Phyu Phyu Lwin lives in Htamhsam village in Southern Shan State. The village is centered in the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone, which is a region of three townships in Taunggyi District. In Htamhsam agriculture is the main source of livelihood, and here the villagers are growing rice, corn, ginger, turmeric, garlic, and soybean.
But the output is low. The farmers use traditional agricultural techniques and haven’t had any extension support. As a result, the farmer’s economic situation isn’t stable;
“Farmers do not have extra income or saving. They are stuck in the cycle of using the income from the harvest for the next season,” tell Phyu Phyu Lwin.
Moreover, the farmers in Htamhsam use the pesticides they can find at the market and throw the containers away after they have used them. They do not know what kind of damage chemical pesticides may cause on the crops or on the people. Sometimes the children find the cans and plays with them or even worse, they put water in them and use them as drinking bottles;
“We just thought that the colored labels on the chemical pesticide containers were decoration. But after I received training, I found out that the labels show how hazardous chemical pesticides are. For instance, red labels indicate a high level of toxicity and blue labels indicate lesser toxicity. I learned that not only liquid chemical pesticide but even its container can badly affect us.”
Phyu Phyu Lwin received training at MIID’s Farmer Field School. Before there were no supporting organizations or agricultural training. The focus of the Farmer Field Schools is teaching the farmers about agricultural practices in both theoretical and practical terms, and enable them to apply their new knowledge at their own farms.
“I learned that we need to dispose those empty containers properly and we need to keep pesticides and fungicides out of reach of children. That is why, the training is very good and helpful for our farmers,” she concludes.
This project is implemented by Myanmar Institute for Integrated Development and funded by UK Aid through the DaNa Facility. The project is a three-year grant agreement called: “Improving Market Opportunities for Small Holder Farmers, Especially Women, in the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone”.