THE opening ceremony of the Agricultural Machinery Exhi­bition, jointly organized by the Agricultural Mechanization Department and the Myanmar Agricultural Machinery Entre­preneurs Association, was held yesterday morning at the Agri­culture and Livestock Institute (Pyinmana) in Nay Pyi Taw.

The ceremony was attend­ed by Union Ministers Dr Kan Zaw, Dr Wah Wah Maung, U Min Naung, U Hla Moe, U Ko Ko Lwin and Dr Charlie Than, Chairman of the Nay Pyi Taw Council U Than Tun Oo, deputy ministers, members of the Nay Pyi Taw Council, permanent secretaries, directors-general, agricultural machinery entre­preneurs, farmers, and other responsible personnel.

Union Minister for Agricul­ture, Livestock and Irrigation U Min Naung, Director-General of Agricultural Mechanization Department U Kyaw Tun Aye and Chairman of the Myanmar Agricultural Machinery Entre­preneurs Association U Naing Oo officially opened the Agri­cultural Machinery Exhibition by cutting the ribbon.

The ceremony then contin­ued, and Union Minister U Min Naung stated that approximate­ly 70 per cent of Myanmar’s pop­ulation lives in rural areas and is engaged, in one way or another, in agricultural activities. There­fore, to promote socioeconomic development for rural commu­nities, the National Defence and Security Council has set out four key objectives, one of which is “to persistently strive for pro­moting the socioeconomic life of the people through the devel­opment of agro-based industries in imporving the agricultural sector, the vital foundation of the economic growth of the State”.

He further explained that, in promoting the development of the agricultural sector, the State is prioritizing efforts to achieve target crop yields, en­hance cropping intensity, en­sure the correct application of seeds, soil, water and tech­nology, systematically improve soil fertility, manage irrigation water efficiently, and develop post-harvest technologies. In this regard, the adoption of mechanized farming systems plays a vital role.

As the State continues to encourage and support the increased use of machinery in the agricultural sector, sta­tistics indicate that, as of the end of November 2025, farmers owned a total of 43,939 tractors, 462,627 power-tillers, 158 rice transplanters, 610 manual rice transplanters, 37,467 hand-held seeders, 13,211 combine har­vesters, and 2,110 rice dryers.

Although Myanmar has already made reasonable use of machinery for land prepa­ration and rice harvesting and threshing, the use of machinery in other stages of agricultur­al operations — such as crop planting, crop management, harvesting and threshing of crops other than rice, and crop drying — remains at an early stage. It is evident that, in or­der to achieve full mechaniza­tion, a substantial number of agricultural machines will still be required at every stage of farming operations.

The Agricultural Machin­ery Exhibition is being jointly organized by the Agricultural Mechanization Department and the Myanmar Agricultural Ma­chinery Entrepreneurs Associ­ation. The exhibition showcases a wide range of agricultural ma­chinery used in farming activi­ties, including tractors, combine harvesters, rice transplanters, seeders, bean harvesters, pow­er-tillers, hand-held seeders, grass cutters, sprayers, engines, rice mills, solar-powered pumps, crop dryers, trailers, and trac­tor-mounted implements. Farm­ers will have the opportunity to study the machinery of their interest in detail. In addition, machinery demonstrations will be conducted, and services such as sales at affordable prices and instalment-based purchase op­tions will also be provided for farmers, he said.

Thereafter, Director-Gen­eral U Kyaw Tun Aye of the Ag­ricultural Mechanization De­partment, and Chairman of the Association U Naing Oo gave briefings on the organization of the exhibition and ongoing activities.

Farmers Choice Tractor Co Ltd first donated two Sonalika tractors along with two trail­ers, Myanmar Empire Co Ltd donated one Belarus-manufac­tured tractor with one trailer, and Mandalar Shwe Thiha Co Ltd donated a Sonalika 90 HP tractor together with one locally manufactured front dozer to the Union minister. Certificates of honour were presented in re­turn.

After the opening cere­mony, Union ministers and re­sponsible officials toured the exhibition halls showcasing agricultural machinery and observed live demonstrations of practical ploughing and cul­tivation using the equipment on display.

At the exhibition, more than 300 types of machinery, includ­ing various large tractors for land preparation, trailers, rice transplanters, seeders, weed­ers, sprayers, combine harvest­ers, straw balers, rice dryers, potato planters, potato harvest­ers, cassava planters, and maize harvesters, are being displayed and offered for sale through 30 exhibition booths operated by 22 companies from 22 to 24 De­cember. Live demonstrations of operating, ploughing and cultivating with agricultural machinery will be conducted during the exhibition period. — MNA/MKKS