Total area of Myanmarof Myanmar
Burma farmland as a proportion of the total area, 1960-2017
By 2015, farmland accounted for 16.7% of Myanmar's area. Myanmar's farmland's share of the country's total surface area rose from 15.2% in 1966 to 16.7% in 2015 with an AAGR of 0.19%. Farmland comprises areas designated by the Food and Agriculture Organization as transitional areas under cultivation (double areas are considered once), transitional pastures for cutting or grazing, areas under commercial or agricultural garden and transitional wastelands.
Areas that have been given up due to travelling field farming are not included.
In Myanmar, the production of mypium is declining strongly, except in some areas of conflict: United Nations bulletin
The sharpest declines were in East Shan (37%) and South Shan (29%). It also shows, however, that although there has been headway, the states of North Shan and Kachin have suffered losses of less than 3% and 7% respectively, which represents a decline of only 600ha.
The decline in crop yields was compensated for by higher yields per ha, with a 14% decline in prospective output of opioum compared to 2015. It reaffirms the relationship between the Myanmar conflicts and myanmar opine, and that unsafe areas with live riots are still being cultivated and produced at a level similar to 2015.
And we will support the shift from dependency on opioum to alternate and sustained commercial possibilities. As long as substantial parts of Shan and Kachin stay fragile and essentially independent of the remainder of the land and the area, the natural habitat will stay a safer haven for those involved in drugs trafficking.
Declining production of opioum is being driven by a shifting local narcotics markets, which have led to a drop in the price of opioum and heroine in recent years, as most East and Southeast Asian economies have seen a move towards the use of synthesised narcotics, particularly methamphetamines. Interior Minister Kyaw Swe recognised that further efforts are needed to combat the high levels of opioid, smack and other narcotics production in Myanmar efficiently.
The Myanmar government is delighted with the advancement, but also acknowledges that much remains to be done, and we will continued to promote programs that offer sensible alternative to the municipalities that make it.