New publication: Learning together in the Ayeyarwaddy Delta

A publication of the project "Livelihood and Food Security Trust Fund (LIFT), features the Postharvest Learning Alliance as one of the approaches used that was able to gather different rice value chain stakeholders to link smallholder farmers to the market. 

The chapter unraveled the mechanisms used by rice stakeholders, especially farmers, to provide an array of technical options and encourage social learning that evaluates technology. 

Click here to read the whole publication. 

More Myanmar rice farmers are trying improved technologies to reduce postharvest losses

by Reianne Quilloy

Reposted from Rice Today online 

Myanmar farmers learn about improved methods for drying paddy at a recent Learning Alliance meeting.
(Photo by Christopher Cabardo)

LETPADAN TOWNSHIP, Myanmar –A project that improves the productivity and sustainability of irrigated rice systems continues to engage Myanmar farmers and other actors in using improved technologies that will protect them against postharvest losses. The new technologies are expected to help upgrade the country’s overall rice value chain.

Closing rice yield gaps in Asia with reduced environmental footprints (CORIGAP) is a project implemented in six countries to improve food security and alleviate poverty by optimizing the productivity and sustainability of irrigated rice production systems. The project uses an interactive and participatory process among farmers, scientists, extension agents, public and private sectors, and other stakeholders—known as the Learning Alliance—to conduct action-oriented research centered on improving the rice value chain for smallholder farmers.

In previous meetings with CORIGAP, most farmers in Gyoe Pin Sakhan village said it takes them 2 to 3 days to dry their rice grains under the sun, a traditional method they usually practice. While sun drying is cheap, it is also unreliable and difficult to control the temperature. They lose up to 7 baskets of paddy if they are unable to dry it to the ideal moisture content for storage. Some farmers opt to sell their paddy right after harvesting due to the lack of storage facilities and drying spaces.

U Tin Shwe is a farmer who has been participating since 2015 in CORIGAP’s Learning Alliance activities organized by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and Myanmar’s Department of Agriculture. He learned about different drying options and decided to tap IRRI’s collaborator, the Pioneer Postharvest Development Group, to build a flatbed dryer that could provide farmers with an alternative to sun drying. Locally made dryers ensure the use of readily available materials for easier maintenance and after-sales service.

In a Learning Alliance meeting conducted on 11 September, 25 farmers expressed their interest to assess the performance of the flatbed dryer. Five farmers from the group also volunteered to dry their paddy using U Tin Shwe’s newly built flatbed dryer during the coming monsoon season in October. “We want to assess the benefits related to the use of a flatbed dryer,” one participant said. “Are we going to get a higher price for our paddy if we use the flatbed dryer?”

The farmers were also interested in using GrainSafe™ to store their grains. GrainSafe™ is a 1–ton capacity hermetic storage system that maintains grain viability.

“I appreciate the IRRI team for coming to Letpadan,” U Tin Shwe said. “We hope that IRRI continues to visit us. We are excited to see the trial results. This can pave way for more farmers getting better quality rice.”

CORIGAP activities in Myanmar are funded by the Swiss Development Agency and Cooperation. Similar Learning Alliance activities in Myanmar are also conducted in Maubin Township, through the MyRice, a project funded by the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research.

Myanmar Learning Alliance: A year of lessons and progress

T wo village-level Learning Alliances  (LA), facilitated by IRRI in Myanmar, discussed progress at its current learning cycle, and revisited previous cycles to track how the Alliance has learned and  changed.

Varieties, quality improvement, and markets: Maubin Learning Alliance

The Maubin LA started in December 2013 initially to learn about improving quality and new  varieties linked with the project’s participatory varietal selection (PVS). One year after, at its 4th LA meeting held in Maubin township, the Alliance saw changes in the topics being shared and the activities implemented.

Learning Alliance members tested the IRRI lightweight thresher to speed up
postharvest operation and deter postharvest losses.

In previous learning cycles, the Alliance explored which varieties and quality would be acceptable in markets that provide premium price for quality (see RIPPLE Vol. 9, Number 1, January-June 2014 issue). They also explored possible seed sources. As a result, some farmers bought seeds at the Hmawbi Seed Farm. They chose one variety from the PVS (Sin Htwe Latt), and another variety that has a good selling price in Yangon wholesale markets. The varieties were grown over the monsoon season, where rice postharvest operations could be delayed because farmers need to establish pulses for summer crop. For this meeting, participants assessed Sin Htwe Latt based on management, yield, and marketability. The farmers who planted it also noted its short-duration trait, hence, allowing them to plant pulses on time. Farmers also had ample time for rice postharvest operations. Linking this with improved rice quality and higher price, some farmers were interested to see whether good quality sold at the right time would indeed provide better profits. To support this interest, a 1-ton capacity mobile mechanical dryer was set-up in Nga Gyi Gayat village. At the time of the meeting, one farmer had tried the dryer. He will also try to store and sell when the price is higher. Another option to improve quality was the use of a portable lightweight thresher. This can allow farmers to thresh immediately in the field after harvest rather than piling the cut crop in the field for weeks  before threshing. Postharvest specialists Christopher Cabardo, Yan Lin Aung, and Myo Aung Kyaw demonstrated how this can help reduce postharvest losses. LA members also provided feedback on how to improve the equipment.

Dryers, quality rice, and markets:Bogale Learning Alliance

In December 2013, Learning Alliance members in Bogale wanted to learn more about paddy drying. To support this, a dryer was established in Kyee Chaung village for farmers in eight neighboring villages, including Kyee Chaung. In its 5th LA meeting in Bogale Township, LA members revisited the area to see the progress made in the past year and from the current learning cycle. Members previously shared that the market visit raised awareness on rice paddy quality sold in export and wholesale markets, and the different trading links that operate in their area.

