Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research C Gh.= 1 9 64' CGIAR Study Paper Number 19 Burma and the CGIAR Centers A Study of Their Collaboration in Agricultural Research Kyaw Zin \ C i l ILE COP Burma and the CGIAR Centers CGIAR Study Papers No. 1 Technological Innovation in Agriculture: The Political Economy of Its Rate and Bias No. 2 Modem Varieties, Intemational Agricultural Research, and the Poor No. 3 Plant Genetic Resources: The Impact of the Intemational Agricultural Research Centers No. 4 Costa Rica and the CGIAR Centers: A Study of Their Collaboration in Agricultural Research No. 5 Guatemala and the CGIAR Centers: A Study of Their Collaboration in Agricultural Research No. 6 Zimbabwe and the CGIAR Centers: A Study of Their Collaboration in Agricultural Research No. 7 Nepal and the CGIAR Centers: A Study of Their Collaboration in Agricultural Research No. 8 Bangladesh and the CGIAR Centers: A Study of Their Collaboration in Agricultural Research No. 9 Brazil and the CGIAR Centers: A Study of Their Collaboration in Agricultural Research No. 10 Indonesia and the CGIAR Centers: A Study of Their Collaboration in Agricultural Research No. 11 Ecuador and the CGIAR Centers: A Study of Their Collaboration in Agricultural Research No. 12 Peru and the CGIAR Centers: A Study of Their Collaboration in Agricultural Research No. 13 Syria and the CGIAR Centers: A Study of Their Collaboration in Agricultural Research No. 14 Cuba and the CGIAR Centers: A Study of Their Collaboration in Agricultural Research No. 15 Philippines and the CGIAR Centers: A Study of Their Collaboration in Agricultural Research No. 16 Thailand and the CGIAR Centers: A Study of Their Collaboration in Agricultural Research No. 17 Gender-Related Impacts and the Work of the Intemational Agricultural Research Centers No. 18 India and the Intemational Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics: A Study of Their Collaboration in Agricultural Research Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research CGIAR Study Paper Number 19 Burma and the CGIAR Centers A Study of Their Collaboration in Agricultural Research Kyaw Zin The World Bank Washington, D.C. Copyright (©) 1986 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/THE WORLD BANK 1818 H Street, N.W, Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. First printing November 1986 All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America At its annual meeting in November 1983 the Consultative Group on Intemational Agricultural Research (CGIAR) commissioned a wide-ranging impact study of the results of the activities of the international agricultural research oganizations under its sponsorship. An Advisory Committee was appointed to oversee the study and to present the principal findings at the annual meeetings of the CGIAR in October 1985. The impact study director was given responsibility for preparing the main report and commissioning a series of papers on particular research issues and on the work of the centers in selected countries. This paper is one of that series. The judgments expressed herein are those of the author(s). They do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, of affiliated organizations, including the CGIAR Secretariat, of the intemational agricultural research centers supported by the CGIAR, of the donors to the CGIAR, or of any individual acting on their behalf. Staff of many national and intemational organizations provided valued information, but neither they nor their institutions are responsible for the views expressed in this paper. Neither are the views necessarily consistent with those expressed in the main and summary reports, and they should not be attributed to the Advisory Conimittee or the study director. This paper has been prepared and published informally in order to share the information with the least possible delay. Kyaw Zin is former vice chancellor of the Institute of Agriculture at Yezin, Burma. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data ,Kyaw Zin, 1929- Burma and the CGIAR centers. (CGIAR study paper, ISSN 0257-3148 ; no. 19) Bibliography: p. 1. Agriculture--Research--Burma. 2. Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. 3. Agriculture--Research--International cooperation. I. Title. II. Series: Study paper (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) ; no. 19. S542.B93K93 1986 630'.720591 86-28068 ISBN 0-8213-0861-0 v Summary This report on the collaboration between international agri- cultural research centers (IARCs) and the agricultural research system of Burma was undertaken at the request of the CGIAR impact study. The main objectives of this report are to provide: (1) A picture of the collaboration between CGIAR-supported IARCs and Burma; (2) An assessment of how international inputs have contributed to national research capacity; (3) An evaluation of the relevance and impact of the centers' training programs; (4) A summary of the impact on food production; and (5) A discussion of the way in which selected technologies originating in the centers have been transmitted through national programs to farmers. Agriculture is the mainstay of the Burmese economy. In 1982-83, agricultural products accounted for 52 percent of the total exports, 38 percent of GDP. The sector employed 64 percent of the labor force. The prospects of Burma's economy hinge on the performance of the agricultural sector. The bulk of the rural population lives near the subsistence level, and improved small farm productivity is a prerequisite for meeting their basic needs. Rice is the staple food of the people and is an important source of foreign exchange. The government is giving the highest priority to development of rice land and improved rice production. The area under rice was more than 12 million acres in 1984, and rice production was more than 689 million baskets (14 Mt). vi Agricultural policy, including that for research, is set by the Burma Socialist Programme Party and Council of State. Overall responsibility for managing and implementing agricultural activities rests with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests. Within this ministry. the Agriculture Corporation is responsible for all aspects of crop research, development and production; Other government agencies coordinate water resources, provide mechanized land preparation, procure crops, provide credit and train staff. The government operates a compulsory procurement system for paddy. jute and cotton. Locally elected functionaries of the Burma Socialist Programme Party. the Peasants and Workers Associations and the People's Councils mobilize and lead the farmers. Staff from the Agriculture Research Institute, the Applied Research Division and Extension Division were made responsible for the planning, execution and evaluation of all phases of the crop development programs. The investment allocated for the agriculture sector was increased from 548 million kyats in 1979-80 to 920 million kyats in 1983-84. Burma's use of external assistance has been rising steadily since 1970. With assistance from the international agriculture research centers. the agriculture research departments and other agencies under the Agriculture Corporation have greatly increased yields of rice, maize, sorghum, wheat, cotton, jute, sugarcane and food legumes in Burma. The staff of the Agriculture Corporation currently totals about 18,000. of which 2,239 hold Agriculture Science degrees. Fifteen have PhDs. 40 have Master's degrees and the rest have BSc (Agriculture) or BAg degrees. Many internationally aided projects assisting agriculture development have recognized the vii need for training, and about 15 percent of the funds have been used for training components. Burma cooperates closely with IRRI. CIMMYT and ICRISAT as well as with other centers such as IITA. CIAT and IBPGR. From these international centers, Burma has received genetic materials. training fellowships and opportunities to establish contacts with research workers and scientists in other countries to permit the continuous exchange of ideas. Publications from most of these centers are also sent to the national research institutes. The transmission of innovations is accomplished mainly through the Extension Division of the Agriculture Corporation. The responsibilities of this division are to: disseminate agri- cultural research findings; implement the annual agricultural plan; distribute essential supplies to the farmers and assist in procurement of these inputs; distribute pure seeds in coordination with the central farms and help to coordinate the agricultural activities with the village councils and township councils. viii Acknowledgments The author is deeply indebted to U Khin Win, Managing Director, Agriculture Corporation, and the Corporation staff for providing all the necessary facilities and for their assistance and cooperation in the preparation of this report. The support provided by General Managers U Aung Khin, ARI; U Hla Shwe, Administration; U Hla Myint Oo, Planning and Projects; U Tin Hlaing, Extension; and Dr. Myint Thein, ARD is gratefully acknowledged. The author is also deeply indebted to U Hla Than, Deputy General Manager, Foreign Projects Section, and all his staff for their generous help in the preparation of this report. His gratitude is extended to U Nyi Nyi, Dr. Tun Saing and U Ohn Kyaw, Deputy General Managers, who provided the statistical figures and many useful discussions. The successful preparation of this report is, to a great extent, due to the collaborative efforts of Dr. Hla Tin 0o, Professor of Agricultural Botany, Institute of Agriculture, and for this the author is grateful. Thanks are also due to U Thein Oo and U Kyaw Min, who typed the manuscript and were always willing to put in extra time to complete this report. ix List of Abbreviations International.Institutions ADB Asian Development Bank ARFSN Asian Rice Farming System Network AVRDC Asian Vegetable Research Development Center CIAT International Center for Tropical Agriculture. Cali, Colombia CIMMYT International Center for Research in Maize and Wheats Mexico CIP International Center for Potatoes, Lima, Peru DANIDA Danish Aid Agency GTZ German Agency for Technical Cooperation IARC International Agricultural Research Center IBPGR International Board for Plant Genetic Resources, Rome. Italy ICRISAT International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Hyderabad, India IITA International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria IRRI International Rice Research Institute, Los Bafos, the Philippines JICA Japan International Co-Operation Agency OPEC Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries USAID United States Agency for International Development Local Institutions AC Agriculture Corporation AFPTC Agriculture and Farm Produce Trade Corporation AMD Agriculture Mechanization Department ARD Applied Research Division ARI Agriculture Research Institute CADTC Central Agriculture Development Training Center ED Extension Division FID Food Industries Corporation x GOB Government of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma IA Institute of Agriculture ID Irrigation Department MAB Myanma Agriculture Bank MOPP Maize and Oilseed Production Project TIC Textile Industries Corporation Other Abbreviations BSPP Burma Socialist Programme Party FYDP Four Year Development Plan HYV High Yielding Variety NARS National Agriculture Research System SHYP Special High Yield Production Program SHYV Special High Yielding Variety WTCPDP Whole Township Crop Production Development Program WTPPDP Whole Township Paddy Production Development Program xi Currency. Weights and Measures Currency Eagivalen (1st December 1984) Currency Unit = Kyat (K) K 1.00 = 100 pyas U.S. Dollar (US$) 1.00 = K 8.59 K 1.00 = US$0.116 Weiahts gnd Measures Viss 1.65 kg Basket paddy 20.86 kg n groundnut - unshelled 11.34 kg " maize - shelled 24.94 kg ' wheat 32.65 kg 0sorghum 28.11 kg :' gram - black and green 31.29 kg i' cowpea 32.65 kg i lablab beans 31.29 kg i" butter beans 31.29 kg Converason Fgctora 1 kilogram (kg) = 2.205 pounds (lbs) 1 metric ton (mt) = 1.02 long tons 1 hectare (ha) = 2.471 acres (ac) 1 Megaton (Mt) - 1.000.000 mt xiii Contents 1 The Country 1 1.1 Natural setting 1 1.1.1 Rivers 1 1.1.2 The climate 2 1.2 Political setting 3 1.3 Population 4 1.4 Economy 4 2 The Agriculture Sector 9 2.1 Structure 12 2.2 Infrastructure 12 2.2.1 Agriculture Corporation (AC) 12 2.2.2 Irrigation Department (ID) 16 2.2.3 Agricultural Mechanization Department (AMD) 16 2.2.4 Food Industries Corporation (FIC) 17 2.2.5 Textile Industries Corporation (TIC) 17 2.2.6 Department of Cooperatives 17 2.2.7 Agricultural and Farm Produce Trade Corporation (AFPTC) 18 2.3 Institutional support 18 2.4 Pricing 20 2.5 Past and present performance 24 2.5.1 Sector contribution 24 2.5.2 Production by commodity 28 2.5.3 Exports 29 2.5.4 Imports 29 2.6 Policy issues 30 3 The National Agricultural Research System (NARS) 33 3.1 Institutional structure 35 3.1.1 The Agriculture Research Institute (ARI) 35 3.1.2 Applied Research Division (ARD) 42 3.1.3 Institute of Agriculture (IA) 45 3.2 Staffing in NARS 48 3.3 Multilateral and bilateral assistance projects with research components 52 4 Impact of IARCs on NARS 55 4.1 Impact on some important crops in Burma 55 4.1.1 Rice 55 4.1.2 Wheat 56 4.1.3 Maize 61 4.1.4 Sorghum 65 4.1.5 Groundnut 68 4.1.6 Food legumes 70 4.2 Training 72 4.3 Relations between national research centers and CGIAR-supported centers and other organizations 76 xiv 5 Research Impact on Agricultural Production 81 5.1 Important innovations 81 5.2 Adoption of innovations 84 6 Conclusions and Suggestions 91 6.1 Agriculture sector 91 6.2 The National Agricultural Research System 94 6.3 Relations with the Institute of Agriculture 95 6.4 Multilateral and bilateral assistance projects with research components 96 6.5 Relationships between IARCs and NARS 100 Appendix 101 References 103 1 1 The Country 1.1 Natural setting The Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma lies in Southeast Asia between latitudes 10°N and 28°N and longitudes 920E and 1010E. The country is roughly 582 miles across from east to west and 1,275 miles from north to south. Burma is the largest country on the southeast Asian main- land. Facing the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea on the west and south it shares land borders with Thailand, Laos, China, India and Bangladesh. Burma is rimmed on the north, east and west by mountain ranges with elevations up to 4,570 meters (15,000 ft) above sea level along the Chinese border and 2.400 meters (8,000 ft) along the Indian border. The country has many varieties of rich forest. World famous Burma tea is cultivated in the deciduous monsoon forest. 1.1.1 Rivers The four chief rivers in Burma are the Irrawaddy, the Sittang, the Chindwin and the Salween. The Irrawaddy River The 1,238 mile long Irrawaddy River is formed by the confluence of two rivers, N'mai Kha, and Mali Kha, some 273 miles north of Mandalay. The river which is nearly one mile wide at many places is navigable from its mouth to Bahmo. Before the river enters the Andaman Sea it divides into eight main branches which form the sprawling fertile delta. The Irrawaddy is the 2 country's economic lifeline and major transportation system. con- necting Rangoon with Mandalay in the central area. The Sittang River rises in the hills southeast of Mandalay and flows to the Pegu Yoma until it empties into the Gulf of Martaban, an extension of the Andaman Sea. This river is 186 miles long. The Chindwin River The Chindwin River is the main tributary of the Irrawaddy and rises in the northwestern hills. It flows through 480 miles of navigable reaches until it flows into the Irrawaddy near Pakokku. This river is 691 miles long. The Salween-River The Salween River races through gorges cut deep into the Shan Plateau. It is locally navigable but is too swift to permit navigation for any extended distance. It flows into the Gulf of Martaban. 1.1.2 The climate Most of Burma lies within the tropics. the Tropic of Cancer passing through the country about 150 miles north of Mandalay. There are three seasons: the monsoon* winter and summer. The monsoon is from mid-May to the end of October. During this period the southwest monsoon brings rain from the Bay of Bengal. The coastal regions receive about 500 cm of rain, the Irrawaddy delta about 250 cm, and the hilly regions about 200 cm. Central Burma, which lies within the rain shadow of the Arakan Yoma, receives about 50 to 75 cm of rain. The cold season is from early November to late February. Temperatures in the south of the country may drop to 15.50C and in other areas the cold is more intense. 3 The hot season or the summer comes before the rains. The temperatures in the south are around 300C but those in the central plain may be as high as 330. 1.2 Political setting The Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma came into being on January 3, 1974. after the new socialist constitution had been passed by over 90 percent of the electorate in a referendum. It is a single party system. Under the provisions of the consti- tution, the nationwide elections for Pyithu Hluttaw (Parliament), People's Councils for State/Division, Township and Village tract levels are held every 4 years. The Pyithu Hluttaw includes 475 members elected from 314 townships. Candidates for these elections are approved by the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP), the only political party. The Pyithu Hluttaw is the highest organ of the State Power. It meets twice a year in March and October. When the Pyithu Hluttaw is not in session, the State Power is delegated to the Council of State. The Council of State is composed of 29 members. Fourteen represent the 14 State and Divisional territorial units, while another 14 represent the Pyithu Hluttaw as a whole. The Prime Minister is the 29th member. The Council of Justice is the highest judicial organ of the State and the Council of People's Attorneys protects and safe- guards the Socialist System as well as the rights and privileges of the working people. Under the Council of State there are the Council of Ministers (Cabinet) and the Council of People's Inspectors to implement the State policies. All members of the executive branch are elected from among the members of Pyithu Hluttaw. The Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma comprises seven states and seven divisions, namely: the Kachin State, the Chin 4 State, the Kaya State, the Karen State, the Mon State, the Rakhine, and the Shan State. The seven divisions are the Rangoon Division, Mandalay Division, the Pegu Division, the Tenasserim Division, the Irrawaddy Division, the Sagaing Division and the Magwe Division. These divisions are comprised of 314 townships. The administrative control is exercised from the National Headquarters downward through a system of subordinate executive bodies. People's Councils at the levels of State/Division, Township and Village tract have government functions. A nation- wide party apparatus, through a system of party cells and committees, exercises policy control over the activities of People's Councils. 