Ministry urges farmers to save water
10 Sep 19 - Source: Myanmar Times - The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation has urged farmers to use water more efficiently as there is less water behind the country's more than 300 reservoirs and dams despite the current rainy season.
The monsoon, which started in late May, is due to end later this month.
As of Sunday, Thaphan Seik Dam, the biggest in Southeast Asia, had only
"It is hard to distribute enough water for summer rice. Some dams have to prioritize drinking water," said U Myo Tint Tun, deputy permanent secretary of the ministry. "So farmers need to save water in order to minimize, if not prevent, a water shortage."
U Win Hlaing Oo, head of the Agriculture Department in Sagaing Region, said that to conserve water his office will plant less rice in the summer in
"After we supply water for monsoon rice, we will reduce the cultivating area of summer rice," he said. "Instead, we will grow crops like mung beans and sesame, which need less water."
The large dams in the dry zone of central Myanmar, which includes Sagaing, Mandalay and Magwe regions, are low on water, agriculture officials said.
Although Kintar Dam in Mandalay had over
"Only if we get more rainfall will water flow into the dams. The dams are low because there has been less rainfall," U Myo Tint Tun said. "And there is little chance of more storms because the monsoon is nearly over."
The big dams in Bago Region – Khabaung, Yenwe
About 1.5 million acres of summer and monsoon rice are grown in Myanmar every year. – Translated
