spices - coriander, ginger, turmeric, red chili
• Sugarcane
• Lumber – see Forestry (below)

Methods

Historically and at present, the primary method for rendering arable land is the slash-and-burn method (also known as "shifting cultivation" or "swiddening"). This involves setting fire to areas of primary forest or secondary forest to create fields where crops can be cultivated. After these fields are used for a time and the nutrients in the soil are used up, the land is abandoned and allowed to grow freely. Growth begins in one to three years following the land's abandonment, and within 10 to 20 years it is once again able to hold an established secondary forest.

Sometimes, this arable land is converted into rice paddies, a common agricultural technique in southern and eastern Asia. In Burma, the paddies are flooded only occasionally by rivers, while a majority of the time farmers rely on the monsoon season for the necessary water. The paddies have an "impermeable subsoil", on top of which is a saturated layer of mud, and lastly around 4–6 inches of water.

Livestock

Farmers in Burma raise livestock for both food and labour purposes. This includes cattle, water buffalo, goats, sheep, oxen, chickens, and pigs. Oxen and water buffalo are used as draft animals throughout the country, while most cattle are raised in the drier northern regions. Goats are kept by farmers in pasture for their milk.

Farmers in Burma were affected by the outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu strand in Asia. Initially, the Mandalay and Sagaing regions of Burma were affected, and this resulted in the culling of several thousand chickens, quails and their eggs. However, as of 2006, the country's livestock officials announced a plan to fund the restocking of birds and feed for the affected poultry farms.

As of at least 2024, Myanmar has the largest amount of cattle herding in southeast Asia. Myanmar's domestic beef consumption is not high because of religious reasons and because of cattle's utility as a farm animal. The 2012 Major Commodity and Service Law prohibited the export of live cattle, although a lack of enforcement Myanmar meant that significant smuggling out of the country occurred. In 2017, Aung San Suu Kyi's government lifted the ban and began regulating cattle exports as a revenue-raising measure.

Fishing

Fishing makes up a fair portion of Burma's food production. Fishing occurs in both salt and freshwater, and it is estimated that there are up to 300 species in the Burmese fresh waters. Of these, there are several endemic species, including the Indostromus paradoxus of the Indawgyi Lake in Northern Burma. Moreover, dried and salted fish is an integral part of the country's cuisine, and the primary source of protein in the Burmese diet.

In Burma, there are several types of fisheries, including coastal or inshore fisheries, and offshore or deep-sea fisheries. A majority of these fish are harvested by commercial means, which includes the use of trawling nets, purse seins, driftnet and gillnet. A minority still use traditional techniques, such as hook-and-line, cast net, bag net, trammel gill net, lift net, and traps. In 2003, trawling accounted for 40% of fish caught.

In the 1980s, the Burmese government sought to encourage deep-sea fishing, and since then there has been a steady increase in the yearly catches. In 1989, Thai companies were given permission to fish in the coastal waters of Burma, using trawlers to harvest fish.

Forestry

Though Burma's neighbours, such as India, China, and Thailand, have depleted most of their forests, and despite slash-and-burn techniques, Burma is still considered to be relatively rich in forests and the resources they provide. It is considered by some to be "the last frontier of biodiversity in Asia." In Burma, teak, acadia, bamboo, and ironwood are raised, harvested, and exported. The country is the leading supplier of teak in the international market, and is a substantial supplier of bamboo.