Background
The Agriculture and Farmer Federation of Myanmar (AFFM) partnered with NEED Myanmar to train young farmers on organic farming concepts and technologies. Ye Htut, a 32-year old farmer member from Tha Byay Kong village, Thanlyin Township in Yangon, is one of the scholars that AFFM sent to the Eco Village Farm School (EVF) in March 2016.
Ye Htut had a contract with a big company that sells chemical agriculture inputs such as fertilizer, pesticides and hybrid seeds. In his desire to develop the agriculture sector in his community, he became an agent since 2012 until 2015. After attending the two-week farmer empowerment training and learning basic sustainable organic agriculture concepts and farming skills, his life turned 360 degrees.
Innovations / Good Practices
During the two-week course at Eco Village Farm School, Ye Htut learned about sustainable organic agriculture, community development, and environment preservation. Major component of the course is Permaculture Ethics and Principles that gives weight to care for people and environment over self-interest. Consequently, he realized the negative impact of chemical inputs to the community and society, leading to his decision to stop selling hybrid seeds that are dependent on chemical inputs. Rather, he continued to the ten-month course on intensive organic agriculture at the EVF School.
He recalled that before joining AFFM, he had no idea how to change the life of farmers, but he was motivated to sign up for membership because he believed that success has a greater chance in group than alone. Realizing that he was doing more harm than good to farmers by selling chemical inputs, he decided to study further and set the example for other AFFM members in his village.
Impact
After graduating from the EVF School in 2016, Ye Htut organized farmers in his township for organic movement. He was granted funds by NEED Myanmar and the Polish Aid. He was able to organize 30 people from 11 villages in Thanlyin township. With the help of co-graduates, he conducted workshops and seminars to show how chemical farming affects the farmers and the environment and the potentials of organic farming and techniques. He also taught practical skills in mushroom growing, compost making, natural pesticide production to small groups of 5 to 10 people.
Teaching other farmers is one aspect of Ye Htut’s life, but the main work lies in his hands-on application of organic farming practice in his family’s 12-acre farmland. They grow paddy during rainy season and green peas during winter. He used organic fertilizer from his compost to grow rice in his six-acre rice farm and organic pesticide in his 12-acre green pea farm. In lieu of the chemical pesticides, he made natural pesticides from local ingredients found in the local market at low cost.
Ye Htut admitted that nobody trusted him in the beginning. Farmers in the neighbourhood swore that his farm will be easy target for pest destruction and decrease in yield. But the harvest season proved the farmers wrong. He produced the same yield as the other farmers during the first harvest. He was not able to produce more but he saved a lot from agriculture inputs. While the other farmers spent MMK 40,000 (USD 25) per acre, Ye Htut spent only MMK 10,000 (USD 6) for the ingredients of natural pesticides and organic fertilizer.
Two other farmers followed his organic farming technique in their six-acre rice land. They realized that they save a lot since they do not have to spend on chemical fertiliser input. They can get materials that are readily available to make compost which in turn also improves the soil condition. He started planting vegetables which provides income within a short period. His family also gets to cook vegetables fresh from the garden which is also a way to save. In 2017, ten more farmers from five other villages followed his organic green pea growing technique. Instead of getting loan from brokers, they spend their energy making compost. He also taught mushroom growing to 10 farmers and provided support to them in monitoring, technical advice and market linkaging. The young farmers who are interested in mushroom growing requested him to teach them. They have a market within the village where vendors sell their produce which gives their family additional income of MMK 120,000 (USD 77) monthly.
Facilitating Factors
Teaching by doing is the best tool that Ye Htut used. Farmers follow not only his words, but his actual application–that is “walking the talk”. A farmer near his village (Ko Moe from Tapyaykone Village, Thanlyin Township in Yangon) observed Ye Htut while making his compost in 2016. In 2017, Ko Moe followed Ye Htut and got a yield of 80 baskets per harvest season instead of 50-60 baskets. He is hoping to harvest 95 baskets of paddy this 2018.
Challenges
Most of the farmers’ children in his township prefer working as factory workers, thinking and experiencing at some point, that farming is not profitable. He also observed that factory workers could not save from the small amount of salary that they receive and worse, they get to spend their money as soon as they receive it. Stability of income entices the youth to choose factories over farm.
Lessons Learned
Ye Htut realized that he needs to assist the young people instead of simply convincing them with words. Support can come by making farming a little easier for the young people such as selling readymade mushroom bags. This way, he believes that it would be easier to persuade the youth to go back to agriculture. Right now, the price per mushroom bag is MMK 500 (USD .31) and he usually sells 300 bags. He earns 150,000 MMK (USD 94) more than the monthly salary in a factory.
Ye Thut started designing an integrated organic demo farm in a three-acre portion of his land where he started growing cow, chicken, and turkey. His objective is to encourage young people to do farming, and to demonstrate a better way of farming that integrates plants and animals, utilizes local products for agriculture inputs, is environment-friendly, and to show that farming is a viable and profitable way of life.
Recommendations
Ye Htut conducted group workshops and individual sessions to some 90 farmers, sharing his practices, ideas and actual experiences in organic production of rice, green peas and mushroom. Over 50 farmers have accepted his ideas of developing agriculture and household income. The positive of results are:
- The farmers do not need to loan money from others because they make themselves agriculture input like (fertilizer).
- There is no increase the yield but there is an improvement in the quality of soil.
- AFFM will be preparing a curriculum on organic compost.
- The government need to allow integrated farming system.
- The Ministry of Agriculture needs to support policy for the farmers.
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