his story is about a Myanmar Corn Farmer of Nyaungdone Township. Nyaungdone is about 67 km from Yangon and situated on the bank of Panhlaing River. We can say that COVID-19 and the February 1 2021 Coup did not have as much effect on the farmers as the blue collar workers. But they have faced a lot of instability when selling their produce at good prices. In general in Myanmar the exports of agricultural products dropped, prices fall and access to credit became much harder. About half of all adults in Myanmar work in agricultural related jobs.
This corn farmer lives in a village which is surrounded by river water in the rainy season. So, he can only afford to do his business during the summertime. This is called a one season business. He talked to me about the corn cultivation process in his village. He produces and resells the corn seeds which export to the neighbouring countries Thailand and China.
Starting to cultivate the corn: When he had prepared his farm land, he bought the corn seeds which were directly distributed from the corn company. These can be bought only in the town so he always goes to the town from his village to buy the corn seeds. It takes 45 minutes by boat from his village to the town. He rarely goes to the town because his village is poor, undeveloped and also has no electricity. But it has plenty of organic food and water related products.
Back to the topic, one and a half bags of corn seeds is needed for one acre. He works together with his part-time workers and starts to cultivate these seeds. Before the harvest time, he pumps the water into his farm 3 or 4 times during the cultivating time. He always takes care of his business by listening to the weather conditions and by doing proper nutrient management. Besides, he tries to choose the right fertilizer which is bought from town and application dates which are keys to a successful yield.
When the corn plants are ready to roll, mostly it takes four months, he harvests them and places them under the sun 2 or 3 days by packing these harvested corn. After that, he has to carry them by a tok tok car to his home where his own corn thresher is. He tells me that he also conducts business by renting this corn thresher to other farmers. During the season, it makes additional money for his family’s income.
As the corn seeds need to get the sunlight, they are placed for 2 or 3 days under the sun. After he checks the seeds’ condition, he puts them into each bag, sealed and all are ready to sell.
Sending them to the town:
The transportation process is not easy. Firstly, he carries the trailer from his home to the jetty. After that, the big boat carries his corn bags to the town throughout the river. Finally, when reaches the town’s port he carries his corn bags again with the trailer to the corn exchange where he will sell his corn.
At that place, he has to wait for a while during the produce quality check by the wholesaler.In the end, he collects the money, does the shopping in the market and then goes back to his home. This is the process of how he runs the corn business for his family. He sell like this nearly four times depending on his oil condition.
The writer overview; As per the above story, we understand that the corn farmer’s life is not easy. He has to face a lot of difficulties in cultivation and transportation of the products. By thinking about their business process, we should promote our corn export market globally. This could assist with higher prices of products and goods for farmers like him. Let us together share this to strengthen his business sustainability and profitibility.
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