1.3 Population Burma had a population of 35.6 million in 1984, with an annual growth rate of 2.01 percent. The male population was 17.7 million and the female population was 17.98 million. In analyzing growth by age groups, it was estimated that out of the total population, 13.36 million were under 15 years old, 19.98 million were in the working age group of 15 to 59 years, and 2.34 million were in the age group 60 years and more. The crude birthrate was 28.3 per thousand while the crude death rate was 11.2 per thousand. 1.4 Economy Burma is an agricultural economy in the process of modern- ization and appropriate industrialization. Rice and timber are the main products but other cereal crops, oilseed crops, industrial crops, minerals and petroleum are growing in importance. Improved performance of the economy during 1983-84 has been made possible by steady growth in the main productive sectors, 5 namely agriculture, forestry and processing and manufacturing. According to the provisional data, the value of output of the agriculture sector in 1983-84 increased by 5.6 percent. This remarkable growth rate was the result of increase in output of principal crops. The increase in agricultural output is attributable to the introduction of high yield variety (HYV) programs of crops. improved cultural methods, and whole-township crop production programs for important selected crops. The impact of such measures is responsible for increases in yield per acre of many important crops. According to the provisional data. the value of net output in the forestry sector increased by 5.2 percent in 1983-84. Modern methods of log transportation and extraction coupled with building of all-weather accessible roads which minimized the stock in course of extraction contributed to the increase in output of teak and hardwood during this period. The processing and manufacturing sector showed perceptible increase in production in line with the increased production in agriculture. The adequate supply of raw materials in the agri- culture sector, regular supply of foreign raw material and spare parts, mainly contributed to the increase in the value of net output of the processing and manufacturing sector by 9 percent in 1981-82. Utilization of production capacity in this sector was 72.91 percent in 1980-81; 73.60 percent in 1981-82; 71.00 percent in 1982-83 and 73.00 percent in 1983-84. Out of over 5.8 million students, 0.17 million were studying higher education. Over 33,000 academic and professional degrees were awarded in 1983-84. During 1982-83. the export value of K 3,036.3 million was realized. Export by type of commodity is presented in Table 1.1. 6 The allocation of capital and current expenditure for the State Administrative Organizations. the State Economic Enter- prises and the Town and City Development Committees for 1984-85 is shown by sector in Table 1.2. Table 1.1 Exports by Type of Commodity, 1982-83 Type of Commodity Kyats in Million Agricultural Products 1,566.8 Animal and Marine Products 152.1 Forest Products 813.6 Minerals and Gems 398.5 Others 72.3 Re-export 33.0 Total 39036.3 7 Table 1.2 Allocation of Capital and Current Expenditure by Sector for 1984-85 Kyats Kyats Sector (million) S (million) S Agriculture 1,130 13.1 1,630 5.5 Livestock and Fishery 250 3.2 640 2.2 Forestry 240 3.1 1,070 3.6 Mining 240 3.1 1,450 4.9 Processing and Manufacturing 2,480 31.6 9.010 30.3 Power 1,840 13.3 410 1.4 Construction 320 4.1 1,520 5.1 Transportation and Communications 840 10.7 1,480 5.0 Trade 350 4.5 6,500 21.8 Social Services 550 7.0 1,710 5.7 Financial Institutions 20 0.2 1,260 4.2 Administrative Organizations 350 4.5 2,800 9.4 Town and City Development Committees 130 1.6 190 0.6 Reserve Fund - - 100 0.3 Total 8,740 100.0 29,770 100.0 co 9 2 The Agriculture Sector The prospects of Burma's economy hinge on the performance of the agriculture sector. The bulk of the rural population lives near the subsistence level and improved small farm productivity is a prerequisite for meeting their basic needs. About 85 percent of the population lives in rural areas and two-thirds of employment is in agriculture. Burma is richly endowed with natural resources. It has a substantial area of arable land which could be brought under cultivation and significant water resources. Official data indicates 21 million acres of cultivable wasteland. Of the total land area of 261,228 square miles, half is in forest and about 72,000 square miles is considered suitable for cultivation. However, only 45 percent of this area is under cultivation, due to limited availability of water. In 1983-84. 34,000 acres of cultivable land was brought under cultivation. The utilization of land is shown in Table 2.1. Table 2.1 Land Utilization Particulars Acres (000) Net Sown Area 19,957 Fallow Area 4,942 Cultivable Wasteland 21.087 Reserved Forest 24,578 Other Forest Area 54.849 Other Lands 41.773 Total 167,186 10 Land is owned by the State and only the actual tillers are given the right to till the land. Thus the number of small land- holders has increased substantially while the farmers with large holdings has declined. The land area occupied by peasant families in 1983-84 is shown in Table 2.2. Table 2.2 Position of Peasant Families and Land Occupied Size of Holding % of Acreage % of Peasant Families Under 5 Acres 25.1 61.36 5 to 10 Acres 30.9 24.25 10 to 20 Acres 29.2 11.73 20 to 50 Acres 12.4 2.50 50 to 100 Acres 0.5 0.05 Over 100 Acres 1.9 0.02 From the above table it can be seen that holdings of 10 acres or less take up 55 percent of the total acreage and are held by 85 percent of the population. The remaining 45 percent of land in farms of 10 acres or more are held by 12 percent of the farmers. Less than 3 percent of the farmers have holdings of 20 acres or more. Burma has vast irrigation potential but irrigated area comprises only about 13 percent of the total area sown to agricultural crops. It has been recognized that the lack of flood control, drainage and development of irrigation is one of the major factors contributing to low yields and the inability to produce crops during the dry season. Attempts have been made to correct these conditions. The main sources of irrigation water are river diversion schemes (serving a total irrigable area of at 11 least 1.6 million acres), dams and reservoirs (serving around 190,000 acres) and pump schemes (serving about 380.000 acres) and others about 430,000 acres. At present only 2.6 million acres is under irrigation. During the last few years, operations of the Irrigation Department (ID) have expanded rapidly. Authorized staff positions increased from 6,800 in 1973 to about 20,000 in 1982. and the number of projects under implementation increased from 8 to 17. However, it was found that only 12.5 percent of the irrigated area is double cropped. Attempts to provide farm inputs such as fertilizers, and pesticides have been quite successful. Rice is the staple food of the people and is an important foreign exchange earner. The Government is giving highest priority for rice land development and improvement of its pro- duction. Rice is presently grown in about 12.06 million acres. There had been a gradual decrease in rice acreage from 12.6 million acres in 1965 to 12.0 million acres in 1973. From 1974 onwards the area increased substantially as shown in Figure 2.1. During the 10-year period 1963-73, annual production fluctuated. Since then production increased substantially from 7.4 Mt in 1973 to 14.4 Mt in 1982-83. Prior to 1974 rice yields were low. Yields per acre fluctuated between 29 and 32 baskets. After 1974, a gradual yield increase was obtained and in the year 1983, average yield per acre reached 61 baskets. Total domestic consumption of paddy gradually increased from 5.5 Mt in 1978-79 to 6.1 Mt in 1982-83. The exportable surplus in 1978-79 was 1.6 Mt and in the year 1982-83 it was about 0.59 Mt. 12 The agriculture sector accounts for 38 percent of gross domestic product and employs 64 percent of the country's labor force. In 1982-83, the sector accounted for 52 percent of the foreign exchange earnings. 2.1 Structure Overall responsibility for managing and implementing agri- cultural activities rests with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, which consists of seven Departments and three Corporations as shown in Table 2.3. The Agriculture Corporation, under its Managing Director. is responsible for all aspects of crop research, development and production. Forestry activities fall under separate departments or corporations. The organizational structure of the Agriculture Corporation is depicted in Table 2.4. 2.2 Infrastructure Agricultural support services are organized through the relevant departments and corporations concerned with the develop- ment and establishment of agricultural and rural development projects. 2.2.1 Agriculture Corporation (AC) The Agriculture Corporation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests is responsible for agricultural extension and research, the coordination of fertilizer and agricultural chemical distribution, and seed multiplication and distribution. Within the AC, there are two research divisions: the Applied Research Division (ARD) at Gyogon (Rangoon) and the Agricultural Research Institute (ARI) at Yezin. The Extension Division is also located at Rangoon. ARD administers 20 seed farms and 20 central farms scattered throughout the country. Its objectives are to multiply and produce high quality seeds. The central 4' Ln LA_ Ln~~~~~~~~~~~~u- 1962-63 63-64 0 64-65 ID rt 65-66 66-67 67-68 68-69 69-70 70-71 71-72 ID 72-73 73-74L 74-75 75-76 CA 0 76-77 77-78 tI\ 78-79 79-80 80-81 82-82 82-83 E 14 Table 2.3 Organization of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests Minister Deputy Minister Deputy Minister (Agriculture) (Forestry) Planning and Statistics Department - Agriculture Corporation Forest Department - Agricultural Mechanization Salt Industries Department Corporation Irrigation Department Timber Corporation - Survey Department Settlement and Land Records Department Working People's Settlement Department 15 Table 2.4 Organization of the Agriculture Corporation (AC-) Managing Director Agricultural Research Institute G.M. Applied Research G.M. Extension G.M. Land Use Dy. G.M. Plantation Crops G.M. Accounts G.M. Administration G.M. Export Dy. G.M. Planning and Projects G.M. Procurement and Distribution G.M. 16 farms are responsible for plant breeding, crop selection, yield testing, cultural and fertilizer experiments and extension manager training. The research activities of ARI are similar to those of ARD. Germplasm collection and evaluation, selection and varietal improvement, crop culture techniques. seed production, crop response to fertilizers, control of crop pests and diseases, and various other miscellaneous studies and activities are carried out by ARI. The extension department has responsibility for implementing agricultural plans, procuring and distributing agricultural supplies and disseminating research information to farmers. The Whole Township Programs are now the main vehicle for extension activities. 2.2.2 Irrigation Department (ID) The prime function of the Irrigation Department is to plant design and implement coordinated water resources development, including irrigation, drainage and flood control. The ID has considerable experience in executing major inter- nationally funded projects, including the Sedawgyi Dam and the Ngalaik Dam, both financed by the Asian Development Bank. The Kinda Dam Project and the Lower Burma Paddy Land Development Projects are assisted by the World Bank. Between 1962 and 1980, the ID completed eight major projects with a total irrigable area of 137,000 ha. The department also completed four major flood protection projects providing pro- tection for over 50,000 ha. 2.2.3 Agricultural Mechanization Department (AMD) The AMD is charged with the responsibility of assisting the farmers with timely land preparation. They provide tractors, 17 sprayers, pumps, power tillers, threshers and other farm implements for sale and hire to farmers and village cooperatives. This department does land preparation on about 700,000 acres annually. The AMD is not only charged with the above responsibilities, but they also have to carry out production of innovative equipment like the manual rice transplanter, and maintenance and repair of department-owned and cooperatively owned agricultural machinery. Another function is the training of operator and repair technicians. 2.2.4 Food Industries Corporation (FIC) FIC under the Ministry of Industry No. 1 is responsible through its Tobacco Division and Sugarcane Division for the procurement, processing and marketing of Virginia tobacco and sugarcane. The tobacco division also provides cultural advice, initial multiplication of improved seed and research. It has established a number of state farms and experimental stations situated in Middle and Upper Burma. 2.2.5 Textile Industries Corporation (TIC) TIC is responsible for the purchase of jute and long staple cotton directly from the farmers and subsequent processing. storage and transportation. In the case of cotton, the seeds are stored and distributed back to the farmers. The above activities are carried out by the Cotton Textile Division and the Jute Production Division. 2.2.6 Department of Cooperatives There are many cooperative organizations. In each township there is a township cooperative society to which varying numbers of other cooperatives are affiliated. One of the major cooperative activities in every township is crop procurement and distribution. Crops are often produced on a forward sales basis. A cooperative aims to buy a specific quota of various crops. The 18 farmer is paid up to 70 percent of crop value in advance. A second major function of cooperatives is the distribution of various rationed goods, on a quota basis, which are sold through the village tract and township consumer cooperatives. At the village level the village tract cooperative undertakes the distribution of fertilizers. A cooperative advances fertilizers to farmers, who then pay at harvest. A cooperative borrows from the Myanma Agricultural Bank to finance fertilizer purchase, and farmers pay a financing charge in addition to the normal transport and handling charges. 2.2.7 Agricultural and Farm Produce Trade Corporation (AFPTC) AFPTC is the main agency responsible for paddy procurement on a national basis. It is also responsible for the Government's butter bean and mung bean procurement policies. It also operates an advance scheme for some non-paddy crops such as maize and oil seed cake. 2.3 Institutional support Under the Ministry of Education, there are two departments connected with agricultural training: the Higher Education Department and the Technical, Agricultural and Vocational Educa- tion Department. The Institute of Agriculture, which is the sole institution giving training in Agriculture Science at university level falls under the Higher Education Department. It accepts about 300 successful candidates of the Basic Education High School Examina- tion each year, for a 5-year course leading to the degree of Bachelor of Agriculture (BAg). At present, postgraduate courses are also offered in five subjects. The Technical, Agricultural and Vocational Education Depart- ment is responsible for the running of Agricultural High Schools and Diploma level teaching at the State Institute of Agriculture. 19 The Agricultural High Schools accept students who have passed their Basic Education Middle School Examination for a 2- year course in agriculture training. There are nine such schools with a total student body of 1,550. The State Institute of Agriculture accepts the successful candidates of the Basic Education High School Examination, for a 3-year course leading to a Diploma in Agriculture. There are six such institutes with a total enrollment of about 1,150. Agriculture technicians at all three levels per year total about 1,400. The majority of the BAg and Diploma graduates are absorbed by the AC. Central Agriculture DgeveloRmegt Trainingj Center LCADTC) The CADTC holds its position as one of the executing divisions within the AC, having its advisory board with the Training Implementation Committee. The Managing Director is chairman, the Project Manager of the CADTC is secretary and the Division Managers of the AC are committee members. The CADTC has a Training Section responsible for execution of training and improvement of teaching materials, a Field Section for control and operation of the demonstration farm, a Publication Section for compilation and printing of training materials, an Audio-Visual Section for operation and maintenance of training aids and a Project Manager's Office for training planning, administration and management of the CADTC. The yearly training programs are planned by the Project Manager's Office of the CADTC and are approved by the Training Implementation Committee. The CADTC provides the following training as the primary training programs for the extension staff. 20 PremSergige-Train&4. This training provides for new graduates from the Institute of Agriculture, Agricultural Institutes and Agricultural High Schools, for a period of 2 months. to cultivate the responsi-bility of the extension staff and the ideology of agricultural extension activities. The curriculum is based mainly upon theoretical education. Onz-thez-Job-Trinin. This training serves to improve technical skill of extension staff from state, division, township, village tract and village levels. The training period covers 1 to 2 weeks. The curriculum applies to any varied level of trainees and provides mainly theoretical and laboratory exercise training. In-Service-Trainin. This training program consists of four courses for extension staff and specialists in every field, such as Subject Matter Specialist Course (S.M.S.)