17 November
PADDY yields are likely to de-cline this year because of tor-rential rains in Dala Township, Yangon Region, said officials.
Some paddy fields, which are almost ready to harvest, were destroyed by earlier rains which flooded them.
“Some paddy fields in Dala Township are ready to harvest, while others have already yield-ed their crops. We found some paddy fields inundated with rain water, and some have been dam-aged by water,” said U Than Htut Aung, a local grower from Htoo Gyi Village.
“With water overwhelming paddy fields, we built drainage for the water to flow out, so that the paddies suffered less dam-age,” he added.
“This year, paddy produc-tion is likely to decline, as now is the time for paddy yields. Al-though we have built drainages, there will still be some mud in the paddy fields. There is also no space to store the harvested paddy. The price of paddy is only Ks 500,000 per 100 baskets, so we cannot make profits,” he added.
Paddy plantations can grow a maximum of 80 baskets per acre in Dala Township. One bas-ket weighs 46 lbs.—Mg Yin Oo (Dala) (Translated by Hay Mar)