KEY MESSAGES

• Aquaculture inMyanmarhasmassivepotentialtoraiseruralincomesandmeetdomesticandglobaldemand.

• Acompetitiveaquaculturesector ledbysmallfarmersandsmallandmedium-sizedenterprises(SMEs)canbestgenerateemploymentandstimulateruralgrowth.

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Transforming Myanmar’s Aquaculture Unlocking the potential for inclusive rural growth,

improved livelihoods, and food security

SUMMARY

FishisanextremelyimportantcomponentoftheMyanmardiet,anddemand

isgrowingquicklyasthecountryurbanizesandincomesrise.Aquaculture

isideallyplacedtomeetthisdemand,whilealsoraisingfarmincomesand

creatingemployment.Thisbrief identifiesthreesetsofpolicyoptions

thatcouldhelptounlockthefullpotentialofaquaculture’scontributions

toruralgrowthandnationalfoodsupply.Theseare:regulatoryreforms

thatallowsmallfarmerstousetheiragricultural landforaquaculture;

improvedaccesstofarminputsandtechnologies;andgreateraccessto

theknowledgeandservicesneededtosupportsectoralmodernization.

SECTOR SNAPSHOT

Aquaculturereferstothefarmingofaquaticorganismssuchasfish,

crustaceans,andmolluscs.

• Aquaculturehasbeengrowingquickly inMyanmar,ata rateof

around9%peryearsince2004,andcontributes21%ofthefish

consumednationally.

• Farmingfishgeneratesaverageprofitsfivetotentimeshigherthanrice

andotheragriculturalcrops,andmorethantwiceasmuchemployment

peracreaspaddyfarming.

• Aquacultureisveryconcentratedgeographically,with90%ofinland

fishpondslocatedintheAyeyarwadyDelta,closetoYangon.

• Asinglespecies(rohu),accountsforaround70%ofthefishproduced

inMyanmar.Shrimp,ahighvaluecropgrownmainlyforexport,

contributesjust5.6%ofproduction.

WorkerharvestingcarpfromafishpondinAyeyarwadyRegion.PhotobyBenBelton

• Allowingfarmerstochoosehowtousetheiragriculturallandiskeytounlockingthesector’spotential.

• Farmersneedthesupportofresponsiveinputsuppliersaswellasknowledgeandinformationserviceproviderstodiversifyandmodernizeproduction.

• Governmentaction isneeded to improve regulatoryframeworks.

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1. ENACT REGULATORY REFORMS

Aquacultureiscapableofgeneratinghigherfarmincomesthanalmostany

otherformofagriculture.Thismakesitanextremelyattractiveoptionfor

ruralfarmhouseholds.Unfortunately,landuseregulationsinMyanmar

prohibitfarmersfromconvertinglandfrompaddyfieldsintopondslegally.

Theserestrictionshavebeenappliedunevenly,allowingsmallfarmsto

developincertainareas,butresultinginhightransactioncostsforfamers

andcreatingariskyinvestmentclimate.Inotherareas,pondconstruction

remainsimpossible.Reformingthelawtogivefarmerstherighttocultivate

whatevercroptheychoosecouldtransformtheaquaculturesector,allowing

formoreefficientutilizationofland,supportinglivelihooddiversification

amongfarmhouseholds,andcreatingmuchlargereconomicspillovers

andemploymentmultipliersthanexistatpresent.

Lackofclear regulationsandcompetingadministrative jurisdictions

governingtheuseofMyanmar’snumerousreservoirsandirrigationcanals

preventtheutilizationofthesewaterbodiesforaquaculture.Thishas

inhibitedthedevelopmentofcage-basedfishfarming,whichiscommon

incountriesintheregion.Licensingaccesstotheseresourcesforusein

aquaculturecouldgeneratenewrevenuestreamsforgovernmentwhile

INTRODUCTION

FishisthesecondmostimportantfoodafterriceinMyanmar.Demandforfishisgrowingfast,asdietschangewithrapidurbanizationandrisingincomes.

Thesupplyoffishfromcapturefisheriesisunlikelytogrowanyfurther,andintegrationintotheASEANeconomiccommunityandtheopeningupof

accesstomarketsintheEUandUnitedStatesiscreatingnewopportunitiesforgrowingexports.Thesefactorscreatea“perfectstorm”ofdemandfor

aquacultureproductsthatwillonlyintensifyasMyanmar’seconomictransitioncontinues.

