By Khaing Khaing Shwe

 

MYANMAR, a vast green land adorned with golden temples, is my home country, and I am proud to be its citizen. When I began travelling abroad three decades ago for international assign­ments, immigration officers in the international airports rarely knew where the country printed on their red passports was located in the world. The easiest way to help them identify our country was just to refer to “Thailand”, a neighbouring country that is more widely renowned interna­tionally. While I was studying in Singapore in 2000, the National University of Singapore (NUS) organized a seminar on the topic related to “Constitution”, where the speaker was the former Phil­ippine President F Ramos. Our Faculty of Public Policy sent stu­dents to attend this seminar, and I raised a question to the President. Before answering my question, he asked me back, “Where are you from?” Before I could reply, my classmates from the MPP pro­gramme responded loudly for me: “Myanmar, Myanmar, Myanmar”, which gave me amazing pride as a Myanmar citizen. My home­land has always been in my heart, wherever I have been staying, and it even lives in my email address, paired with my name.

 

Not only for me, but for many, Myanmar is home to 54 million people belonging to 135 different national ethnic groups. Around 70 per cent of the population lives in greener rural areas, farming rice paddies and various other crops, surrounded by vast forests and di­verse landscapes including moun­tains, hills, valleys, coastlines, and plains. Nearly 19 million rural peo­ple (about 50 per cent of the rural population) are engaged in agri­culture. Therefore, agriculture is not only the backbone of our rural economy but also a key part of our national identity. It serves as the main livelihood for most ethnic national communities and is vital to the country’s overall economy. Successive governments, in differ­ent periods, have sought ways to improve the agricultural sector as part of endeavours for national economic development. However, agricultural growth has remained slow, progressing gradually under transitional farming practices.

 

It still needs to properly adopt new technologies and techniques at its own pace, while promoting sustainable farming practices that ensure long-term agricultural productivity and minimize envi­ronmental impacts through the optimal use of chemical inputs. We need to guide the rural econ­omy in the right direction. Oth­erwise, under ongoing economic hardship, low-income farmlands may be used for other purposes as people turn to negative coping strategies. Some are already sell­ing their assets, lands and proper­ties to earn quick money for daily survival, investment, or to send working-age family members to seek jobs inside or outside the country.

 

What we have learnt through liberalization ...

 

After socialism ended in 1988, economic liberalization allowed private investment, enabling companies to introduce new technologies, including informa­tion technology, which connect­ed us to the global network. In rural areas, farming techniques have improved in areas like seed treatment, water management, and smart farming. As with any new technology, there are both advantages and disadvantages, and the outcomes depend on how the technology is used. Some com­panies entered by leasing land at high seasonal rental rates, prom­ising to introduce new technolo­gies that would benefit farmers. However, while they reaped the benefits, they left behind for­eign waste on the farms, such as plastic materials used to pro­tect plants and fruits, single-use underground plastic water pipes and failed to properly prepare the soil to support healthy root devel­opment, plant tissues, and young offshoots.

 

Plastic waste does not de­compose easily in the soil; it can take anywhere from ten to a hun­dred years to break down, depend­ing on the type, making it one of the biggest challenges for land use. The most visible negative impacts are seen in plantations of foreign-gene melons and tis­sue-cultured bananas, where plas­tic ropes and sheets are used to support fruit growth and maintain quality. According to one study, growing 500 banana plants can generate up to 77.5 viss of plastic waste from fruiting to harvest. These environmental issues can be addressed by strengthening legal frameworks. Therefore, economic liberalization should be accompanied by strong legal regulations to ensure sustainable development.

 

Financial decentralization plays a very important role in eco­nomic liberalization. Centralized decision-making often overlooks local needs, leading to uneven development and increasing in­equality. Decentralization is also necessary to direct resources and opportunities to less developed states and regions, ensuring bet­ter access to essential rural ser­vices such as education, health­care, and agricultural support. Financial decentralization at the state and regional levels should offer enough flexibility to prioritize rural needs, rather than concen­trating primarily on micro-ur­banization and industrial devel­opment, as rural development is often replicated from urban mod­els. If sub-national governments can properly implement decen­tralization and respond to local needs, agricultural productivity and rural livelihoods will improve.

