Improving the efficiency of the country’s dams and canals could more than double the supply of water to rice-growing areas and could boost rice exports, the deputy agriculture minister says. Speaking to reporters, U Tun Win described the focus of his department’s efforts over the next 100 days.
he two-decades-long neglect of dams and canals had weakened the nation’s production, said the deputy minister. He said repair work would start with Thaphan Seik dam – one of the longest dams in Southeast Asia – in Sagaing Region.
“During the next 100 days, we will deepen dams that have silted up and repair leaks in canals,” he said, describing the task as “immense” because it covered the entire country. “We will do everything we can with the budget we have,” he said.
Thaphan Seik had been selected as the first as it delivered water to most areas in Sagaing, Myanmar’s second-biggest rice bowl.
“We will deepen the dam so it can store more water and repair cracks in the canals. One canal can deliver water to 500,000 acres, but because of cracks that capacity has fallen to about 200,000 acres. Our repairs will enable the dam and the canals to greatly increase the volume of water supplied to farmlands,” he said.
Many of the country’s 500 dams are not supplying sufficient water to farms and defective canals are losing water. The reduction of capacity in silted-up dams can led to flooding in the rainy season and premature drought in summer.
U Tun Win said the river water pumping plan developed by General Myint Aung in Ayeyarwady Region allowed the export of 1.5 million tonnes of rice after domestic consumption needs had been satisfied.
“But the amount of rice exported rice last year was 1.8 million tonnes. Despite building and developing 500 dams over the past 24 years, we have increased our rice export volume by only 0.3 million tonnes. This is just not good enough. We have to get to work on those dams,” he said.
From: Myanmar Times