# Specialist Comprehensive Courses General Agriculture and Extension Course and Planning and Analysis Course. The training period is 3 to 6 months. 2.4 Pricing The marketing and pricing of agricultural products is carried out through both state and private systems. The government exercises considerable influence over farmers' incentives through its compulsory procurement monopoly purchase system which operates for paddy, jute, cotton, and to some extent sugarcane, pulses, tobacco and maize. For most of these crops including paddy, compulsory delivery quotas, enforced by local authorities, are imposed at fixed prices. Paddy is divided by quality into six groups, namely Ngasein, Meedon, Emata, Ngakwe, Kauknyin and Special Emata. The highest quality, Ngakwe. has a 20 percent higher price than Ngasein. Table 2.5 Purchase Prices of Ngasein Paddy by Grades 1962-63 to 1983-84 (kyats per 100 baskets) Grade 1962/63 1967/68 1974/75 1977/78 1980/81 to 1966/67 to 1973/74 to to to 1965/66 1972/73 1976/77 1979/80 1983/841 Ordinary 310 340 358 600 900 900 900 Quality Seed 325 355 373 615 920 940 990 First Grade Quality Seed 330 360 378 620 930 970 1.060 22 Each group is again divided into three grades: ordinary, quality seeds and first grade quality seeds. The purchase prices for paddy is fixed according to its quality and variety. The annual purchase prices of Ngasein paddy paid by AFPTC are shown in Table 2.5 and prices of agricultural products other than paddy are shown in Table 2.6. In the case of groundnuts, farmers are organized to sell about half of the produce to cooperatives at controlled prices and the remainder can be sold at open market. For government controlled farm products, target quotas are determined at the national level and these are eventually allocated to townships. The townships then further subdivide the required quotas among the village tracts where, after consulta- tion with the farmers concerned, targets are set for each farmer. The government has promoted the extensive cultivation of HYVs because the production cost per basket for HYV paddy is considerably lower. As a general rule, farmers participating in HYV special programs are allocated a higher target. Fertilizers, improved seeds and pesticides are included as a package in order to raise production. Farmers growing controlled crops receive priority to buy fertilizers and insecticides at a subsidized price. Nitrogen fertilizers are more readily available than phosphate and potash fertilizers because of the two urea plants in Burma. Nitrogen costs are partially subsidized and a mechanism for distribution has been established by the Agriculture Corporation. Rice farmers were alloted 50 kg of urea fertilizer per acre for HYV and 25 kg of urea fertilizer per acre for local improved varieties. 23 Table 2.6 Prices of Agricultural Produce Fixed by the State 1983-84 Commodity Price Per Unit Jute (first class) K 3.55 per viss Cotton (long staple) K 7.00 per viss Sugarcane K 100 per long ton Pulses K 20-50 per basket of 72 lbs Virginia Tobacco Leaf (green) K 1.40 per viss Maize K 20 per basket of 55 lbs At the township fertilizer depots. the cost of urea fertilizer is K 9 per 25 kg. 50 kg of triple superphosphate (TSP) at K 62 and murate of potash at K 29.90. The farmer is required to pay cash, although in some instances the MAB does provide credit or AFPTC supplies some advance purchase funds. As the basic commodities are sold to the public at controlled prices. the consumer price index in Burma increases only at a very small rate. Based on the price of consumer goods at 100 for 1978. the price index for 1983 is 118.20, an increase of 18.2 percent for the last 6 years or an annual increase of 3 percent. Regarding price policy, the AC of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests prepares farm budgets to be used for analytical purposes in procurement prices. The government sets these prices for inputs and outputs so as to encourage production and not cause undue inflation for food in the country. 24 A statistically acceptable sample survey of cost of production for farms is collected and analyzed each year. The samples cover crops which are to be purchased by the government in the following marketing year. The sample is further stratified for each crop by agroclimatic region and by season of production. The monopoly purchase prices are' then set to cover the cost of a predetermined portion of the farm production. The government pays great consideration to narrowing down the margin between procurement prices for crops under the monopoly purchase system. 2.5 Past and present performance 2.5.1 Sector contribution The development of agriculture constitutes a major goal in the national economic development programs of Burma. A series of Four Year Plans (FYP) are being implemented by the Government of Burma within the framework of a 20-year. long-term perspective plan ending 1989-90 (fifth FYP) with the following objectives set for the agricultural sector: (1) attain self-sufficiency in all food crops; (2) produce adequate raw materials for the agro-based national industries; and (3) promote the export potential of the various agricultural products. During the third FYP. targets of the agriculture sector were exceeded. From 1976-77 to 1979-80. agricultural output including livestock, fisheries and forestry grew at an average annual rate of 7.7 percent compared to 1.3 percent per annum in the previous 10 years. From 1979-80 to 1980-81. the rate of increase was 11.3 percent and accounted for two-thirds of the growth of GDP. It also accounted for about 67 percent of total employment and 80 percent of total exports. The increase in agricultural output was 9.2 percent in 1981-82, 8.9 percent in 1982-83. and 4.8 percent in 1983-84. The decline in 1983-84 was due to the unfavorable weather conditions. 25 In 1977-78, the total sown acreage was 23.58 million acres which comprised 20.04 million acres of net sown and 3.54 million acres of multiple and mixed cropping. By 1981-82. the total sown acreage amounted to 25.49 million acres, of which the net sown was 20.89 million acres and that of multiple and mixed cropping was 4.6 million acres. In assessing the achievements against the plan targets, it was found that while the net area sown decreased by 7.000 acres, the multiple and mixed cropping areas increased by about 315.000 acres -- an increase of approximately 308,000 acres in total sown acreage over that of the plan target. There had been a yearly increase in total sown acreage. net areas sown and multiple and mixed cropping area during the third FYP. In 1982-83, the net sown area increased to 24.5 million acres. The provisional data for 1983-84 is 25 million acres. Beginning in 1970, the government has given high priority to investments to obtain a more intensive cultivation of existing land under rainfed conditions, particularly in lower and central Burma. Relatively lower priority has been given to investments to extend irrigation. for drainage and flood control, or for extension of the cultivation area. Consequently, the net culti- vated area increased by only 878,000 acres in 1971-72 to 1980-81; the irrigated area increased from 2,073,000 to 2,651,000 acres during the same period. The progress in irrigated area from 1970-71 to 1983-84 is given in Table 2.7. The policy in the late 1970s was to introduce intensive measures to promote increased production of paddy in order to meet domestic demand and to provide an increasing surplus for export. It therefore introduced a selective and concentrated strategy which involved the adoption of proven technology. the leadership of local level political bodies, selective and con- centrated use of land and technicians and promotion of mass participation. 26 Table 2.7 Progress in Irrigated Area (000 acres) Year Net Sown Area Irrigated Area 1970-71 19,512 2,073 1971-72 19,674 2,199 1972-73 19,482 2,198 1973-74 19,927 2,400 1974-75 20,023 2,412 1975-76 20,088 2,432 1976-77 19,838 2,318 1977-78 20,041 2,422 1978-79 20,390 2,579 1979-80 19,908 2,468 1980-81 20,552 2,651 1981-82 20,789 2,579 1982-83 20,337 2,497 1983-84 20,438 2,622 Following the intensive pilot program in 1975-77, the Whole Township Paddy Production Development Program (WTPPDP) was intro- duced in two townships in southern Burma in the 1977-78 crop season. The main features of WTPPDP include more intensive use of exotic and locally bred HYVs, the introduction of improved cultivation practices, and the application of recommended rate of fertilizer. WTPPDP was extended to cover 78 townships in 1981-82, involving 6,426,000 acres or about 48 percent of the area sown to paddy. In 1982-83, the sown area increased to 6t445,000 acres and 82 townships. Apart from paddy, 19 crops (wheat, maize seed, matpe, butter beans, sultapya, gram, pesingon, monsoon groundnut, winter groundnut, early sesamum, sunflower, wagyi, Mahlaing 5/6 cotton, 27 early long staple cottons late long staple cotton, jute, sugarcane, potatoes and sorghum) were put on township special high yield programs in 43 townships in 1980-81 and further extended to 61 townships in 1981-82. In 1983-84, it increased to 86 townships. The AFPTC procures paddy and other crops from farmers, dis- tributes rice from surplus areas to deficient areas, and exports the surplus. AFPTC procures about 35 percent of the total paddy crop and the amount procured increased from 2.2 Mt in 1977 to 4.0 Mt in 1983. AFPTC maintains over 800 procurement centers, each serving 20 to 30 villages. The procurement quota for each farm is based on total production less the amount for domestic consumption, for payments in kind, and for sale on the free market. Incentives are offered to farmers who sell all their produce to AFPTC, as well as for rice varieties popular on inter- national markets. Prices for all varieties of paddy were increased by 51 percent between 1971 and 1974 and by 1984 the price of high quality paddy was increased by a further 15 percent. Paddy is graded by AFPTC at procurement centers, each variety being classified into three main grades as previously described. Procurement prices range from K 900 to K 1,300 per 100 baskets depending on the variety and quality. Price differentials have recently been increased in favor of internationally preferred premium grades. Changes in government policies over the past decade have enabled it to introduce new technological and agronomic tech- niques with the active participation of farmers. These efforts have resulted in substantial increases in production and yields, which have been of considerable benefit both to the farmers and the country. 28 Paddy production increased from 7.6 Mt in 1962-63 to 14.4 Mt in 1982-83. Production of other crops has also markedly increased. The introduction of WTPPDP has led to some dramatic changes in farming practices, including the introduction of HYVs and the relatively high application rates of chemical fertilizer to realize HYV yield potential in shorter growing periods. From 1970-71 to 1977-78. the use of fertilizer increased from 34,000 to 141,000 t and during the next 3 years, with the increase in townships involved in WTPPDPt fertilizer use increased to 241,000 t. An increase in fertilizer use to 345,000 t in 1982-83 was reported. A further increase in fertilizer use to 372,000 t by 1983-84 is projected. The fourth FYP which covers the period from 1982-83 through 1985-86 is being implemented and the agriculture sector is mainly responsible for meeting the food requirements of the people, supplying raw materials to the local processing and manufacturing sector and accounting for the major share of foreign exchange earnings capital investment. 2.5.2 Production by commodity In 1981-82, the final year of the third FYP, paddy produc- tion was targeted at 11.04 Mt, while the actual production was 13.92 Mt. an excess of 2.88 Mt. Similarly, the production of maize seed was targeted at 0.154 Mt while actual production was 0.228 Mt and the production of pulses was targeted at 0.44 Mt while production was 0.5 Mt. Production of sunflower and Virginia tobacco also exceeded their targets during 1981-82, while wheat, groundnut, sesamum, cotton, jute and sugarcane production fell short of the targets. Reviewing the overall performance of agriculture during the third FYP, it was found that agricultural production recorded significant increase mainly due to increases in yield per acre of principal crops. Produc- 29 tion of cereal crops such as paddy, maize and others was found to be satisfactory. In 1983-84, during the fourth FYP, the targeted production of paddy was 7,095 million baskets while the actual production was 6,897 million. Compared with the production of the previous year, an increase of 8 million baskets was achieved. In the case of wheat, maize, pulses, sunflower, sugarcane and tobacco, it was found that the production exceeded the previous year and also that of the target. Groundnut, sesamum and cotton fell short of the targets but exceeded the previous year's production. 2.5.3 Exports Agriculture is the mainstay of Burma's economy, producing staple food for domestic consumption as well as raw materials for the industrial sector. In addition, it is also responsible for earning foreign exchange needed for the development of the country by export of surplus agricultural products. Export of agricultural products increased yearly, the value of export having increased from K 1,069.7 million in 1977-78 to K 1,951.7 million in 1981-82. The export value of agriculture products in 1982-83 was K 1,566.8 million. This reduction in the export value was due to the reduced export prices for rice and maize. 2.5.4 Imports As more consumer goods, capital goods, spare parts and raw materials have to be imported according to economic and social needs of the country, the import value is more than the foreign exchange earnings from exports resulting in a deficit in external trade. Accordingly, imports of investment goods which are indispensable for national requirements are financed by foreign loans and aid. The import value was K 2,086 million in 1977-78 and in the successive years an acceleration of imports is noted. In the year 1982-83 they were K 6,566.8 million. Foodstuff import was only about 2 percent of the total import. 30 2.6 Policy issues Since 1964. the Government of the Union of Burma has placed great emphasis on the need for self-sufficiency, notwithstanding the requirement for increasing economic growth. In 1972, national guidelines were laid down in the Twenty Year Plan which incorporated the policies of the Burma Socialist Programme Party. This plan is divided into five FYPs, each subject to annual review. The policies formulated by the government in the development of the agricultural sector are the roles played by the local organs of the Burma Socialist Programme Party. the Peasants and Workers Associations and the People's Council. With the active involvement and the consequent advantages of local knowledge of the prevailing economic and social conditions in their respective areas, locally elected functionaries are able to mobilize and lead the farmers. Thus they are able to make a significant con- tribution to implementing and monitoring the development plans established by the government. During planting and harvesting time, the People's Councils and Associations organize voluntary labor. The urban workers, the Armed Forces and members of the Lanzin Youth Organization supplement labor during the times of shortage. The advantages of the active participation of volunteer labor are: (1) it reduces the cost of production; (2) it eases the seasonal shortage of labor; and (3) it promotes better understanding between farmers and the local institutions and Armed Forces. This approach was used in the implementation of the Whole Township Special High Yield Paddy Production Program. Development of the agricultural sector is largely due to this program. With the active involvement of the local organs of the Burma Socialist Programme Party. the Peasant and Worker 31 Associations and the People's Councils, the program is a success. The program involves a package of improved practices including varieties. fertilizers, pest control, recommended transplanting time, weeding. etc. This program receives the popular participation of farmers. Annual plans and targets for cropping pattern, sown area and production goals are subjected to the close scrutiny of the People's Councils. Moreover, the People's Councils participate actively in the coordination of production and procurement. The program is carried out with a campaign type approach; mobiliza- tion of the community to provide extra labor; and the priority provision of consumer goods to the project area to complement incomes. The Whole Township Special High Yield Paddy Production Program covers over half of all the country's area under paddy. The production has increased by a remarkable 65 percent from 1974-75 to 1982, with a national yield raised from 1.65 t/ha to almost 3 t/ha. There is also a policy to stimulate and encourage the initiative of the farmer by organizing yield competitions. The results have been very encouraging with the number of farmers who were able to produce 100 baskets or more of paddy from an acre. The AC also runs formal training for farmers at production camps located in the rural areas. Ten to twelve village extension workers live together at the camp to benefit-from the interchange of ideas. The camps are provided with facilities for staging of seminars and meetings. Technicians and other agri- cultural specialists regularly visit these camps to support and complement the work of the extension staff. This form of extension strategy using production camps and core-team extension workers is known as the selective- 32 concentrative strategy. Selectivity and concentration are applied in terms of location, crop variety and extension service personnel. The program was started on an operational basis during the 1979-80 fiscal year and extended to cover about 2.4 million ha (6 million acres) in 1981-82 and involved 78 townships. At present the SHYV program for paddy covers 82 townships. This method of selective-concentrative strategy is also being utilized to improve the production of other crops. During 1980, Whole Township High Yield Variety Special Programs were launched for maize, groundnut, sunflower, cotton, wheat, sorghum, jute, potato and pulses. The following are the whole township programs now in operation: maize in 9 townships; monsoon ground- nut in 4; winter groundnut in 11; sunflower in 6; cotton in 12; wheat in 14; sugarcane in 5; sorghum in 2; jute in 1; potato in 3; and 15 townships growing various pulses. These programs have already produced significant yield increases in cotton, maize, wheat, groundnut and sugarcane and in the townships promoting the special HYV programs, average yields are two to three times the national figures. 