Volunteer Post

Improved Cassava Farming Practices in Southwestern Burma

September 3, 2014

Jen Snow

The Burma (or Myanmar) office extends its thanks to recent Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) volunteer Luis Manrique, an agronomist and soil technician visiting from Hawaii. Luis trained twenty participants in Kyonpyaw, a small town in the Ayeyarwaddy Region, on improved farming practices and increased yields and quality for cassava production.

F2F volunteer Luis Manrique speaks to his audience of cassava farmers in Kyonpyaw

U Kyaw Thu Ra, Chairman of the Cassava Association, shows Luis and Daw Than Than Sein around a local farm prior to the start of the training

Luis hopes that farmers will use alternative planting systems (rows, ridges, and elevated beds), mulching, intercropping, and higher plant populations as ways to increase their yields and improve soil quality.

Luis and Daw Than Than Sein discuss local cassava techniques and farming systems prior to the training

In his own words: “I am leaving Myanmar with a much improved view of their people. I found them quite creative and imaginative in finding solutions to their problems. Particularly moving was the experience of meeting a member of the Cassava Farmers Group who shares his house with young people coming to town from distant places to attend high school. This extreme gesture of generosity without retribution says it all about the people of this part of Burma. They are willing to take steps to improve their livelihood if they could just have access to knowledge and improved technology.”