Grow crops extensively for better socio-economic life

Total sown acreage of monsoon and summer paddy is over 20 million acres in Myanmar. The agricultural sector serves as the dominant contributor to the economic growth of the nation. So, effective measures are being taken constantly for boosting production of crops especially paddy.So far, the government has constructed 216 dams and 322 river water pumping stations across the nation for adequate supply of irrigation water, the major requirement of the agricultural farming. Simultaneously,it is encouraging farmers to choose highyielding paddy strains, apply advanced agricultural methods, and use farm machinery, thereby making a boom in the agricultural sector.The Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation is implementing dam projects,sluice gate projects and underground water pumping station projects throughout the country, particularly in arid regions: Sagaing,Magway and Mandalay divisions.
Plans are under way to launch Daungmyu Dam Project, Kandaunt Dam Project, North Yamar irrigation system, Kyaukchat Dam Project and Yaybokkyi Dam Project in central Myanmar.In addition, more sluice gates are due to be built in Mon State and Bago Division to protect the regions from being flooded in the rainy season and irrigate farmlands in summer. Similarly, small dams and lakes are under maintenance in Mandalay Division to increase the acreage of irrigated arable lands.At a time when the government is working hard to construct more irrigation facilities, it is obligatory for farmers to grow crops on a wider scale through mixed- and multiplecropping patterns for food sufficiency of the regions concerned and improving their living conditions.