33 3 The National Agricultural Research System (NARS) Overall responsibility for managing and implementing agri- cultural activities rests with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, which consists of seven Departments and three Corporations. The Agriculture Corporation, under its Managing Director, is responsible for all aspects of crop research, development and production. Research needs are ensured by two separate but very similar bodies, the Agriculture Research Institute (ARI) and the Applied Research Division (ARD) both headed by General Managers. During the third FYP period (1978-79 to 1981-82) an average annual growth rate of 5.8 percent for the agricultural sector was targeted by the government while setting up specific targets for increasing the yield per unit area and total production of important field food crops and industrial raw material crops. Recognizing the need for accelerating crop improvement research which would lead to increased production, the government initiated a program to strengthen the crop improvement research programs. The ultimate objective of the crop development activities was to evolve high yielding, management responsive varieties and improved cultural practices for many different crops and to extend these to the farmers' fields, in order to enhance their production in the country. In each case, the program started with survey travels and discussions with the national staff to assess the existing situation and requirements. The spectra of land varieties and the prevailing production practices were particularly observed and as a result, the productivity constraints for various crops were identified. Varietal improvement and agronomic research programs were then formulated for each of the crops and are now at various stages of their 34 execution. For crops like maize, jute. wheat and sorghum, these efforts have already resulted in the release of HYVs. These varieties with their impressive yield superiority over the existing cultivars have already spread over several hundred to several thousand acres of farmers' land and have been enthusiastically received by farmers as well as extension workers. Simultaneously with the varietal improvement program, a number of agronomic experiments were conducted as part of the project program implementation to develop an appropriate production technology commensurate with high yield. Based on the results from these experiments, specific recommendations and production guidelines have been developed for various crops and in most cases these have already been adopted by the farmers along with the new varieties. with a noticeable impact on yield. In planning crop improvement programs the objective of a rapid transfer of technology was always foremost. In order to make the line of communication between the researcher and the farmer more effective, working groups comprising staff from ARI, ARD and extension division were constituted for each of the project crops and these were made responsible for the planning, execution and evaluation of all phases of the crop development programs. Apart from utilizing the facilities at the experiment stations, regional tests for varieties and proposed production practices were also conducted on the farmers' fields in collaboration with the extension staff, resulting in their direct involvement in this process. This association has contributed towards a faster spread of the improved varieties and agronomic practices. 35 3.1 Institutional structure 3.1.1 The Agriculture Research Institute (ARI) This institute is situated in Yezin, some 250 miles north of Rangoon. It is responsible for basic programs connected with plant improvement, plant protection and crop husbandry and crop physiology. Approximately 1,400 acres of land are available. The housing area, roads, offices and laboratories have required the use of about 250 acres. Over a thousand acres is used for field research work. ARI has five disciplinary divisions and seven crop divisions. The institutional structure is given in Table 3.2. RiCe-Division This division is responsible for varietal improvement on different cultural types such as: (1) Irrigated lowland rice (2) Rainfed lowland rice (3) Upland rice (low elevation) (4) Upland rice (high elevation) (5) Deep water rice (6) Cold tolerant rice (7) Salt tolerant rice The cooperating agencies are the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines, Applied Research Division (ARD), and the Agricultural Extension Division. Sixteen high yielding varieties suitable for irrigated as well as rainfed lowland and upland areas have been released. The area under these varieties at present exceeds three million acres. Promising new varieties are under trials in farmers' fields annually. 36 The improved varieties developed by ARI up to 1984 are as follows: (1) through introductions which include six lowland varieties, five upland (low elevation) varieties, and three deep water varieties; (2) through locally developed hybrids which include three lowland varieties, two upland (low elevation) varieties. three salt tolerant varieties, and one deep water variety; and (3) through locally developed mutants of which there were two lowland varieties. The research planning work for the Rice Division is shown in Table 3.1. Table 3.1 Program of Work for 1984-85 Programs Trials Results Bregding Hybridization 150 crosses Selection in Fl generation 287 crosses Selection in F2 generation 226 crosses Selection in F3-F8 generation 149515 progenies Selection of fixed hybrids 439 progenies Observation, selection and maintenance Germplasm collection 1,985 varieties Observation and selection 369 varieties Maintenance 1,283 varieties Preliminary test 12 trials 379 varieties General test 12 trials 217 varieties Advanced test 11 trials 137 varieties FENST 2 trials 22 varieties Pure seed-multiplication Breeder seed 86 varieties Foundation seed 41 varieties Registered seed 10 varieties 37 Cereal Crop Division This division stresses the following programs for the improvement of maize, wheat and sorghum. Maize activities include breeding for earliness with high yield potential, breeding for high population tolerance and evolution of synthetic and open-pollinated varieties. Wheat activities include breeding for earliness with heat tolerant character and for rust resistance. Sorghum activities include breeding for earliness with high yield potential of grain and fodder and for shoot-fly resistance. Maize agronomy activities include determining the optimum plant population for medium, medium early and early varieties and the study of the responsiveness of NPK fertilizers. One synthetic and six open-pollinated varieties of maize were released during the period 1974-82. A population of 17,000 plants per acre for medium and 23,000 for medium early varieties were recommended. Applications of 50-120 lbs of Nitrogen, 55 of Phosphorous Pentoxide and 30 of Potassium Oxide per acre were issued to maize growers. As regards wheat and sorghum* five varieties of wheat and five varieties of sorghum were distributed to farmers. Research planned for the cereal division for 1984-85 is as follows: (1) Maintain 459 inbred lines through sibbing. (2) Produce varietal hybrids for regional testing. (3) Evaluate new introductions. (4) Continue evaluation of 100 new inbred lines. (5) Maintain 551 varieties of maize. (6) Continue observation and selection of 4,100 varieties of wheat and 272 varieties of sorghum. (7) Continue experiments on time of thinning seedlings, and time and methods of urea fertilizer application to maize. (8) Determine effectiveness of NPK on wheat and sorghum. 38 Oilsegd Crgp Division The main objective of the division's research program is to improve or replace the existing varieties with more productive ones. Regarding the varietal improvement, breeding work is being carried out only on sesamum. whereas the improvement of groundnut and sunflower is carried out by introduction and selection of exotic and local germplasms. At present there are 162 exotic and 11 indigenous varieties of groundnuts 144 exotic and 143 indigenous varieties of sesamum and 26 exotic varieties of sunflower under trial and yield tests for varietal evaluation. The division is also carrying out some agrotechniques. fertilizer and plant protection experiments on groundnut, sesamum and sunflower. Regional tests are also being carried out by the division in collaboration with extension staff at different localities to identify the specific varieties. This division has released three improved varieties of groundnut and one improved variety each of sesamum and sunflower to the cultivators for commercial cultivation. Fiber Cropa Division Breeding and agronomic research are the major activities of this division. The research programs in operation are for cotton and jute. Breeding activities for cotton are for (1) high yield with better quality of fiber; (2) earliness with insect tolerance; (3) short-branched type with photoinsensitivity; and (4) cold tolerance with drought resistance. Breeding activities for jute are for (1) high yield with better fiber quality; (2) non-branching type with photo- 39 insensitivity; (3) drought resistance with quick growth; and (4) high population tolerance. For both crops, emphasis is given to the selection of cultivars which are compatible with rice-based farming systems in irrigation tracts. Agronomy work for cotton includes (1) investigation of narrow spacing with short-branched type; (2) the study of effectiveness of different sprayers and insecticides on yield and quality of cotton; and (3) the study of efficient use of fertilizer. Agronomy work for jute includes (1) observation of different stages of plant growth at harvest on the yield and quality of fiber; (2) determining the effect of time of planting on different types of capsularis jute; (3) the study of efficient use of fertilizer and manures including the Ipil Ipil (L. Leuco- sephala) leaves; and (4) the study of fiber distribution at different parts of the plant at different stages of plant growth. Research planning works for the Fiber Crop Division are as follows: (1) selection for Fl to F4 generations of both cotton and jute; (2) evaluation of some promising varieties; (3) maintenance of 180 varieties of cotton and 185 of jute; (4) study of the effect of paraplough and subsoiler for cotton on paddy land; and (5) study of the effect of locally made jute ribbing apparatus. Sugar CrgD Divigion This division conducts varietal improvement through hybrid- ization and evaluation of 176 genotypes and regional testing of 72 genotypes. It also carries out research on optimum planting and harvesting dates as well as on water requirements of widely grown varieties. 40 Food Legum, Division This division is dealing with research on evaluation, adaptability tests, appropriate management practices and multi- plication of promising new food legume crops. Two each of the early maturing and the promising mung bean, cowpea. black gram and pigeonpea varieties have been released and extensively grown by farmers. The other promising food legume crop varieties have been identified and are ready for seed multiplication. Apart from the proper recommendation of adapt- able varieties, the appropriate agrotechniques are advocated. Horticulture Division This division concentrates on research such as collection, selection, breeding of promising varieties, propagation and multiplication of fruit, floricultural, ornamental and medicinal plants. Production of pure vegetable seeds and flower seeds is also carried out. The five disciplinary divisions emphasize programs to support crop production. Agronomy Division This division carried out experiments on cropping system research and development on 11 outreach stations. Out of 11 sites, 2 are under ARD, 1 at ARI is the main station and 8 are at Extension Division farms. There are 78 AC technicians involved in the program, of which 72 are conducting the research work. In 3 sites started in 1984, there are multilocation trials of promising patterns which involved 16 farmer cooperators. Collaborative research work with IRRI and other research centers is being conducted in three other Asian Rice Farming Systems Network (ARFSN) sites. These are: (1) Rice-Wheat rotation trials in three sites. 4 1 (2) Trials of corn, mung bean and groundnut before rice in two locations. (3) Trials of soybean, sorghum, groundnut and cowpea in three locations after rice. (4) Pigeonpea trial in one location. (5) Tomato, mung bean, chinese cabbage and soybean trials from Asian Vegetable Research Development Center (AVRDC) through IRRI. (6) Three sets of cowpea trials from IITA at Yezin. The major activities of this division are the study of the physiological aspects of crop production and breeding. Mutation breeding, selection and evaluation and physiological studies of important crops have been carried out. The research plan for 1984-85 is as follows: (1) continuation of the physiological studies on important crops; (2) continuation of selection of M4 and M5 progenies of Ngakwe, Taungbyan and Shwetasoke rice varieties; and (3) evaluation and selection of F2 generation derived from the culture of Fl crosses. Soil Chemistrvy DiYigi= This division deals with plant nutrition studies, bio- fertilizer application and bio-gas production from agriculture and forest waste. The planned programs for the year 1984-85 are: (1) Determine the efficiency of urea. applied to the reduced zone of paddy soil. (2) Study the response of rice crop to sulphur and zinc and the availability of the nutrients to rice plant. (3) Study the uni-algal production of blue-green algae (BGA) and the potential amount of nitrogen fixed by BGA. (4) Study the effect of azolla on rice yield. 42 (5) Determine the potential methane production of agri- culture and forest waste. (6) Develop efficiency of bio-gas stoves and lamps. Entomology Division This division stresses pest management on all important crop species. Evaluation of insecticides and applicators. screening of varietal resistance, insect collection and preservation, etc., are carried out. Apart from these, collaborative activities with Plant Pro- tection Project (Extension) and CIDA-IRRI Burma Project are also in progress. Plant Pathology Divisioa Screening for disease resistance and fungicides for important crop diseases is carried out every year. Sugarcane whip smut had been controlled efficiently and resistant varieties against sugarcane red rot, rice blast and rice bacterial leaf blight diseases have been developed. Efficiency of rhizobial strains against different legumes have also been identified. 3.1.2 Applied Research Division (ARD) This division is one of the seven main bodies of AC under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests. ARD headquarters are Situated in Rangoon and there are 20 central research farms and 20 seed farms, located in different climatic and soil tracts of the country where research is carried out. It consists of three divisions, namely the Research Division, Administration and Training Division and the Seed Technology Division. The structure of the ARD is presented in Table 3.2. Table 3.2 Organization of Agriculture Corporation Managing Director iI I I I l _ General Manager General Manager General Manager General Manager General Manager Dy. General Manager General Manager Extension Procurement Administration Applied Accounts Land Use Agricultural Planning Research Research Statistics Divlsion Institute _ _ _ I _ _ _ _ _ _ _ I 5 Divisions 3 Divisions 4 Divisions 3 Divisions 4 D iis 13 Divisions Extension State Farms Coordination Administration Financial Plans Administration and Training Procedures Cereal Oil and Supply and Administration Administration Agronomy Other Crops Distribution Research Budget Supply Botany Industrial Statistics Seed Technology Treasury Crops and Plans General Soil Chemistry Monthly Account State Farms Statement and Plant Pathology Audit Training Entomology Rice Cereal Crops Fiber Crops Oil Seed Crops Food Legumes Sugar Crop Central Farms Seed Farms Horticulture 44 The main objectives of ARD are: (1) to evolve improved crop varieties and to find out better crop management techniques for different agroecological zones of Burma; (2) to transfer improved technology to agriculturalists and farmers; and (3) to multiply and distribute quality seeds. Research Division The research activities carried out by the research division include: (1) varietal improvement through introduction and breeding; (2) crop management by cultivation techniques; (3) cropping patterns; and (4) plant protection through insect, disease and weed control. Thus the main activities of ARD are very much the same as those of ARI. Seed TechnoloCv Divisin_ Apart from the normal pure seed production program, a special Seed Development Project has been conducted by ARD with financing from the World Bank since 1979. Under this project. six central research farms are being developed. Quality Seed Production Project GCP/BUR/016/DEN is also underway to assist in the implementation of the National Seed Program. Six central farms are being developed to establish a program for the production of Basic, Foundation and Registered Seed of wheat, maize and sorghum. The main activities of this division are for quality seed production and distribution. Multiplication, drying. processing. seed quality control, testing. certification, storage and distribution are being carried out for quality seeds by this division. Six to eight thousand acres are devoted to seed production annually. The different crop seeds distributed in 1983-84 and 1984-85. together with the plan for the coming year, is presented in Table 3.3. 45 Administration and Tralinirg.Div.ysjijQ.f This division provides technical training and information to in-service staff, peasants and army personnel. The types of training and numbers to be trained in 1984-85 are shown in Table 3.4. 