Myanmar’srecentaquaculturegrowthhasbeendrivenmainlybylargeenterprises,whichhavehistoricallybeenfavoredbygovernment,whilepolicies

prohibitingtheconversionofpaddylandtootheruseshavelimitedtheabilityofsmallerfarmerstoparticipateinthesector.Together,thesepolicies

haveworkedtocreateanunbalancedsectorthatfallsshortofitspotentialtostimulateinclusiveruralgrowth,generatejobs,anddeliverfoodsecurity.

Limitedaccesstoinputs,credit,productivetechnologiesandhumancapitalalsoinhibitoptimalperformance.Thisbriefpresentsaseriesofpossible

optionsforaddressingtheseissues.

2. IMPROVE ACCESS TO FARM INPUTS AND TECHNOLOGIES

ManufacturedfishfeedpricesinMyanmararethehighestAsia.Greater

competition within the fish feed sector would drive down prices

and improvefeedquality, leadingtowideradoptionofhigh-quality

feedsbyfarmersand large increases infarmproductivity.Thiscould

besupportedbyencouraginggreaterdomesticandforeigninvestmentin

fishfeedproduction.

Myanmaraquaculture iscurrentlydominatedbyasinglefishspecies

(rohu).Yieldincreasesachievedbyadoptingmanufacturedfeedscould

beleveragedfurtherbyfarmingsomeofthemanyotherfishspeciesthat

areproducedprofitablyelsewhereinAsia.Thiswoulddiversifythesector

andincreasetheoptionsavailabletofarmersandconsumers.Public-led

investmentsindevelopinganddisseminatinghatcherytechnologyhave

provensuccessfulinthepastinMyanmarforfishessuchasrohu,andthese

successescouldbereplicatedforanewgenerationofspecies.

Inadequate hatchery technology currently represents the biggest

challengetotheproductionofshrimp,ahighvaluecropwithexcellent

exportpotential.Withopportunitiespresentedbythe liftingoftrade

restrictions,nowistheperfecttimetomakeinvestmentstorebuildthe

sectorinanenvironmentallysustainable,sociallyresponsible,andorganized

manner,throughtheimplementationofinternationallyrecognizedbest

managementpractices.

Noformalfinancialinstitutionsupportslendingtosmallerfishfarmers,and

theratesofinterestpaidoninformalloansareextremelyhigh.Increasing

accesstoformalsourcesofcreditforfishfarmersandSMEs inthe

aquaculturesupplychaincanbeaccomplishedthroughthedevelopment

ofspeciallytailoredlendinginstruments.Increasingthesupplyofcreditto

thesectorwouldresultinalessriskyinvestmentclimate,increasesinfarm

productivity,andgreatervolumesofinvestmentalongthesupplychain.

3. STRENGTHEN HUMAN AND INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY FOR IMPROVED SERVICE DELIVERY

Awelltrainedworkforce isacornerstoneofsustainableaquaculture

development.Thepublicandprivatesectorscanplayimportantsupporting

rolesthroughtheprovisionofeffectiveveterinaryandextensionservices

tofarmers.TheDepartmentofFisheries(DoF)cancontributetosectoral

modernizationandsustainabilitybyregulatingtheuseofchemicalsanddrugs

andensuringtheimplementationofsafefarmpractices.TheDoFcanalso

enablebetterdecisionmakingbycollectingmoredetailedandaccuratefarm

statistics.Developinghumanresourcesandinstitutionalcapacityisthusakey

priorityforMyanmar’saquaculturesectorifitistomodernize,orienttoward

exportmarkets,andcompeteeffectivelywithothercountriesintheregion.

Accesstoaskilledworkforcewithappliedexperienceofworking in

aquaculturewillbeessential if thepublicandprivatesectorsareto

providesupportingserviceseffectively.Unfortunately,Myanmarpresently

suffersfromanacuteshortageofskilledhumanresourcesinthisarea,in

additiontoalackofbasicfacilitiesforaquacultureeducationandresearch.

Universitiescurrentlyofferfewaquaculturerelatedcourses,andthese

providelittlepracticaltrainingandarenotlinkedcloselytotheneedsof

thesector.Theseshortcomingscouldbeaddressedthroughastructured

approachtoeducationalcurriculumdevelopmentandcapacitybuilding,

coordinatedamonguniversities,theprivatesector,theDepartmentof

Fisheriesandcivilsociety,andcombiningalltheelementsrequiredto

meettheindustry’sfutureneeds.