Members visited wholesale and export markets in Yangon to learn about
rice prices depending on quality

They also learned about the market performance of Bogale-produced rice in terms of purity and eating quality. They also realized how paddy quality affects milled rice quality. Taking off from these, some farmers tried mechanical drying using the IRRI flatbed dryer,then storing hermetically at the Professionnels du developpement solidaire (GRET) communal storage for 3 months. After which, they sell in bulk, at US$17/ton, in Bogale and Moulamyinegyun, and realized the benefits of selling good quality paddy in bulk. GRET is a NGO partner. In the next harvest season, some farmer members want to use a lightweight thresher, dry mechanically, store in the communal storage, and sell to a Yangon wholesale trader. They also discussed other payment schemes to support the use of dryers by farmers who may not have cash available for drying fees at harvest time. They would also like to raise more awareness about drying and encourage more farmers to sell in bulk. Expanding the learning agenda “The Learning Alliance concept applied at the village level is a powerful tool to connect different value chain actors and empower farmers by linking them to alternative markets. It (village-level LAs) can serve as a model for other villages in Myanmar,” says Martin Gummert, IRRI scientist of the Postharvest Unit and lead facilitator of the Learning Alliance. The topics identified by members for the next learning cycle include: a message design workshop on best practices in  ostharvest, documented comparisons on costs and effectiveness of the practices from drying to selling, better integration with activities of NGO partners (e.g., credit schemes), other drying options (e.g., solar bubble dryer), and technologies that will help the minority of farmers who do not fit the ecological conditions common in their village.

LA members conduct small group learning trials based on their topic of interest. The lessons are shared with others, with the idea of expanding the reach of the projects by exploring relevant topics through participatory activities that involve different stakeholders.

CORIGAP News: Learning cycles continue in Myanmar

CORIGAP News: Learning cycles continue in Myanmar: By Reianne Quilloy, Martin Gummert, and Rica Joy Flor Iterative learning cycles involving different stakeholders target learning not only ...

CORIGAP News: Postharvest activities to reduce losses ramp up in...

CORIGAP News: Postharvest activities to reduce losses ramp up in...: By Reianne Quilloy, Christopher Cabardo, and Rica Joy Flor Demonstrating a technology such as the solar bubble dryer requires a hands-on ...

Myanmar: Farmers learn to link with wholesale and export market

by Rica Joy Flor

Farmers from Bogale and Maubin asks some questions to the trader about the prices and the types of rice they sell

A learning alliance (LA) meeting on linking with markets was conducted last May 2-3, 2014 in Yangon. About 25 alliance members, farmers, private sector, and NGO partners from Bogale and Maubin townships attended the event.

The participants visited a wholesale rice trading depot in Wadan and an export market in Bayint Naung area to interact with traders and learn about quality, varieties, logistics and pricing of grains. The group also interacted with members of Myanmar Rice and Paddy Traders’ Association (MRPTA) and township trade leaders to know more about trading practices. With the emphasis on producing good quality from good seeds, farmers met with staff of the Hmaw Bi Seed farm to know about available seeds and seed production.

Farmers learned about quality. U Kyaw Ei, a Bogale rice farmer, said that Bogale rice is priced the lowest of nine townships trading the same variety in Wadan. From milled rice samples of traders, he saw the low price has to do with low quality grains.

 For Maubin and Bogale LA, the learning cycle on varieties and postharvest will continue for the monsoon season 2014.

Myanmar: Village-level learning alliance meetings conducted

Learning alliance partners in Maubin plan their next activities for the Summer 2014 harvesting season

by Reianne Quilloy

Two village-level learning alliance (LA) meetings were held in Maubin and Bogale Townships last March 15 and 18, 2014. These meetings aim to support ACIAR and UNOPS funded project activities and use new technologies like new varieties and postharvest technologies.

 For the Maubin Township LA meeting facilitated by Rica Flor, 44 participants ( 13 women) from the Department of Agriculture (DOA), four key project villages, partner NGOs, millers, traders,  private sector stakeholders, and IRRI personnel attended the event. Updates were provided regarding the ongoing participatory varietal selection trials and postharvest issues.
 Meanwhile, a total of 36 participants joined the Bogale LA meeting held in the Bogale Township Library and facilitated by Reianne Quilloy. There were 23 farmers (6 women); 4 from NGO; 2 from DOA; 1 miller; and 6 from IRRI who attended the event. One of the event highlights was the sharing of farmers about the benefits and challenges in piloting the flatbed dryer (FBD). The FBD was installed by the IRRI Postharvest group and funded by the Group for Research and Technology Exchanges (GRET) and village farmers on October 2013, which the farmers’ group has already used in the last postharvest season.  GRET has in the meantime established an inventory storage system for the group which will complement the drying operation, enabling farmers to store high quality rice coming from the dryer until market prices are favorable for selling grains.

Martin Gummert, one the meeting facilitators, asks the Bogale LA group who wants to try using the flat bed dryer

 As a result of the meetings, the farmers identified next learning activities, i.e. farmers will produce good quality grains using postharvest technology, like the FBD, sell it to the miller partners, document how the crop is assessed, and see if the millers will give price incentive for quality.

The Learning Alliance is a platform to engage project stakeholders to share, learn from each other, and collaborate on providing solutions to produce better quality grains and link farmers to better markets in Myanmar.