3.1.3 Institute of Agriculture (IA) This institute is under the Ministry of Education and is the only university level teaching center for agriculture graduate and postgraduate students in the country. It is an independent institute with its own basic science departments. It is sited in Yezin, where it shares a campus with ARI, FRI and the Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science. The institutional structure is depicted in Table 3.5. It has five major disciplinary departments, namely the Agronomy Department, the Agricultural Botany Departments the Agricultural Chemistry Department, the Plant Pathology Department and the Entomology Department. The major supporting departments consist of the Agricultural Economics Department, the Agricultural Engineering Department# Animal Science Department and the Horti- culture Department. The University Farm is used for teaching, research and demonstration programs of the University. It is well provided with irrigation and the farm area is about 200 acres. The curriculum is modified to give the types of training suited to the present day requirement of the graduates. More emphasis is placed on training in crop production and strong concentration on practical training is given to the fourth and final year students. 46 Table 3.3 Seed Distribution Program Crop Unit _ DIstrIbutd, Pro-i 1983-84 1984-85 1985-86 Rice Basket 144,490 130,402 170,270 Wheat 1,123 1,796 3,783 Maize 6,611 9,403 11,562 Sorghum 641 2,081 2,685 Groundnut 3,870 3,926 6,399 Sesamum 1,826 1,457 3,754 Sunflower 2,742 2,131 4,463 Long Staple Cotton Viss 81.936 340,954 409,940 Short Staple Cotton Viss 7,906 4,754 9,127 Sugarcane Ton 7,278 5,004 8.338 Pulses Basket 1,094 1,937 4,726 Table 3.4 Training Programs for 1984-85 Type of Training No. of Trainees Farmers Basic Agriculture Training 508 Defence Service Agriculture Training 150 Party Cadre Basic Agriculture Short Course 1,200 In-service Training 2,840 Other Training (Seed Technology. Plant Protection, Mushroom, Plant Tissue Culture, etc.) 420 Total 59118 Table 3.5 Organizational Structure of the Institute of Agriculture (IA) Rector Administration Institute Farm Major Departments Major Supporting Basic-Education | Departments Departments I~ -- I I Teaching Research Training Agronomy Agricultural Economics English Agricultural Botany Agricultural Engineering Burmese Agricultural Animal Science Mathematics Chemistry Horticulture Physics Plant Pathology Chemistry Botany Zoology Political Science 48 Knowledge of the major disciplines is integrated to assist the development of agriculture policies and teaching. research and extension work. The institute accepts about 300 students annually for a 5- year course leading to a BAg degree. Postgraduate training is available to candidates in the five major departments. The undergraduate curriculum follows a more traditional pattern rather than the semester system while the Master's courses follow a semester course system, coupled with a thesis. The postgraduate research programs are discussed and coordinated by a research committee under the chairmanship of the Rector. Research is carried out by both staff and postgraduate students. Over 35 staff are involved in research -- 10 have PhDs and 25 have Master's degrees. The close proximity of IA and ARI has helped to strengthen the interrelationship of the institutions. There is a good relationship at all levels with the various divisions of the AC, which is the main employer of graduates of the institute. As a large percentage of the staff of the Corporation are graduates of the Institute, personal relations between the two organizations are cordial. 3.2 Staffing in NARS The number of scientists involved in the Agricultural Science Institutions (ARI. ARD and IA) are presented in Tables 3.6, 3.7 and 3.8. The numbers of highly trained professional staff involved in ARD is slightly more than ARI but the total scientific staff of ARD is at least four times greater than that of ARI. ARD staff are spread over 20 central farms and 20 seed farms located in the various administrative and agroecological regions 49 Table 3.6 Staff of the Agriculture Research Institute in 1984 Type of Staff Number National Scientists PhD 2 MS 10 BS/BAg B2 94 Technical SupDort Staff University Graduates 30 Diploma Holders 35 Non-Diploma Holders ZR 89 Other Staff Other Permanent Employees 101 Laborers 148 249 Total Number of Employees 432 Note: In administration one individual holds an MS. In admin- :Lstration and research functions there are nine who hold the MS and two who hold the PhD. In research there are :35 individuals who hold a diploma and 112 who hold a BAg. 50 Table 3.7 Scientific Personnel of the Applied Research Division in 1984 Type of Staff Number National Scientists PhD 6 MS 14 BS/BAg 153 173 Technical Support Staff University Graduates 53 Diploma Holders 127 Non-Diploma Holders 210 390 Other Other Permanent Employees 478 Laborers A41 949 Total 1.512 Note: In administration there is one PhD. In administration and research functions there are five PhDs and fourteen MS holders. In research functions only there are 127 diploma holders and 206 with the BAg. 51 Table 3.8 Scientific Personnel of the Institute of Agriculture in 1984 Type of Staff Number Research and Teaching PhD 10 MS 25 First Degree (BAg/BS) 14 First Degree (BAg) 50 Diploma 2 101 Technical SuRDort Staff University Graduates (All BAg teaching staff participate in research activities) 80 Non-Diploma Holders 100 Laborers 50 230 Total 331 Note: In administration there are one PhD and two with the First Degree. In administration, teaching and research functions there are five with the PhD and nine with the Master's. In teaching and research functions there are four with the PhD, ten with the Master's and fourteen with the First Degree. In teaching functions there are six with Masters. 48 with the First Degree and two with a Diploma. 52 of Burma, and the headquarters with administrative and technical backstopping is in Rangoon. In the Institute of Agriculture. research functions are carried out by the Departmental Headst assisted by faculty members and students. More postgraduate degree holders are present in this institute compared to ARI and ARD, but the research work could be carried out only as partial fulfillment of the country's needs, since teaching is the main objective. How- ever, the close proximity of IA and ARI has helped to strengthen the interrelationship of the institutions. 3.3 Multilateral and bilateral assistance projects with research components Burma's use of external assistance has been rising steadily since 1970. Projects for external financing were included in the government's Twenty Year Development Program. Such projects form the basis for the third FYP. The highest priority is placed on easing the most immediate constraints to growth and particularly at increasing and diversifying production for exports. Accordingly, the emphasis is on developing Burma's primary pro- ducing sectors and supporting activities and, where appropriate, through quick yielding projects. In agriculture, foreign assistance is needed for projects which contribute to intensified use of existing cultivated areas and the reclamation of abandoned land. This would include: research and extension services; provision of essential inputs especially HYVs, fertilizer and light agricultural machinery; improvement of irrigation facili- ties including tubewell development; and integrated agricultural development projects where the relationships between services and inputs are important. A number of bilateral and multilateral aid funded projects have been established in order to assist agricultural production and research within the country. A listing of the ongoing 53 projects, contributed funds, and consultancy support are given in Table 3.9. Most of the funding goes for production objectives except for a few identified specifically as research. Table 3.9 Foreign Assistance Projects in Progress in 1985 Donor Project Duration Consultancy Donor (year) (months) Funding' WB/IDA Lower Burma Paddy Land Development Project I 6 33 0.51 WB/IDA Lower Burma Paddy Land Development Project II 7 0 0.60 WB/IDA BA Seed Development Project 4 56 5.50 WB/IDA BA Rubber Rehabilitation Project I 5 33 4.50 WB/IDA BA Rubber Rehabilitation Project II 6 38 9.00 ADB/OPEC Crop Intensification Program I 2 0 20.00 ADB Crop Intensification Program II 3 0 8.00 UNDP Rubber Rehabilitation Project 4 69 0.74 UNDP Industrial Crops Development Project 4 80 1.90 - UNDP Seed Development Project 4 0 0.97 CIDA IRRI-Burma Cooperative Research Project II** 3 108 2.84 USAID Maize and Oil Seed Development Project 4 206 30.00 Switzerland Palm Oil Development Project 6 38 6.20 GTZ Promotion of Fertilizer and Application 2 99 3.00 Japan Whole Township Rice Production Project 2 0 2,500.00 *Million in donor's currency **Phase I covered 1979-82 55 4 Impact of IARCs on NARS 4.1 Impact on some important crops in Burma The agriculture research departments and other agencies under the AC with assistance from IARCs have greatly increased the crop yield in Burma. The basic guidelines for the agricultural research program of Burma. laid down by the Research Policy Direction Board are aimed at the evolution of new technologies to increase unit area production in all major crops. The priority is given to food cropst with major efforts on rice and oilseeds. followed by other cereals, including wheat, maize, sorghum. food legumes, sugarcane, fiber crops, cotton, jute, etc. '!.1.1 Rice Rice constitutes more than half of the sown area in Burma. Many steps have been taken to increase crop yield including dis- tribution of local improved seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, assistance from the mechanization department in supplying draft power by tractorst and increases in the prices paid for delivery of paddy under monopoly purchasing systems. Despite all these attempts. national paddy yield has increased only about 0.85 percent annually during the year 1964-65 to 1975-76. High yielding variety IR-8 seed was first introduced in 1966. In some areas, IR-8 gave a yield about three times that of local rice. But due to its short stature and unacceptable palatability, the acceptance by farmers was found to be very slow. In 1970, the government placed a higher priority on crop improvement in its FYDP. The government sought technical assistance from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The first project, UNDP/FAO Project, BUR 72-003. to strengthen 56 the Research Institute at Yezin. materialized. The rice improvement program forms a major part of this project. A varietal improvement program was started and the release of several introduced varieties well-adapted to various local conditions was initiated. The genetic potential of yield is considerably higher than the average paddy yield. Rice varieties received through various IARCs and formally released in Burma are listed in Table 4.1. An acceleration of paddy production and yield was obtained after 1975. Prior to that year production had not exceeded 8.6 Mt, by 1978-79 it reached 10.5 and passed 14.0 in 1981 and 1982. Yields had never exceeded 1.8 t/ha until 1975-76. In 1978-79 they reached 2.1 t/ha and in 1981 and 1982 reached 2.9 and 3.1 t/ha. The sown area of HYV also increased from about 0.1 percent in 1967-68 to 50 percent in 1982-83 as shown in Table 4.2. In addition to exotic HYVs, there are three local, two hybrids and two mutant HYVs sown in Burma. Their names and origin are given in Table 4.3. One important factor in the increased rice production is the use of selective concentrative strategy known as Whole Township Crop Production Program (WTCPP) which now embraces 20 major crops including rice, maize, sorghum, wheat, potatoes. groundnut. sesamum, cotton and sunflower. The program involved a package of improved production practices including varieties, fertilizers, pest control, recommended transplanting time, weeding. etc. The program on rice was started in two townships in 1977-78 and it has expanded to 82 townships in 1982-83. 4.1.2 Wheat The consumption of wheat in the Union of Burma has been increasing gradually. particularly in the form of bakery products. Present production is not enough to meet local Table 4.1 Rice Varieties Received Through Various Research Institutions and Formally Released in Burma with Local Names Local Name Original Name Country of Origin Year of Sown Acreage Release 1984-85 Yagyaw-2 IR-5 Philippines 1970 362.658 Si Lay C4-63 156,393 Sein Lay C4-113 4.189 Manawhari Mahsuri Malaysia 1972 1,261,915 Shwewar Hnan IR-20 Philippines 1,388 Lone Thwe Shwe War IR-22 604 Shwe War Yin IR-24 n 5,909 Shwe War Lay IR-28 n 1978 9,884 Sin Shwe Thwe IR-34 1979 1.919 Sin Thein Gi BR 51-91-6 Bangladesh 62,593 Manaw Thukha Mahsuri-M Malaysia 20,180 Sin Thiri BG 90-2 Sri Lanka n 39,558 Shwe Thwe Lay IR 751-592 Philippines 1980 2,931 Palethwe Pelita 1-1 Indonesia n 16,639 Yenet-1 BKN 6986-108-3 Thailand 1981 800 Yenet-2 BKN 6986-167 1982 500 Sin Kalyar Kulu Australia 3,000 Yar-1 C 22 Philippines 2,000 Yar-2 Kn 96 Indonesia 1.500 Yar-3 Kn 117 It 1.000 Yar-4 LG 240 Philippines 2,500 Yar-5 IR 1529-680-3 n 500 ~~~~~~~~ ------ _ _ _ - - -- -___ -____________ - -___ -_ --_______ 58 Table 4.2 Sown Area and Percentage Increase of HYV Rice Year Total Area (ha) HYV (ha) Percentage 1967-68 4.934.562 3,434 0.10 1968-69 5,0199062 166,900 3.30 1969-70 4.954,745 134,022 2.70 1970-71 4,975,311 182,967 3.67 1971-72 4,977,659 177,578 3.60 1972-73 4,861.961 192,091 4.00 1973-74 5,089,104 237,522 4.70 1974-75 5,177.112 315,964 6.10 1975-76 5,203,472 432,532 8.30 1976-77 5,077.883 463,415 9.10 1977-78 5,135,701 521,693 10.15 1978-79 5,243.445 822.881 15.69 1979-80 5,0269124 1,342,057 26.70 1980-81 5.126,546 2,210,021 43.10 1981-82 5,103,274 2,314,566 45.35 1982-83 4.882,283 2,501,662 51.23 59 Table 4.3 Other HYV Rice Varieties Released Type Acres Sown 1983-84 Local-varieties2 Ngwetoe 136,361 Pho-kaw-gyi 65,206 Shwe-ta-soak 1,322,842 Local crosses Sein-ta-lay. C 4-113 * Ye-baw-sein 151,200 Kyaw-ze-ya. IR-5 * Aungzeya 11.833 =UtaEnt varieties Shwe-war-tun, IR-5 Mutant 2,266.829 Shwe-thwe-tun, IR-24 Mutant 11,671 demands. Consequently. unmilled wheat and wheat flour have been imported in quantities ranging up to 20,000 tons a year. From 1960 onwards, the Department of Agriculture encouraged wheat planting. Accordingly the wheat area increased year after year and reached a maximum during the year 1965-66 (165.637 ha). The national average yield has fluctuated considerably from year to year depending on the rainfall. The period from 1962 to 1983 ranged between 381 and 1,334 kg/ha. Monywa White and Mexipak are the two main commercially grown varieties. In 1967, the bread wheat variety Mexipak was introduced from Mexico and two Indian bread wheat varieties, Kalyan Sona and Sharbati Sonora were introduced from India. In spite of its earliness, Sharbati Sonora acreage has not increased due to its low yield compared to Mexipak and Kalyan Sona. However, some farmers preferred to grow Kalyan Sona but not Mexipak due to 60 quality preference. The earliness characteristic of Sharbati Sonora is useful in areas when wheat planting is delayed. Almost all the existing varieties have been introduced from abroad, where they have been bred primarily for irrigated agri- culture and for comparatively low winter temperature and longer growing season. Thus, in Sagaing division, where 80 percent of the total wheat is grown and the wheat growing season is short and warm, it was found that these varieties are not quite adaptable to the local conditions. In the 1979-80 crop season, varietal improvement work on wheat was carried out under the Crop Development Project. Eight commercial and experimental varieties of wheat obtained from India, Pakistan and Philippines together with a large number of exotic germplasm were tested at different localities, both under rainfed and irrigated tracts. Most of the new varieties were found to be better than the existing cultivars. Several of them had outyielded the check varieties at most places and all the new varieties are resistant to leaf rust disease. The new varieties are also suitable for intensive crop rotation since in one of the trials, planting as late as the end of December after rice harvest gives satisfactory performance. Agronomic studies such as seed rate, fertilizer application, weed control and crop rotation were also initiated. In 1981-82, the AC extended its various high yield variety programs to take maximum advantage of the prevailing conditions and to minimize the adverse effects of the constraints. A new strategy was devised. The Whole Township Wheat Production Program was assigned to 14 townships, covering about two-thirds of the country's wheat area. The results are shown in Table 4.4. The increase was more than double the national average. Although the experimental yields were comparatively higher, the present national average yield level is about 900 kg/ha. The main 61 reasons for low yields are scanty residual moisture during the growing season and the inadequate tillage operation resulting in low population densities. Table 4.4 Whole Township HYV Wheat Producton Year Sown Harvested Yield Production (ha) (ha) (kg/ha) (kg) 1979-80 9.081 6,080 1.099 6,684,920 1980-81 59.615 53,919 1,398 75,401,921 1981-82 57.818 52,246 1,512 79,012.760 1982-83 87.675 69.432 1,197 83,126,985 4.1.3 Maize Among the cereal grain crops, maize possesses a potential for highest yield per unit of time and area. Its numerous diversified uses as human food, animal feed and industrial raw material make it a valuable agricultural commodity. The productivity constraints are the low yielding varieties, low plant populations delayed thinning of overplanted fields, ineffective weed control and lack of fertilizer use. With these constraints in view, a considerable emphasis in government planning to boost production of maize was carried out in 1978. The crop development program developed under UNDP/FAO assisted project BUR/72/003 includes maize crop. The following strategy for improvement in maize was carried out by ARI: 62 (1) Varieties of short to medium maturity for early and late monsoon planting. (2) Drought tolerant varieties wth better yielding stability for moisture deficit areas. (3) Varieties suited to winter planting. (4) Varieties suited for planting in hilly areas. (5) Short duration varieties with relatively short and sweet grain and prolific habit for green cob harvest. (6) Developing superior qualities for different