CONCLUSIONS

AquaculturehastremendousscopeforfutureexpansioninMyanmar.Regulatoryreformswouldcreatealevelplayingfieldforproducersofallsizes,

actingasanengineformoreinclusivegrowthbyraisingincomesforsmallfarmersandcreatingemploymentinSMEsinthesupplychain.Betteraccess

toinputs,includingcredit,andnewproductivetechnologieswouldimprovetheprofitabilityanddiversityoffarmingsystemsandnon-farmenterprises,

createnewexportmarketopportunitiesandmakefarmedfishmorecheaplyandwidelyavailabletoconsumers.Buildinghumanandinstitutionalcapacity

cansupportthesector’smodernizationbyimprovingtheeffectivenessofserviceprovisionandgovernance.

enablingthemoreefficientutilizationofwaterresourcesandencouraging

privatesectorinvestmentinruralareas.

Harvestedfishcannotlegallybetransportedinterstatewithoutwritten

consentandcanonlybelegallydistributedtomarketsoutsideofYangon

bya limitedpoolof licensedtraders.Moreover,expressbusservices,

whichareextremely importantfortransportingfishthroughoutthe

country,facearbitraryrestrictionsonuseforthispurpose.Removingall

restrictionsonthetransportofharvestedfishbetweenstatesandregions

wouldencouragedomestictradeandminimizeunnecessarycoststhatare

currentlypassedontoconsumers.

Workerspackingharvestedfishinicefordeliverytomarket.PhotobyBenBelton

21%Aquaculture1millionMT

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Aquaculture Specifics

OVERVIEW OF MYANMAR AQUACULTURE SUBSECTOR

Area

450,000ha

Spatial 90%ofponds

Production70%Rohu6%Shrimp

“Theauthoritiesdonotallowpondstobebuiltonlandsuitableforricecultivation.”Edwards,2005

“Aquacultureisthefastest-growingfoodsector...aquacultureintensificationhasthepotentialtoproducethefishneededtomeetthedemandforsafeandhighlynutritiousfoodbyagrowingpopulation.”FAO,2016

Growth8.7%

DONORS OTHER SPONSORS MYANMAR FISHERIES PARTNERSHIP

AQUACULTURE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

• BenBelton,MichiganStateUniversity• ManjurulKarim,WorldFish• KevinFitzsimmons,UniversityofArizona• AyeAyeLwin,WorldFish• MichaelPhillips,WorldFish• NilarShein,DepartmentofFisheries• MaxTroell,StockholmResilienceCenter• SoeTun,MyanmarFisheriesFederation

KEY REFERENCES

• Belton,B.,Hein,A.,Htoo,K.,Kham,L.S.,Nischan,U.,Reardon,T.,Boughton,D.AquacultureinTransition:ValueChainTransformation,FishandFoodSecurityinMyanmar(2015)

• DepartmentofFisheries.MyanmarFisheriesStatistics(2015)• Edwards,P.RuralaquacultureinMyanmar(2005)• FoodandAgricultureOrganization (FAO).FAOand the17Sustainable

DevelopmentGoals(2016)

Disclaimer: The recommendations and opinions expressed in the policy brief are entirely those of the participants and not necessarily those of the parent organization.

Reducepoverty,stimulateemploymentandcontributetosustainableeconomicgrowth

DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

Createopportunitiesforwomen’sempowerment

throughemploymentwithinthefishvaluechain

GENDEREQUALITY Improvehealthand

well-beingthroughincreasedfishconsumption

GOOD HEALTHAND WELL-BEING

Endhungerandincreasefoodsecuritybymakingfishmorewidelyavailableandaffordable

ZEROHUNGER

Reducepoverty,stimulateemploymentandcontributetosustainableeconomicgrowth

NO POVERTYSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

(SDGs)

PURPOSES

Thisbriefpresentsoptionsforenhancingthecontributionsthataquaculturecanmaketoinclusivegrowth,ruraldevelopmentandfoodsecurity.Itprovidesinformationabout:

1.ThestatusandsignificanceofMyanmar’saquaculture;and2.Optionsforunlockingthehugepotentialofaquaculturetoraiserural incomes,createjobsandsupportnationalfoodsecurity.