Chairman of State Administration Council Prime Minister Senior General Min Aung Hlaing addresses meeting on boosting national productivity
NAY PYI TAW July 15
A meeting on boosting national productivity was held at State Administration Council Chairman’s Office here at 1.30 pm today, addressed by Chairman of State Administration Council Prime Minister Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
Also present were SAC member Lt-Gen Moe Myint Tun, Deputy Prime Minister Union Minister U Win Shein, Advisor to SAC Chairman Lt-Gen Nyo Saw, union ministers, the Nay Pyi Taw Council chair, region/ state chief ministers, senior military officers from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief, and officials.
The Senior General said chief ministers of regions and states that are populous, main crop producers, and most robust in breeding activities and MSMEs are invited to take part in the meeting. Regions and states and Nay Pyi Taw Council Area, whose heads are at the meeting, have a population of over 40 million (more than 5/4 of the national population),and a sown acreage of over 40 million.
Hence, they play a key role in boosting national economy.
Production promotion has three parts – domestic sufficiency in food and materials, exportation of the surplus, and import substitution. Self-sufficiency of farming products is the priority sector. More exportable goods with low domestic demand should be sent abroad.
The government made efforts for national economic growth in 2021, increasing exports and selling aboveground and underground natural resources to boost trade. But there are restrictions in natural resources for the long-term national interest.
When compared with the GDPs of regional countries with similar geographical conditions, ours is smaller. Sector-wise participants in the GDP promotion task should have the will to achieve success.
Two factors – meeting the crop production target and doing the work with all-out efforts – must be paid serious attention in agriculture undertakings.
Efforts should be made for the availability of seed, land, water, and correct technology to meeting the crop production target.
All cultivation land must be put under multiple cropping to grow crops to the most possible degree. In this way, the country will reduce production cost, increase crop yield, generate job opportunities, ensure local sufficiency, and boost exports, thereby leading towards national economic development.
There is a daily demand of meat, fish, milk and other food items for the country’s 55 million people. Action plans must be made for national sufficiency as region/state-wise sufficiency is not the ultimate goal. If the supply meets the demand in food industry, prices will not go up. Systematic farming will significantly increase products.
Regions and states must strive to boost products of the breeding industry.
Cotton is basic raw material of textile industry, but cotton cultivation has dropped sharply since 2016. The country could produce about 201 million viss of cotton against its demand of 363.22 million viss. If the cotton per acre yield hits the target of 700 viss, the country can fulfill its needs and can export the surplus. Hence, regions and states, with suitable conditions to grow cotton, should extend the crop. High-yield quality strains must be selected.
It will be much beneficial for the country, if local supply meets local demand and farming products can be exported. Hence, union ministers and chief ministers should hold broader discussions on their achievements, preparations and requirements.
Then, the chairman of the Nay Pyi Taw Council and chief ministers of Sagaing Region, Bago Region, Magway Region, Mandalay Region, Yangon Region, Shan State and Ayeyawady Region reported to the Senior General on cultivation acreage of monsoon paddy, summer paddy, oil crops, cotton, perennial crops and other crops, regional rice sufficiency, demand and surplus, regional edible oil sufficiency, demand and surplus, efforts for expansion of cultivation acreage and future plans, measures taken for boosting per-acre yields and meeting the target, distribution of natural and chemical fertilizer and inputs to farmers, production, demand and surplus of meat and fish and livestock breeding tasks and expansion plans for regional sufficiency of food, water and basic needs.
After hearing the reports, the Senior General delivered an address, saying can crop yields be boosted in agriculture only when four basic requirements such as seeds, soil, water and methods are properly utilized.
In production of crops, it is necessary to fulfill the demands of domestic and foreign markets and to produce quality crops. If modern techniques are applied in livestock breeding, regional demands for meat, fish and eggs can be fulfilled. Officials are required to take measures for cultivation of designated crops on farmland and prevention of the use of agricultural land for other purposes in accordance with the law. Respective states and regions are required to carry out effective manageable level river water pumping projects.
It was found that there is a great potential to grow sunn hemp as a natural green leaf fertilizer to treat soil. Relevant ministries are required to conduct research on benefits of growing sunn hemp in respective regions and using sunn hemp and natural fertilizer and other needs for more effectiveness.
Afterward, Member of the SA C Lt-Gen Moe Myint Tun and union ministers reported to the Senior General on measures taken for availability of fertilizer for agriculture, allocation of funds for boosting the national economy to agriculture and livestock breeding farms, offering seasonal loans for development of the agriculture sector, cultivation of crops, formation of cooperative societies for development of agriculture and livestock breeding, export markets for agricultural products, agriculture and livestock breeding tasks of Tatmadaw battalions and units and effective use of agricultural land.
Then, the Senior General delivered concluding remarks, discussing measures to attract international investment in the agriculture and livestock breeding sector, methods to boost investment in the sector, and the need to abide by the land management law. The Senior General added that it is necessary to establish industries based on the agriculture sector and to carry out agriculture and livestock tasks by forming groups and adopting the cooperative system to nurture the habit of cooperation. It is necessary for the government to bring about benefits for farmers.
National development can be achieved by carrying out tasks in the agriculture, industrial and services sectors. Among them, the agriculture sector plays a major role. As production can be boosted by conducting MSME businesses based on products from the agriculture and livestock breeding sector, chief ministers of states and regions are required to exert efforts for development of the manufacturing sector. If crops are grown on one-acre plots of land, mechanized farming can be utilized, reducing production costs and boosting yields. Agricultural products from the country can be exported to regional countries that need them. It is necessary to cultivate crops and export agricultural products in demand by conducting agricultural and market research.
Efforts must be made to successfully cultivate crops in great demand in the country and in other countries and to boost productivity by placing emphasis
on development manufacturing MSMEs that produce goods from raw materials from the agriculture and livestock breeding sector.
The meeting concluded at 7 pm.