optimum soil and moisture conditions. For the above development programs adequate amounts of germplasm were received from Thailand, the Philippines and IARCs like CIMMYT. These are used as source material for various characteristics. A considerable amount of locally adapted germplasm was also tested for high population tolerance, drought tolerance and early maturity. At present ARI has released six HYVs of maize introduced through IARCs. Table 4.5 shows the original names and local names of the related varieties. Out of the six varieties, Shwe-wa 1 and 2 and Indonesian Early cover 90 percent of the HYV sown area in 1984. A comparative study of local and HYV maize shows that HYV produced over 2,000 kg/ha whereas the local yield was about 700 kg/ha. The production of HYV maize for the years 1980-84 is presented in Table 4.6. In many areas the rainfall is inadequate and erratic and is frequently interrupted by long spells of drought which drastically reduce the yield of maize crops. In several of the other areas, continuous heavy rainst particularly in mid- and late-monsoon seasons, result in poor germination and considerable early seedling damage due to flooding, ultimately leading to a poor stand of the crop and reduced yield. Strong winds accompanying heavy rains cause lodging and stalk breakage, predisposing the crop to further damage by rodents. Continuous 63 Table 4.5 Maize Varieties Received through IARCs and Formally Released in Burma with Local Names Local Name Original Name Country of Origin Shwe-wa 1 La calera Mexico Shwe-wa 2 Petrolina Mexico Shwe-wa 3 Tropicana Mexico Shwe-wa 4 Indonesian Early Indonesia Shwe-wa 7 TL-7322 Mexico Shwe-wa 8 Population 35 Mexico Table 4.6 Sown Area, Harvested Area, Yield and Production of HYV Maize Year Sown Harvested Yield Production (ha) (ha) (kg/ha) (kg) 1980-81 24,730 23,142 1.473 34,0879763 1981-82 31.133 26,640 2,027 549009,602 1982-83 38,288 32,840 2,323 76.3049597 1983-84 44,354 40,906 2,307 94,380,807 64 wet spells sometimes make the post-harvest drying of ears and grains very difficult and deteriorates the quality of grain particularly for seed. In places where agroeconomic conditions are quite favorable for maize growing and the farmers are industrioust they are willing to adopt any package of technology that would warrant a substantial increase in their yields. However in areas of flutuating weather conditionst maize is usually considered to be a high risk crop when compared with a crop like groundnut. and farmers in these areas are willing to adopt a package of technology only if it will contain HYVs with greater stability of performance and that would ideally fit into their existing cropping patterns. Thus out of the six HYV maize varieties, medium, medium early, and early varieties are selected to suit the various agro- climatic conditions of the country. The specifications of the selected maize varieties are presented in Table 4.7. Table 4.7 Maize Varieties for Different Agroclimatic Conditions Variety Life Period Plant Height Rainfall Shwe-wa 2 90 - 95 82 inches 40-50 inches Shwe-wa 8 80 - 85 73 inches 35-40 inches Shwe-wa 4 70 - 75 57 inches 30-35 inches 65 Seed multiplication and distribution programs for the above varieties are already underway and it was reported that by 1986-87. most of the area of the country under maize cultivation is intended to be sown with Shwe-wa 2. 8 and 4. The area under maize has gradually increased from about 89,000 ha in 1964-65 to over 170,000 ha in 1982-83. Production increased from 53,000 t in 1964-65 to 239,000 t in 1982-839 which is partly attributable to an increase in area and partly to HYVs. 4.1.4 Sorghum The drought tolerance of sorghum makes it suitable for inclusion in the multiple cropping systems. particularly in the semi-arid and arid regions of the country. Besides, sorghum grain has a good export potential. The introduction of HYV sorghum with good eating quality has received increasing attention in the government's agricultural development programs. Two HYVs, IS 8965 and CS 105 with a maturity period of 125 to 130 days, were selected from materials received from IRRI. These were further tested in 1979 and at the same time their seed was increased. In 1980, improvement work on sorghum was expanded. A germplasm collection of 161 local and exotic varieties of sorghum was evaluated for various characteristics during the monsoon season. Six high yielding exotic varieties of sorghum were distributed to various townships from ARI for extensive on-farm tests and demonstrations. The local and original names of the six distributed varieties are presented in Table 4.8. The seed increase field of IS 8965 was kept for ratooning after the harvest of plant crop in October 1980. Under conditions of extreme moisture stress the ratooned crop matured in 75 to 80 days and yielded about 540 kg/ha. No fertilizer application or irrigation was provided. This practice is worth 66 adapting by farmers. It is planned to evaluate the promising varieties for ratooning ability. During 1980 and 1984. a total of 28 entries were received from IRRI and 254 entries from ICRISAT. These varieties, along with several other promising ones, were planted on a larger scale for performance test and seed increase. Evaluation of new germplasm was also carried out at several localities in the country. As a result of evaluation of new germplasm, three white seed varieties of sorghum (M-90906, M-36248, and M-3635) with significantly better eating quality than the varieties already released. were identified in 1984. These white varieties were reported to be more favorable for human consumption as well as for cattle feed, since the stalk of sorghum was used for cattle feed by the farmers. A comparative data for the new white varieties and that of the red varieties, with regard to plant heightt seed color and yield is presented in Table 4.9. Although the yield of the white varieties was about the same as that of the HYV red varieties, due to its better eating quality and seed color, higher price could be obtained in the international market. For this reason the cereal crop division of ARI is planning to replace the HYV red varieties of sorghum with the white varieties. In 1985-86 over 600,000 acres of white sorghum are expected to be cultivated. The average yield of sorghum for the whole country was around 400 kg/ha. The country's sown area and harvested area have remained almost constant at around 180,000 and 160.000 ha respectively. since the early 1960s. In areas where HYVs were cultivated, a yield increase of over 60 percent was obtained. The production and yield of the HYV sown areas in Burma is depicted in Table 4.10. 67 Table 4.8 Released HYV Sorghum Local Name Original Name Shwe-ni 1 IS - 8965 Shwe-ni 2 IS - 2940 Shwe-ni 3 CS - 99 Shwe-ni 4 UPLB - SG5 Shwe-ni 11 CS - 105 Shwe-ni 14 498003 Table 4.9 Comparison of Existing Red Varieties and New White Varieties of Sorghum Original Local Name Height of Color of Yield Name Plant Seed (bsk/ac) M - 90906 Yezin white 1 7'5" white 40-45 M - 36248 Yezin white 2 715n white 40-45 M - 36335 Yezin white 3 7t5' white 40-45 IS - 8965 Shwe-ni 1 7'5" red brown 40-45 CS - 105 Shwe-ni 11 315" white brown 40-45 498003 Shwe-ni 14 5'5* grey 40-45 68 Table 4.10 Sown Area. Harvested Area, Yield and Production of HYV Sorghum Year Sown Harvested Yield (kg/ha) Production (kg) 1980-81 15,503 13.921 695 9,672.558 1981-82 15.297 141355 1,007 14.461,457 1982-83 27,034 12.804 806 10.321.350 1983-84 27.792 22.972 1,050 249129.882 4.1.5 Groundnut A survey of groundnut production during the last two decades (1963-83) shows that the area under groundnut cultivation fluctu- ated from 458,000 to 690.000 ha. whereas the annual production fluctuated between 278.000 and 530.000 t. A rank-correlation study showed that there was neither a significant upward nor downward trend in groundnut production during the last two decades: production has stagnated around an average quantity of 400,000 t/yr. The major groundnut production areas are the Magwe. Mandalay and Sagaing divisions which comprise 71 percent of the total groundnut sown area. The region next in importance is the Delta Region. represented by the three divisions of Pegu. Rangoon and Irrawaddy. About 22 percent of the total groundnut area in Burma falls into this region. The rest is sown in the hilly regions of Burma. Varieties belonging to both the important subspecies, fastigiata (Spanish and Valencia) and hygoaaea (Virginia) are grown in Burma. SP 121/070. M-9. M-10 and M-11 are Spanish varieties developed at Magwe. They mature in about 100 days in 69 monsoon and about 120 days in the post monsoon season. Sinpadaytha-1, an early mutant, was developed from M-10 at ARI, Yezin. It matures almost a week earlier than the parent variety, M-10. Varieties belonging to the Valencia type, locally known as Big Japan and Small Japan, were introduced from India. Kyaung Gon and M-30/38 represent the Virginia type in Burma. Both are spreading types, taking about 150 days to mature. There is also a local Virginia runner type, having a crop duration of 170 days. Improvement work on groundnut was started in 1980. A germplasm collection of about 50 varieties from Israel and 8 released varieties from India. was evaluated in small-scale preliminary tests and the following varieties, belonging to the Spanish and Valencia types, were identified as promising: Line 71-78, New Mexico Valencia, Congo Valencia, UF 79-3311, Starr BB, Spanish No. 5, Tamnut, NG 9-268 and JL-24. The yield of all these varieties is 20 to 40 percent higher than the local checks, M-10 and M-28. Additional germplasm comprising 239 samples was obtained from ICRISAT, and has been planted for evaluation. In the course of tests conducted, 10 exotic varieties, which gave higher yield than the local improved varieties M-10 and M-28, were identified. Out of these varieties it was reported that JL-24, Avir (from Israel) and NG 9-268 (from the Caribbean islands) gave the highest yields. The best local varieties reported in 1981-82 are SP 121/070, M-28 and M-10. The best exotic varieties reported in that period were Avir, NG 9-268 and JL-24. In the area growing long duration varieties, several exotic varieties obtained from Israel, U.S.A, and India, and Robut 33-1 (which was recommended from ICRISAT as being exceptionally high yielding) were tested. It was reported that although Robut 33-1 has a higher yield potential than JL-24, it needs a relatively 70 high plant population of more than 200,000 plants/ha to give its highest yield and the drastic fall in yield at lower population densities shows that this variety lacks the ability to compensate for missing plants. Large demonstration plots are arranged every year at ARI in order to show the agronomic innovations and varietal intro- ductions. The demonstrations include the following concepts in groundnut cultivation: (1) Summer cultivation of groundnut. (2) Concept of land shaping by using various bullock-drawn implements. (3) Dryland agricultural techniques. (4) Demonstration of mixed cropping of groundnut with sesamum, maize and pigeonpea. (5) Demonstration of plot of new varieties, Sinpadaytha-1 (M-28), Sinpadaytha-2 (JL-24), and Sinpadaytha-3 (Robut 33-1), etc. A vigorous varietal screening program is carried out, including a large number of lines from ICRISAT. 4.1.6 Food legumes Food legumes form an important component of Burmese agri- culture. Annually cultivated in an area of nearly 0.7 million ha, they account for 8 percent of the total cropped area. Their importance as a cheap source of protein in the human diet is well recognized and so is the beneficial effect on the fertility of the soil on which they are raised. In the area generally recognized as the central dry zone of Burma, the agricultural landscape is dominated by legume cultivation. Another zone of predominant legume cultivation is the delta area of the Irrawaddy River basin. Besides these major areas, food legumes form a minor component of the agricultural production system in the entire country. 71 Cultivation of food legumes in Burma is for one or more of the following three purposes: (1) as traditional staple food; (2) as a catch crop i.e.. in between two main crops; and (3) as a contingent crop, when other crops fail. The sown area, the harvested area. production and yield of food legumes in 1982-83 is given in Table 4.11. Table 4.11 Sown Area, Harvested Area, Production and Yield of Food Legumes, 1982-83 Crops Sown Area Harvested Area Yield Production (ha) (ha) (kg/ha) (ton) Butter Bean 63,907 42,173 1,135 47,952 Chickpea 161,771 117,573 723 85,193 Soybean 28,955 26,584 756 20,135 Green Gram 42,051 22,635 381 8,644 Pigeonpea 70,523 56,781 476 27.107 Garden Pea 25,857 21,864 762 16,691 Lima Bean 47,746 27,217 512 13,980 Lablab Bean 81,237 69,595 538 37,524 Black Gram 76,445 62,941 757 47,768 Total 598,492 447,363 304,994 Up to 1975, except at the Regional Experimental Stations at Mahlaing and Magwe, the other regional experimental stations did not undertake any major research program on food legumes. The evolution of improved varieties like Mahlaing Flat of white lima bean, and P-11-30 of black gram are the results from these regional stations. The ARI. in the absence of a food legume division, had no organized research program on these crops. 72 The Food Legume Division at ARI came into being after 1975. In 1978, a strategy for increasing food legume production in Burma was formulated. Given the low genetic productivity of most local varieties of the commonly grown food legumes, including green and black gram, cowpea, pigeonpea, chickpea, lima bean and mung bean, the main research thrust is aimed at improving the germplasm base and conducting a vigorous program of hybridization and selection of yield and disease/pest resistance. Agronomic trials include work on optimal plant population densities for early and late planting. The Rhizobium research program is closely associated with the food legume program and provides, to the extent possible, appropriate cultures for inoculation trials. Since the establishment of the Food Legume Division, national and international collections of legume germplasm have been initiated. So far 570 accessions of food legume broad based genetic materials have been collected and evaluated. At present ARI is in contact with eight international institutes and the accessions collected up to date are shown in Table 4.12. Germplasm evaluation and adaptability tests of promising genotypes are the main tasks in the breeding program of ARI. The achievement of crop improvement up to the present date is given in Table 4.13. 4.2 Training The current total staff of the AC is about 18,000, but only 2,239 hold Agriculture Science degrees. Of these, 15 have a PhD, 40 have a Master's degree and the rest have BS (Agriculture) or BAg degrees. Among the technical support staff, 2,064 have a diploma in agriculture. Thus the core of trained agricultural scientists holding advanced degrees, which are required for agricultural development in Burma, is very small. 73 Table 4.12 Accessions Collected from International Institutions Species Institution No. of Accessions Total Mung Bean IRRI 17 IARI 21 AVRDC 27 (Indonesia) 1 (Thailand) 1 67 Cowpea IITA 93 IRRI 26 AVRDC 1 USA 5 125 Lima Bean CIAT 13 IITA 8 Niftal 6 27 Black Gram IARI 20 20 Pigeonpea ICRISAT 96 96 Chickpea ICRISAT/ICARDA 181 181 Soybean IRRI 10 AVRDC 26 INTSOY 18 54 74 Table 4.13 Crop Improvement Testing Conducted by ARI Specie Variety Original Distinguishing Released Institution Characteristics Pigeonpea HAP-1 ICRISAT High yielding with early maturity (150 days) BR-172 ICRISAT High yielding with early maturity released for its white seed color Black Gram PU-19 IARI High yielding and photo- insensitive P45-1 IARI High yielding and large seed size Cowpea Vita 4 IITA High yielding and large seed size Red Cowpea IRRI Released for its red seed color and high yield Mung Bean Bhacti Indonesia High yielding with early maturity and big seed size. Suitable for both mono- and multiple cropping CES-14 IRRI High yielding and good for multiple cropping 75 Many internationally aided projects assisting agriculture development recognize this need and utilize about 15 percent of the funds for training components. UNDP/FAO have been the primary donors to date, assisting ARI to upgrade its scientific capacity at postgraduate level and they are urging acceleration of such fellowship training programs. The IRRI-Burma Cooperative Project II which is the current program providing training resources for ARI has programmed 24 postgraduate fellowships (16 MSc and 8 PhD level) and 48 persons for short-term training courses. The Canada-IRRI-Burma Project I, completed in 1982, had a training component for 15 Master's degrees, out of which 12 were for AC and 3 for AMD. Seven trainees from AC and all three from AMD have returned, as well as the 57 persons who attended the short-term training courses, thereby strengthening their respective departments. Five postgraduate students are still under training. The USAID-supported Maize and Oilseeds Production Project (MOPP) to be completed in 1986 is providing up to 36 advanced degrees (11 PhDs and 25 Master's) for key staff of the AC including ARI and ARD, and 70 short-term trainees. At present 16 trainees are under training for the Master's degree. A large number of short-term trainees were sent to IRRI to study different subjects related to rice. Altogether, 65 persons participated in training courses held during 1980-84. From 1980 up to the end of 1984 many AC agricultural scientists had completed their training at different IARCs. These training courses are short-term, lasting from 1 week to 13 months. 76 Other short-term training courses attended by the national agricultural research scientists at different IARCs from 1980 up to the end of 1984 are listed in Table 4.14. Over 40 trainees were also sent to different countries to attend conferences, symposiums and workshops on subjects related to agriculture. It could be noted that short-term training was scheduled throughout the life of the projects at specialized institutions. Since the government views this type of practical short-term training as the most immediate response to its needs, the number of participants has been kept as high as possible within the limitations of available funds. 