Emergency Assistance for the locals of Myanmar

Following the food assistance reported in the previous report, from December to January, we provided agricultural-related assistance to improve the livelihood of the residents. Currently, the social situation remains in turmoil, and prices of all kinds of commodities have skyrocketed. This significantly reduced the buying power of locals. Without access to nutritious food and vegetables, local people particularly children, often suffer from malnutrition.

It is unfortunate that farmers were not spared from the high prices of farming inputs. As an alternative, our assistance targeted small-scale farmers. So far, we have helped a total of 200 households in 10 villages. We encouraged and taught them to use organic materials that are readily available to their villagers. As the local farmers grow organic vegetables mainly for their consumption, our initiative is helping to address the problem of food insecurity.

It is currently dry season in Myanmar, but the climate is suitable for vegetable cultivation. One of the locals who received support commented that she and her family had to limit food purchases because of the high prices. She added that the seeds, compost, and vegetable farming techniques that she learned from OISCA enabled her to engage in home gardening. She and her family are now enjoying nutritious meals.

We are committed to reaching out to communities and improving their livelihood and nutrition standards. Our staff who are working on the ground constantly monitor and provide technical assistance to the farmers.

We look forward to your continued support.

It is unfortunate that the living conditions of the local villagers in the Central Dry Zone (CDZ)- area where we work, is still not stable. CDZ is known to be Myanmar`s most water stressed, among the most impoverished, and with the harshest environmental conditions. The political turmoil led to soaring prices, severe cash shortages, and struggling local villagers. The number of people in need is increasing exponentially, and if not properly addressed, starving people and malnourished cases will increase.

In response to this situation, we reached out to the villages through our food aid program. We continue implementing our agricultural support program to stabilize the main source of income of the villagers. Taking into consideration the security situation and safety of our staff and the villagers, we are targeting to distribute relief goods, including rice, oil, eggs, vegetables, and others until the end of this year.

Amidst the chaos, the villagers feel grateful for the timely food and agricultural support. As the rainy season ends and the dry season begins, there is a high chance that more villagers will be in great need for support. We will continue monitoring the situation, and are committed to render support for the local people who are in need.

Thank you for your continued support.

Following the emergency food assistance which we reported last time, we subsequently began providing agricultural-related assistance, to help local communities whose main source of income is farming. Our project site is located in Central Dry Zone with low rainfall and poor soil condition (not conducive for farming). For a long period of time, locals relied on chemical fertilizers and pesticides hoping to increase their production, as well as their income. Unfortunately, this decision gradually resulted to land degradation, and increase in unproductive farmlands.

Moreover, the prolonged corona pandemic and political upheaval across the country, farmers were burdened by the soaring prices of agricultural inputs, and of a serious cash shortage. With an aim to somewhat help improve the current situation, we are providing technical assistance, agricultural inputs, and small-scale loans to local farmers.

So far, we have helped a total of 360 households in 12 villages, and we intend to continue doing it. One of the farmers who received support said, “I now understand that I can still produced crops without buying expensive chemical fertilizers, instead, I can use the available organic materials as alternative. Using the sustainable farming methods taught by OISCA; I will work together with my friends, neighbors and fellow villagers so that we could produce more stable and healthier produce. I hope that in the long run, our efforts will help stabilize our area`s agriculture industry”.

While paying close attention to the security situation, our staff are working hard to provide trainings in making of organic fertilizer and compost production. Thank you for your continued support.

One year has passed since the 2021 coup in Myanmar. There is a concern that the number of malnourished and starving people will increase as a result of the soaring prices of commodities, severe cash shortages, and decrease in income due to the prolonged corona disaster, and the political turmoil.

As a result of several discussions with our local staff, who are directly working on the ground, we were able to distribute relief goods to local communities, while taking into consideration the security situation. From late September through the month of December, we distributed rice, eggs, vegetables, and cooking oils to a total of 3,433 households (with about 15,000 people) in 56 villages. We believe that by providing food assistance to those who are in need, we were able to contribute to the improvement of the nutritional status of the people.

 In one of the interviews of our local staff to local villagers, one responded that she felt life is a lot more difficult than before. However, despite all these problems, she is grateful that there are concerned individuals and organizations helping them. According to her, due to high food prices, they have no choice but to eat less frequent as compared before. With the delivered support, her family was able to eat nutritious food, which was a very great help. She is thankful to everyone who helped them make ends meet.

 At present, we are preparing to provide loans and agricultural inputs for the local villagers whose main source of income is agriculture. This action is crucial for the sustainable recovery of the local people.

On behalf of the villagers, we would like to extend our gratitude to the GlobalGiving donors for your generous support.

It is unfortunate that the current political condition of Myanmar is still unstable since last February. In the middle of the political turmoil, the disasters, and corona pandemic; local communities particularly the young and elderly are the most vulnerable.

In our first training center, annually, we have been empowering an average of 20 youth trainees through organic agriculture, food processing, livestock production, and environmental conservation since 1996. We have adopted the same training programs in our second training center which we established in 2017. Unfortunately, due to corona, it was difficult for us to accommodate and empower trainees. Therefore, while waiting for a healthier circumstance, the maintenance of our training centers and implementation of our regular training center activities, including the vegetable and rice farms, livestock production (hog raising and poultry), and food processing are done by our local staff.

Based on the report that we have received, there was a little rainfall this year before the rainy season. However, this September, there was more rainfall than usual which caused flood damages in some areas across the country. Despite all these problems, in our training centers, our local staff were able to start planting rice in July and successfully completed by the end of August. To assist the local farmers, we intend to distribute the soon to be harvested rice as an agricultural input.