KEY MESSAGES
• Aquaculture inMyanmarhasmassivepotentialtoraiseruralincomesandmeetdomesticandglobaldemand.
• Acompetitiveaquaculturesector ledbysmallfarmersandsmallandmedium-sizedenterprises(SMEs)canbestgenerateemploymentandstimulateruralgrowth.
MYA
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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.
AQ
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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
Tota
l Fis
h Pr
oduc
tion
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.