4.3 Relations between national research centers and CGIAR- supported centers and other organizations The AC has active cooperation with IRRI, CIMMYT, ICRISAT, CIP, IITA, CIAT and IBPGR. From these international centers, Burma receives genetic materials. training fellowships and opportunities to establish contact with researchers and scientists in other countries for continuous exchange of ideas. Publications from most of these centers were also sent to the national research institutes. IRRI Rice constitutes more than half the sown area in Burma, and half of the area under rice is now grown with HYVs. Thus it was found that of all the related IARCs, ARI and ARD are most intensively linked with IRRI in the Philippines. Burma's first improved variety. IR-8, was obtained from IRRI in 1966. Some HYVs introduced into Burma through IRRI include: Mashure, IR-5, C4-63 and BR 51-91-6. 77 Table 4.14 Short-Term Training Courses Provided by IARCs from 1980 to 1984 Training Course IARC Country Duration Number of Trainees Wheat Breeding/Agronomy CIMMYT Mexico 13 months 1 Maize Breeding CIMMYT Mexico 7 months 1 Rainfed Wheat Production CIMMYT Mexico 6 months 1 Maize Crop Training CIMMYT Mexico 5 months 1 Rice Wheat Cooperative Bangladesh Study Tour and Thailand 1.5 months 2 Collection and Conservation of Perennial Crops IBPGR Thailand 1 month 1 Meeting of Liaison Officers for the South Asian Regions IBPGR Nepal 6 days 1 Fertilizer Management and Logistics ICRISAT India 1 month 2 Agricultural Meteoro- logical Observation ICRISAT India 5.5 months 2 Sesamum/Agronomy ICRISAT India 6 months 1 International Ground- nut Workshop ICRISAT India 10 days 1 Chickpea Scientist Meeting ICRISAT India 10 days 2 Seed Potato Production CIP Australia 3 months 1 Third Regional Potato Symposium CIP Indonesia 10 days 1 Workshop on Optimizing Potato Productivity in the Farmer's Field CIP Philippines 15 days 1 78 Through the breeding program, the high yielding capabilities of some IRRI varieties have been crossed with native varieties from which high yielding good quality varieties of rice adaptable to various ecological conditions of Burma have been obtained. IRRI also provides valuable assistance in training. The IRRI- Burma Cooperative Research Project was utilized for foreign consultants (25 percent). training (34 percent), equipment (25 percent) and other support. Under different internationally aided projects. an IRRI rice breeder and an agronomist have been continuously working with ARI for about 10 years. CIMMiT Maize is the second most important cereal crop in Burma. The sown area is about 170,000 ha of which 80 percent is matured for grain, with a production of around 200,000 t, while the remaining is picked as green cobs for human consumption. The average yield of maize seed prior to 1979 was only about 700 kg/ha. In 1980, HYVs of maize were introduced from CIMMYT and Indonesia. A 50 percent increase in the national yield was attained. The four varieties of maize now widely cultivated in Burma are: (1) Lacalera, (2) Petrolina, (3) Tropicana, and (4) Indonesian Early. The first three varieties of maize were received from CIMMYT. HYVs of wheat were also introduced. The introduction of new wheat varieties had increased the average yield from about 700 kg/ha in 1975-76 to 1,100 kg/ha in 1980-81. ICBISAT Extensive research experiments are in hand with HYVs of sorghum, pearl millet, chickpeas, pigeonpeas and groundnut materials received from ICRISAT. The HYVs of sorghum IS-8965 and IS-2940 received from this center through IRRI are the most popular varieties with Burmese farmers. 79 CIP Up to 1967 the average yield of potatoes was only about 3.000 kg/ha. Steps have been taken to increase the yield by using fertilizer and improved cultural methods together with the germination techniques received from CIP. The average yield was increased to about 10,000 kg/ha and in some areas 12.000 kg/ha was achieved. An exchange of research scientists was also carried out with CIP. Genetic materials for HYVs that were introduced are still in the experimental stage. Indigenous varieties of food legumes have very low potential in their economic yield, and their low genetic variability becomes a drawback for hybridization. Thus exotic varieties were introduced for crop improvement. IITA introduced 93 lines of cowpea and 8 lines of lima bean to Burma. An exchange of research scientists was also achieved. Improved seeds for butter bean. fodder legumes and grass seeds were received from this center for the national crop improvement program. Regular publications on agricultural research are provided. Up to the present period the major support for agricultural research has been received from UNDP through FAO executed projects. USAID is supporting the MOPP with components on training and research. The World Bank, IAEA, CIDA (Canada), ADB, OPEC. JICAt DANIDA and GTZ also support funds for various projects concerning agricultural research. 81 5 Research Impact on Agricultural Production 5.1 Important innovations The Department of Agriculture was established in 1901 with its research. extension and marketing sections. The research section is responsible for the agricultural research activities together with certain training facilities. The first training institute was a diploma school at Mandalay founded in 1924. It had an average annual intake of 20 students. In 1938 the Mandalay College, under the jurisdiction of Rangoon University, offered a bachelor degree in agriculture with an average annual output of 20 graduates. The first central farm was established in 1906 at Hmawbi and by 1929, 18 agricultural farms had been established. These farms, the year of their establishment and their specialization is given in Table 5.1. During the Second World War, research facilities at the Central Experimental Stations were destroyed. The breeding lines of different crops were also lost. so that the research activities resumed after the war were initial in nature. The research programs were mainly laid down on breeding of crops with a few experiments on crop husbandry practices. Up to 1956, there was no separate Research Institute with specialized divisions in it. The Chief Research Officer (CRO) was responsible for all the agriculture research activities. The Central Farms and the major and minor seed farms all over the country were under the Agriculture Department. Moreover, the Central Farms were not well equipped and staffed. They were established with the main object that adaptive research could be carried out in a representative area. Experiments for fertilizer recommendation, varietal testing. cultural practices. plant breeding and plant introduction were carried out. Some achievements were the introduction of new varieties of rice, sugarcane, groundnut and cotton bred on these central farms. 82 In 1965, ARIt with its five disciplinary divisions. was established at Gyogon near Rangoon. However due to lack of skilled personnel and equipment. the research activities being undertaken could not influence the agricultural development plan at that time. ARI. equipped with professional research workers and laboratory facilities was supposed to develop new technology suitable for various agroecological conditions of the country. In turn, the central farms were intended to try out the adaptability of such technologies for particular regions. However as the ARI and the central farms, in spite of being under one organization, were administered by different headst coordination was weak. This caused disruption to the intended approach and was in no way complimentary to the agricultural development plan. Similarly, coordination between ARI and IA, which is under the Ministry of Education, was also not well defined. Nevertheless, the need for increasing the number of central research farms and seed multiplication farms was recognized, and at present 20 central research farms and 20 major seed farms have been established all over the country. In 1966, the Research Policy Direction Board was formed by the Government and the board gave direction for eleven separate professions. Under the board's policy, the agricultural sciences committee adapted long-term and short-term research programs with greater emphasis on the crops that were of economic importance to the country. Meanwhile, the international organizations such as the UNDP. FAO, CIDA and IAEA aided ARI with necessary equipment, experts and training for the national staff in the form of technical assistance. Due to such encouragement. research activities expanded. gradually producing research results applicable to Burmese agriculture. 83 Table 5.1 Agriculture Farms and Their Specializations Name Year Opened Farm Acreage Major Crops Hmawbi 1906 454 Rice Mandalay 1907 431 Rice Tatkon 1914 120 Oilcrop, Maize Mahlaing 1920 251 Cotton Aunglan 1921 145 Oilcrop, Cotton Akyab 1923 79 Rice Sagaing 1924 10 Tobacco Paukkaung 1925 12.5 Sericulture Magwe 1925 200 Oilcrop. Pulses Pyinmana 1925 75 Sugarcane Padu 1925 105 Wheat Kyemon 1925 300 Pulses Pwint byu 1925 160 Rice Kyauk pyu 1925 85 Rice Myaungmya 1926 86 Rice Mudon 1926 206 Rice Kanbalu 1928 530 Rice, Maize At presents two main agri1cultural research institutions exist, the ARI and ARD. Both of these organizations are headed by their own general managers. The ARI is to undertake the basic research problems and ARD to handle applied research work. There are 13 major divisions in ARI and the ARD consists of 3 major divisions. The facilities of ARD include 20 central farms and 20 seed farms. Both of these institutions are involved in executing some foreign-aided agricultural research projects besides their normal functions. 84 The research activities now being carried out are crop oriented rather than disciplinary in nature. More attention is being directed to the solution of field problems. The impact has been on the practical aspect of crop production. The research frequently proceeded to the grassroot level and sought out agricultural problems. They also obtained better coordination and cooperation from other divisions such as Extension and Planning. Accordingly, research managed to keep abreast of the national crop development plans and guidelines. The facilities as well as activities of the agricultural research developed considerably. Moreover, the transfer of technology from research to farmers was smooth because farmers had full confidence and were impressed with research findings. As a result, the agriculture research contribution projected a noticeable impact on crop production. The new varieties of important crops developed and released by the research institutes are: 29 varieties of rice, 6 varieties of sorghum, 6 varieties of maize, 5 varieties of groundnut, 5 varieties of wheat, 7 varieties of cotton, 6 varieties of jute, 8 varieties of pulses, 2 varieties of sugarcane, 2 varieties of sunflower and 1 variety of sesamum. The distribution of quality seeds also became more compre- hensive. The yearly distribution is given in Table 5.2. 5.2 Adoption of innovations The transmission mechanism of innovations takes place mainly through the Extension Division of the AC. Under the control of the General Manager, the Extension Division is organized on a state/divisional basis, with offices at township, village tract and village level. Field supervising staff are the Village Extension Managers, who are in charge of a village with 1,200- 2,400 ha of cultivated land depending on the locality and state Table 5.2 Distribution of Quality Seeds of Principal Crops Crop Unit 1974-75 1975-76 1976-77 1977-78 1978-79 1979-80 1980-81 Paddy bsk 930,670 543.940 191,996 260,722 445,426 659,408 1,669,322 Wheat bsk 11,177 16,676 636 1,134 1,282 1,531 3,163 Maize Seed bsk 11,723 3,604 2,291 2,473 5,809 10,928 3,394 Groundnut bsk 20,081 3,073 1,409 389 683 26,876 133,717 Sunflower bsk 5,028 3,361 2,419 18.276 22,897 15,508 3,915 Long Staple Cotton viss 3,431,690 2,641,545 1,826,079 2,288,250 2,184,912 2,570,898 1,093,776 Mahlaing 5/6 Cotton viss 1,218,480 2,325,195 386,565 389,827 592,875 417,394 1,363,318 Wagyi Cotton viss - -- 14,000 10,700 - 1.901 - Jute bsk 7,879 4,260 2,835 6,757 6,681 2,443 940 Rubber Sapling ea - 150,000 124,016 384,400 189,631 80,000 163,000 Budwood ea -- 2,350 644 743 270 75 -- Sugarcane ton 88,993 266,656 24,616 17,556 17,004 12,502 10,206 Coffee plant 23.400 60,000 2,404 4,150 6,324 15,500 109,385 86 of communication. A village tract manager supervises the work of about 10 village extension managers. each of whom work directly with about 1,000 farmers. It is currently planned to improve upon the ratio of the number of farmers to extension workers to one village extension manager for 500 farmers by 1985. The organizational structure and number of staff in each level of the Extension Division is given in Table 5.3. The responsibilities of this division are to: disseminate agricultural research findings; implement the annual agricultural plan; distribute essential supplies to farmers and assist in procurement of these inputs; distribute pure seeds in coordination with the central farms; and help to coordinate the agricultural activities with the village council and township councils. To accomplish these many duties, the General Manager of Extension is assisted by Deputy General Managers; 14 state or divisional managers at the township level; 426 village tract and 4,040 village managers at the village level. More trained personnel were employed down to the village level. and the services of the extension workers came to be recognized and accepted by the farmers. The role of village manager is most pivotal in transferring the new technologies or executing the agricultural development plans, as they are the link with the grassroot level. The village managers recruited annually were recent graduates from Agriculture High Schools Diploma Institutes and the IA. They are young. active and well trained. Moreover, there is full governmental support and leadershp to the extension staff members. Previously, many agriculture extension strategies had been introduced in Burma for implementing the crop production programs. The approaches, however, were not appropriate for Burmese conditions. Subsequently a strategy that would take 87 Table 5.3 Organization Chart and Number of Staff in Each Level of Extension Division General Manager (Extension) I Dy. General Manager (2nd in Chief) I Dy. General Manager Dy. General Manager Dy. General Manager (Seasonal Crop) (Extension and Education) (Industrial Crop) State/Divisional Managers = 1 LDy. State/Divisional Managers = 7 Asst. State/Divisional Managers = 14 Dy. Township Managers (Pest Control) !Township Managers = 19p [Farm Managers Dy. Township Managers = 25i3 DE. Farm Managers = 2 illage Tract Managers = 426 Village Tract Managers (Farm) 33 Village Tract Managers (Pest Control) = 28 Village Managers =4,040 Village Managers (Farm) = 83 Village Managers (Pest Control) = 90 Village Managers (Special Projects) = 200 88 maximum advantage of Burmese conditions was designed and that strategy was proved suitable. The essence of the strategy was selective concentration. It consisted of five components: (1) a correct and proven technology; (2) political will and political guidance; (3) selectivity and concentration; (4) mass participation; and (5) emulation and competition. The strategy was put into effect for the program and was found to perform well under Burmese conditions. The national rice production increased to 23 percent without any considerable changes of the sown area. The program was expanded to other crops and the achievements there were also very satisfactory. The extension staff of the village tracts actually live in the production camps in proximity to the farmers' fields. Thereby they have close contact with the farmers and are in a position to monitor the cultivation process and at the same time pinpoint the impact points of the crop production technology. To support the extension strategy. the Party. Council and State agencies provided political leadership to all levels of the agricultural extension organization. The four important committees are (1) Agricultural Management Committee, (2) Culti- vation Activity Committee, (3) Procurement and Distribution of Input Committee and (4) Disease and Pest Control Committee. These committees were known as agricultural management committees. In these committees usually people's council members serve as the chairpersons while agriculture extension workers act as secretaries. The strategy has now been established as the "Extension Strategy" and has resulted in healthy collaboration and cooperation among the departments and corporations connected with agriculture. The transfer of technology is shown in Figure 5.1. 