CONTENTS:

1 - MYANMAR: Rats gnaw at cyclone recovery hopes


1 - MYANMAR: Rats gnaw at cyclone recovery hopes

SATSALONGKYA, 25 November (IRIN) - Hla Shwe, 47, had great expectations for his
14ha of paddy fields, which he hoped would help him recover from the devastation
of Cyclone Nargis.

But then the rats came to his small village of Satsalongkya, a two-and-a-half
hour boat trip from Bogale, one of the worst-hit areas in last May's cyclone.

"I've tried my best to wipe out the rats, but they are still there, destroying
my paddy plants," Hla Shwe said, pointing at the remains.

Besides killing young paddy plants and ruining the harvest, the rats also eat
rice grains as they ripen.

"Rat infestation is a big problem in the cyclone-affected area, which is very
worrying," Myo Aung Kyaw, secretary-general of the Myanmar Rice and Paddy
Traders' Association, told IRIN. "Production of rice could be affected due to
the rat infestation."

The rodent population is growing exponentially in the Ayeyarwady Delta - where
agriculture is the primary income source for 60 percent of families - and posing
a new risk to the livelihood recovery of communities still suffering from the
cyclone's impact, experts say.

The storm devastated the divisions of Ayeyarwady and Yangon, leaving most
low-lying fertile areas ruined and 783,000ha of farmland flooded, according to
the Post-Nargis Recovery and Preparedness Plan.
[http://www.asean.org/CN-PONREPP.pdf]

The UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) says the increase in the rat
population is most likely due to the loss of predators such as snakes, dogs and
cats during Cyclone Nargis.

With a three-week gestation cycle, rats are breeding more quickly than snakes,
which take two to three months to produce offspring. Since more delta land is
lying fallow than before the cyclone, rats are also profiting from favourable
habitats and food availability.

To solve the problem, cyclone-affected farmers have been instructed by the
government to kill up to 15 rats a day, and submit their tails to local
authorities, or risk being fined.

In the past three months, more than 2.5 million rats have been exterminated in
the Ayeyarwady Delta by the Myanmar Agriculture Service, with support from the
FAO and other community, NGO and UN partners, the FAO says.

Culling rodents

Despite the culling efforts, there are probably three to four times as many
rats still living in the delta. In some villages in Bogale township, up to 50
percent of rice acreage already shows signs of rat damage, according to the FAO.

"Unless funding is found to continue the current, coordinated prevention
efforts, there will likely be an increase in the rat population, replacing the
population already killed and leading to further damage and a possible spread of
the rodents to crops not currently affected," Shin Imai, FAO's representative in
Myanmar, told IRIN.

"If we are to prevent further damage to the monsoon rice crop and damage to the
following dry season crops, we must continue the current preventative measures
and emphasize an integrated pest-management approach for the coming winter
season," he said.

The monsoon rice crop is usually planted in July and harvested in November and
December, while the summer rice or dry season crop is planted in December or
January, and harvested in March and early April.

Preventative measures include community campaigns on topics such as hygiene,
waste management, and non-chemical rodent control and trapping, Imai said.

Crop support

While most cyclone-affected rice fields have returned to production, thanks to
agricultural inputs from government institutions and the community, the FAO says
some southern areas in the delta, particularly the townships of Bogale and
Labutta, still need support.

"Paddy harvest is unlikely to have returned to pre-Nargis levels," Imai said,
"However, preliminary information indicates that this year's harvest may have
been better than last year's."

While equipping the farmers with essential inputs for farming is crucial, the
price of rice - fixed by the government - also plays an important role, said Myo
Aung Kyaw of the rice association.

"Farmers should be motivated in terms of rice price," he said, calling for the
government to be flexible over prices.

contributor/ey/mw

[ENDS]


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