Residents and farmers in Ayeyarwady Region’s Myaungmya and Einme townships told DVB that their urad bean fields were destroyed by flooding caused by the continuous rainfall in the region since mid-October. Urad bean, also known as black bean, is a secondary crop mostly cultivated in Ayeyarwady and neighbouring Bago Region for domestic consumption and export overseas.
“We hoped that urad prices would have increased this year than last year. So, we hurried planting urad seeds,” a farmer from Ayeyarwady’s Einme Township told DVB. Einme is located 37 miles (60 km) east of the region’s capital Pathein.
One metric ton (1,000 kg) of urad bean reached 3.8 million MMK ($820 USD) on Oct. 20. One metric ton of urad seed from last year was 2.9 million MMK ($626 USD), according to the market price. A bag of low quality rice cost 100,000 MMK ($215.98 USD) on Oct. 20.
“If the rain continues like this, everything we had planted will be gone,” a farmer in Myaungmya’s Kangyi village told DVB on the condition of anonymity. Myaungmya is located 35 miles (56 km) east of the region’s capital Pathein.
A resident told DVB that the rain has ruined every urad bean field in Myaungmya. The majority of farmers in Ayayarwady cultivate urad bean, which is grown during the winter seasons starting in October and harvested from March to April.
They also cultivate short-term paddy, which is planted in June-July and harvested in September-October. Farmers told DVB that many paddy fields were destroyed due to heavy rainfall last month and are unable to harvest this year.
The regime’s Department of Meteorology and Hydrology forecast heavy rain in Yangon, Naypyidaw, Bago, Magway, Ayeyarwady, Tanintharyi regions, as well as in Chin and Arakan states, until the end of October.
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