89 Figure 5.1 Technology Flow PARTY COUNCIL RESEARCH ---- EXTENSION + , MANAGEMENT COMMI3 FARMER Technology Problems ---- 91 6 Conclusions and Suggestions 6.1 Agriculture sector Increasing agricultural output depends upon either increas- ing the output of existing farms or expansion of cultivated area. Official data indicate that there are 21.1 million acres of cultivable wasteland. However. even without bringing additional land into cultivation, agricultural output can be increased by increased yields of crops and by intensifying land use through minor irrigation development. Burma has vast irrigation potential but irrigated area comprises only about 13 percent of the total area sown to agricultural crops, and it was found that only 12.5 percent of the irrigated area is double cropped. For paddy, the principal monsoonal crop, improved input dis- tribution and farm incentives could lead to an increase in yield per acre. In addition, improved marketing. including processing, storage and transportation, could further increase the supply of food grains. In dry season and also for 12 months of the year in the dry zone, scarcity of water is a major constraint to increasing crop production. Development of adequate water supply plus proper water control and management would stimulate production and relatively high yielding crops in areas and seasons where the yields are low and where crops are not grown for much of the year. Burma has the resources to develop minor irrigation facilities for large areas. There are many causes of a stagnation in yields and pro- duction and some are interrelated. These constraints are: (1) Inadequate economic incentives for farmers to use more purchased inputs, 92 (2) Difficulties in financing purchased inputs and longer term investments by farmers because of inadequate credit facilities, (3) Low utilization of irrigation resources which could be used to improve the agroclimatic environment, (4) Inadequate marketing arrangements, including processing, storage and transportationt so that full potential for food supplies are not obtained from crop inputs, (5) Shortage of draft power for preparation of land, especially for multiple cropping. augAeati2nA Price Policy. It was noted that procurement prices are very close to their cost of production. Therefore it could be suggested that a statistically acceptable sample survey of cost of production for farms should be stratified to cover the crops which are to be purchased by the government in the following year. The sample should be further stratified for each crop by agroclimatic region and by season of production. The monopoly purchase price should then be set to cover the cost of production as well as to leave some reward for the farmers so as to increase their incentives to participate in the programs. Credit Facilitiea. Farmers have limited financial resources and have access to limited institutional credit, including advance purchase by AFPTC. The individual farmer's ability to adopt improved tech-nology and increase yields is limited by these financial con-straints. Medium-term credit for financing on-farm improvements is scarce. If peasants in the central core are expected to invest in such improvements. it could be suggested that means for providing such credits should be considered. IrrigatiQn Resources. Between 1962 and 1980, the irrigation department completed 8 major projects with a total irrigable area of 137,000 ha. The department also completed 4 major flood 93 protection projects providing protection for over 50,000 ha. However, irrigation resources are not well developed. There is a large quantity of minor irrigation resources which could be developed for multiple cropping during the dry season as well as for supplemental use during the monsoon. At present a full benefit which should be available from these projects has not reached its prime. Thus it is recommended that these projects be given the highest priority for completion at the earliest possible time, since development of water resources would accelerate the development of multiple cropping as well as increase yield. thereby increasing production. Marketing. AFPTC is the main agency responsible for paddy procurement on a national basis. The chief constraints of marketing are: (1) inadequate storage, (2) inefficient processing and (3) in-adequate transportation. Paddy which is sold to AFPTC during harvesting season is often piled in the open and milled several months later. There are large losses from insects, rodents, spoilage, etc. It is suggested that improvement in storage facilities and milling Practices could increase the supply of rice in Burma. From our study it was found that when paddy is milled it is processed by mills which are quite inefficient. Official statistics show a yield of about 54 percent in 1975-76 and 57 percent in 1974-75. At present the yield has become even lower. A yield of 68 percent should be attainable with rice mills which are in reasonably good shape. The rice mills in Burma are the traditional stone sheller-polisher type that are in Poor condition. Product efficiency from these mills is low, especially considering the low level of repair and maintenance. Spare parts are very difficult to obtain and are slow in delivery. However, the mills are not the sole cause of low Production efficiency. Handling and conditioning prior to milling also effects milling yields. Modern rice mills would 94 recover these losses. However, a complete improved approach to a total handling system is recommended to increase the product quality and system efficiency. Transportation in Burma. particularly land transportation, is poor. Thus it is difficult to transport agricultural produce from the areas of production to the areas of consumption and export. Thus it is suggested that improved transportation should be considered. Draft To Farmers are faced with a significant draft power shortage. especially in those areas where multiple cropping is carried out. Present resources could not supply the draft power needed for large expansion in multiple cropping. It is suggested, therefore, that major expansion of mechanization be considered and preparations should be coordinated with expansion in irrigation and multiple cropping. 6.2 The National Agricultural Research System The national agricultural research activities in Burma are largely carried out by ARI and ARD under the AC. The activities of these two institutions are overlapping in many important areas. While ARI is to carry out the basic research and ARD to carry out applied research, both divisions are actively engaged in breeding of HYV rice and other important crops. Sugg?'StL=n ARI with its well-equipped laboratories and centralized location should give special attention to kinds of research works that require both laboratory and field facilities. ARD with its 20 central farms and 20 seed farms, has a larger area for field work and thus should concentrate on seed production and distri- bution. 95 The research activities of ARI and ARD should be combined as an Agricultural Research Services (ARS). ARS, with its head- quarters at Yezin, should be responsible for all agricultural research activities and production of breeders' seed. The staff at Yezin should continue to use the facilities of the central farms where they are needed. The major constraint for increased research activities at ARI is the lack of qualified scientists, having only two PhDs and ten MSs among the research scientists. Thus scientific staff at Yezin should be urgently increased to the authorized strength with qualified scientists so that the activities of ARI should continue successfully. Due to inefficient use of available water supply. multiple cropping could not be carried out effectively. Therefore* a new division for water management should be added to the present five disciplines at ARI. The present central farms should be strengthened in an attempt to assist in advanced agricultural research resulting in improved production. Additional staff positions at the regional research centers, particularly in the plant protection areas should be provided. 6.3 Relations with the Institute of Agriculture The university level teaching IA shares the same campus with ARI. One of the basic ideas of moving ARI from Rangoon and IA from Mandalay to Yezin was to promote close working relations between the two institutions. At present. communications between the University and ARI occur only on an informal basis. There is no formal agreement covering the working norms. The AC and particularly ARI officials participate in curriculum planning at 96 the IA and the General Manager of ARI is a member of both the academic and administrative bodies of IA. Some ARI personnel give occasional lectures at IA and some IA lecturers and students visit ARI to study the research activities. Nevertheless, the major advantages of the neighboring situations are not exploited. Any direct collaboration, especially requiring the sharing of resources, is often difficult. ,S-ugesti=n& Formalization of a working agreement between ARI and IA should be examined at the earliest opportunity. Direct collaboration and sharing of resources would be of benefit to the junior research workers of ARI with BAg degrees. They could attend the Master's course work at IA as part-time students and work on their research programs for a thesis at ARI. ARI scientists with postgraduate degrees should be appointed as part-time professors. It could be reported that at present, negotiations are progressing. 6.4 Multilateral and bilateral assistance projects with research components A number of bilaterally and multilaterally funded aid projects have been established in order to assist agriculture research within the country. All these organizations first send survey teams to negotiate with the national authorities for utilizing the available funds most effectively in carrying out the projects. A study of many projects shows that around 30 percent of the financial support is utilized for foreign consultancyt while 15 pecent is alloted for training and 45 percent for equipment. 97 CQnsultancy Comnoanent Consultants recruited for the projects are of two categories -- long-term and short-term consultants. Many long- term consultants provided valuable assistance in establishing improvement programs. The implementation of the project could be carried out more effectively and efficiently with the help of the consultant. It was also found that biological materials from the IARCs could be obtained more easily. There have been isolated cases of consultants being badly chosen, and cases of consultants who had difficulties in adapting to national conditions. The qualifications of some of the consultants do not meet the requirements of the national centers, and in some cases consultants of second or third caliber had to be accepted due to a shortage of the required personnel. In such cases it was found that effective efficiency was not obtained. National centers should examine candidates more carefully and select those with relevant overseas experience to avoid this in the future. The short-term consultants assigned for the projects were unable to give much assistance to the national centers due to the short duration of the assignment. Most of the available time was utilized for studying the national conditions and collecting materials from the national counterparts for writing up a report. Sugge.atiasn Qualifications and experience of the technical assistance should be weighed carefully. A description of living and working conditions under which consultants will be required to operate and a delineation of all responsibilities should be included in the request for proposal and contract. 98 The contribution of funds for consultancy should not be a fixed one and the provision of expert consultancy should be acquired only when needed. Tr,ainin& AC as a whole is in urgent need of well-qualified agri- cultural scientists. To fulfill this deficiency. AC is sending many of its scientific staff for training to different IARCs and universities through internationally aided projects. However, many of these training courses are of a non-degree. short-term nature and could be regarded only as a means of training subject matter specialists for extension. A general shortage of staff. particularly a shortage of adequately trained research staff, is one of the major constraints limiting sustained growth in agri- cultural productivity. This needed increase in trained staff is being addressed by the bilateral and multilateral projects and other international donors through various scholarship programs. The training components of all the projects have amounted to about 20 PhDs and 69 MSs. In Burma, selection examinations are held for postgraduate trainees and the candidates have to fulfill the following requirements: (1) a minimum of 3 years service, (2) minimum post equivalent to village tract manager, (3) minimum qualification Bachelor (can study only for Master's degree) and (4) a scholar for PhD must possess a Master's degree. Consequently. new employees of the AC who otherwise would be available are not considered eligible. Also, staff who have had foreign training are not eligible for further overseas training until they have served at least 3 years with the AC after such training. 99 Suageatians The above rules should be looked into with a view to improvement. The primary selection examination should be opened to all agricultural graduates under AC, so that some fresh graduates with excellent qualifications will be recruited for further study. AC should identify candidates for screening and English language testing should be carried out as early as possible. Egiime-nt As already stated, 45 percent of the project expenditure is utilized for the purchase of equipment. In our study it was noted that field machinery such as tractors. land levelers, bulldozers, planters, etc. are effectively used. However, some of the expensive highly technical laboratory instruments at the research centers and at AI were purchased without due consider- ation and some are only sparingly used. Much of the equipment destined for the regional centers was still undelivered. It was also found that some of the laboratory apparatus requires a constant source of regulated voltage electrical input. This is not yet available at Yezin. Sugaesti-ons Since multiple cropping is developing on a significant scale there will be a need for sharp expansion in draft power for land preparation. Thus expansion of draft power should be carried out. Future equipment needs should be carefully assessed and if necessary more allocation should be made for training component. Emphasis should be given to more field equipmento rather than laboratory apparatus in the future. 100 6.5 Relationships between IARCs and NARS Burma has been collaborating with the IARCs for over 15 years. Burma's most intensive cooperation with the IARCs of the CGIAR system has been with IRRI, from which the first improved rice variety IR-8 was received in 1966. At that time the local rice yield per acre was around 30 baskets and IR-8 yielded about three to four times the local yield in some areas. Thus IR-8 was given the local name Yagyaw, meaning over a hundred. But due to its short stature and unacceptable palatability the acceptance by farmers was found to be very slow. Since then, Burma has received many HYVs of rice from IRRI. Cooperation is increasing with other centers at present, and the next largest programs are probably those with ICRISAT and CIMMYT whose sorghum are regularly sown, and from whence millet and groundnut materials are drawn. Cooperation is also maintained with CIP (potatoes), IITA (food legumes), CIAT (fodder legumes), and IBPGR for regular publications. The Whole Township Crop Production Special Program which sought to adopt HYVs developed by IARCs and NARS to the national environment and climate is successful and can be compared to the miracle of the Green Revolution experienced in many countries. Suggestions The present international relations should be accelerated and collaboration in seed exchange should be facilitated. 101 Appendix Persons visited U Khin Win, Managing Director, AC U Aung Khin, General Manager, ARI, Yezin U Hla Shwe, General Manager, Administration Division U Tin Hlaing, General Manager, Extension Division U Hla Myint Oo, General Manager, Planning Division Dr. Myint Thein, General Manager, ARD U Mya Maung, Project Director, MOPP, Extension Dr. Tun Saing, Deputy General Manager, ARI, Administration U Ohn Kyaws Deputy General Manager, ARI, Rice Division U Hla Than, Deputy General Manager, ARI, Plant Pathology U Myat Htwe, Deputy General Manager, ARI, Fiber Crop Division U Pe Maung Thein, Deputy General Manager, ARI, Food Legume Division U Tun Hlaing, Deputy General Manager, ARI, Sugar Crop Division U Saw Win Kyi, Deputy General Manager, ARI, Oilseed Crop Division U Hla Than, Deputy General Manager, Headquarters, Planning U Ba Toke, Deputy General Manager, Headquarters, Planning U Nyi Nyi, Deputy General Manager, Headquarters, Planning Dr. Kyi Win, Deputy General Manager, Headquarters, Planning U Aung Thaung, Project Director, Irrigation and Water Management Extension U Tin Aung, Deputy General Manager, CADTC, Extension U Sann Myint, Deputy General Manager, Extension U Hla Shwe, Deputy General Manager, ARD, Research U Tun Hla, Deputy General Manager, ARD, Administration U Chit Ngwe, Deputy General Manager, ARD, Seed Technology U Kyaw Win, Assistant General Manager, Headquarters, Planning Dr. Thaung Tun Hlaing. Assistant General Manager, Headquarters, Planning Daw Mya Mya, Assistant General Manager, Mandalay Farm U Min Aung, Farm Manager, Hmawbi U Thein Han, Assistant General Manager, ARI, Food Legume Division U Kyaw Shin, Assistant General Manager, ARI, Agronomy Division 102 Places visited Various Divisions at Agriculture Corporation Head Office, Rangoon Agriculture Research Institute, Yezin Institute of Agriculture, Yezin Applied Research Division, Gyogon, Rangoon Mandalay Central Research Farm Central Agriculture Development Training Center, Hlegu 103 References Agriculture Corporation (1978), Research Projects for Agricultural Research Division, ARD, Rangoon. (In Burmese) _- (1983), Quality Crops Released by ARI, ARI, Yezin. (In Burmese) __ _ (1983), Special Whole Township Crop Production Development Programme in Burma, Extension Division. (In Burmese) (1983), Production Situation of Some Important Crops in Burma from 1962-63 to 1982-83, Extension Division. (In English) (1984). Annual Report, 1983-84. (In Burmese) (1984), Important Research Findings of ARI in 1983-84, ARI. Yezin. (In Burmese) (1984), Research Findings from 1978-79 to 1983-84, ARD, Rangoon. (In Burmese) ______ (1984). Plan for Cultivation of Sorghum, ARI. Yezin. (In Burmese) (1984), Proposed Plan for Cultivation of Maize, ARI, Yezin. (In Burmese) __ _ (1984). Central Agriculture Development Training Center. (In Burmese) (1984). Project Progress Charts, Planning, Management and Evaluation Division. (In Burmese) 104 ________ (1984), Management of Agricultural Research and Development and Activities of Applied Research Division. (In English) (1984), Activities of Divisions in Brief, ARI. (In English) _ (n.d.), Project Documents of Multilateral and Bilateral Projects. (In English) Chaudhri, M. Y. (1978), Maize Improvement in Burma, Problems, Prospects and Strategies. Escuro, P. B. (1978), Suggested Strategies for Rice Improvement in Burma. Escuro, P. B. (1978), A Rice Improvement Programme for Burma. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (1983), Evaluation Study on National Agricultural Research: Country Report on Burma, UNDP/FAO Evaluation Service, Rome. Gomaa, A. A. (1983), Wheat Improvement Programme for Burma. Karve, A. D. (1982), The Groundnut Improvement Program for Burma. Ministry of Planning and Finance (1980 and 1985), Report to the Pyithu Hluttaw, 1979-80 to 1984-85 (yearly publication). Palis, R. K., et al. (1983), Summary Report on IRRI-Burma Co- operative Research Project. Rajan, S. S. (1978), Food Legume Improvement in Burma, Problems, Prospects and Strategies. United States Agency for International Development (1983), Review of Agricultural Research in Burma. 105 Win. Kyi and Yi, Maung Maung (1982), Some Statistics in Agriculture: Burma. Planning, Management and Evaluation Division, Agriculture Corporation. ISSN 0257-3148 ISBN 0-8213-0861 -0