Exotic high yield paddy turn out poor

Exotic high yield paddy turn out poor

Drugs

Reporter: Hawkeye

The Hsin Shweli paddy seeds imported from China, contrary to official media reports, did not fare well compared to the native cereal, said farmers in northern Shan State who had just completed the monsoon paddy harvest. 

According to The New Light of Myanmar, 7 October 2003 issue, the Hsin Shweli DU-527 quality strain yields 163 baskets per acre. 

"The way the officials calculated the output was quite unbalanced," said an educated farmer from Panghsai, Muse Township. "First they chose a plot of paddy field, singled out plants with the most paddy ears and worked out how many baskets a field of one acre would produce if the whole field were covered with choice paddy plants." 

Actually, most of the Hsin Shweli fields turned out poorly, they said. "Most of the plants were without or just a few ears of paddy ," said another farmer. "One of the reasons was the seeds were those donated by China since 2001, two years ago. The fields of some who just discarded the seeds sold to them by the officials and crossed over the border to buy fresh seeds were better off." 

The price in China was 15 yuan per kg (1 yuan = 110 kyat). Each paddy acre uses 10 kg. Most farmers said it was fortunate they could still grow their native Shan paddy after fulfilling the official quota. "Otherwise, the whole family is going to starve," sighed a farmer. 

U Tin Win, Secretary of the Panghsai municipality, had already allotted 10 acres in each of the villages around the town to grow the summer paddy using the Hsin Hsweli seeds. Some of the villages named are Lawn-in, Kiangyang, Khonglong, Khongkang, Kawngkha, Namhsawn, Wanmai, Namhu and Namtao. "Captain Aung Lwin, who had just replaced the outgoing Captain Ant Maw, as the township officer will be coming to preside over the planting ceremony, we were told," said a farmer's wife. 

According to official announcement, 100,000 acres in northern Shan State were ordered to grow the Chinese strain. As a result, "the percentage of the paddy production is higher than the previous year," said Lt-Gen Aung Htwe, Chief of Bureau of Special Operations #2, who is effectively governor of Shan and Kayah (Karenni) states, on 3 October. His Shan is quite fluent, said a ceasefire group commander. 

The Hsin Hsweli program is said to be part of the poppy substitution project of Rangoon. 

However, some of those interviewed by S.H.A.N.. thought it might be part of the spell-obsessed military rulers to ward off disasters. 

"When Gen Tin Aung Myint Oo was Northeastern Region Commander (who oversaw northern Shan State), he had ordered us to grow maize-corn," explained a Burmese-speaking Shan farmer. "In Burmese, maize-corn is known as pyaung-hpu, which means 'not going to change'. Well, I can't really say whether their magic works or not. But the fact is they're still there." 

Related News: Junta forcing planting of new rice seeds, S.H.A.N., 25 August 2003