 

While the above structural foundations are important for ru­ral development, rural commu­nities also need basic infrastruc­ture such as transport networks linking them to markets, access to essential services, electricity, communication networks, and a clean water supply.

 

Yangon and Mandalay are undergoing rapid urbanization, attracting rural-urban migrants and creating economic oppor­tunities, but also leading to the growth of urban slums. As with many rapidly urbanizing areas, town planning often falls short of meeting the infrastructure, envi­ronmental, and social needs of the overcrowding population. These cities face challenges such as infrastructure deficits, including inadequate housing, water supply, sanitation, and waste manage­ment, along with environmental degradation, including higher carbon emissions, air and wa­ter pollution, and groundwater depletion. The widespread use of concrete surfaces, as a town style, prevents rainwater from naturally seeping into the ground, which is essential for recharging groundwater, further worsening the environmental impact.

 

Moreover, when development is unfolding under conditions of inadequate town planning and weak regulatory enforcement, stark disparities in development have emerged between city cen­tres and their peripheral areas. For example, while central Man­dalay enjoys relatively stable ac­cess to paved roads, electricity, and public services, nearby Ta­daU faces poor road networks, unprotected riverbank along the Dokhtawady, limited water supply, and long travel requirements for daily schooling. Similarly, Hlegu, on the outskirts of Yangon, lacks the basic infrastructure, trans­port and municipal support found in the urban core. These uneven development patterns have con­tributed to urban sprawl, informal settlements, and increased social and economic inequality. Then, a big gap can be imagined be­tween villages and towns within a state/region. These gaps can be addressed through inclusive planning, proper infrastructure investment, and stronger local governance is essential to en­sure balanced and sustainable urban and rural development in Myanmar.

 

When the income gap be­tween rural and urban areas is narrowed, disparities are reduced and equality improves across the country. In our country, inequality remains a major concern, and the quickest way to address this is by focusing on the development of the majority population, most of whom live in rural areas. There­fore, rural development must be prioritized in the national devel­opment agenda. According to the World Bank, Myanmar had ap­proximately 10.99 million hectares (27.17 million acres) of arable land as of 2021, and if double-cropping is implemented on 6.39 million acres along the Ayeyawady River and its tributaries, the country could move closer to becoming a prosperous nation. Rural are­as hold both human and natural resources, and although succes­sive governments have worked to improve the agricultural sector and tackle its challenges, there is still a need to create the right conditions and strengthen key contributing factors for sustain­able growth.

 

With the liberalization of fi­nancial and capital markets, the free movement of money, invest­ments, and credit has become possible, allowing markets to open to foreign competition and integrate them across borders. This interconnected environment enables capitalist enterprises to access funding, expand their busi­nesses, invest in innovation, and enter new markets more easily. At the same time, it intensifies global competition, which is a key feature of capitalism which inevitably cre­ates both better-offs and worse-offs. Well-connected financial and capital markets, therefore, serve as a strong foundation for the expansion and deepening of capitalism on a global scale. This is an important consideration for rural development to ensure the protection of rural populations. Most capitalist countries are in­dustrialized nations that depend heavily on raw materials such as agricultural products, oil, metals, and timber for manufacturing and energy. They will find the places where they can get raw materi­als and use a business strategy to get them cheaply. To protect local farmers and farmer groups from being disadvantaged in this competitive environment, it is es­sential to have a strong rural fi­nancing policy that ensures equal access to financial resources.

 

Our country has abundant raw materials, which have long been exported in their unpro­cessed forms. Now, our country also has a good mission to pro­mote sustainable development in Myanmar’s agriculture sec­tor through the growth of agro-based industries. This mission will bring technologies that add value by transforming raw mate­rials into refined or finished prod­ucts, creating employment and generating economic benefits in the agricultural sector. The most critical challenge is to strategi­cally plan and build an enabling environment where agro-based industries can thrive with the support of adequate infrastruc­ture while preserving rural social and cultural norms, minimizing the negative impacts of liberal­ization under globalization, and protecting against the downsides of capitalism.

 

Transforming Rural Lives through Rubanization …

 

There are many theories and pieces of literature on rural de­velopment. With over 30 years of experience working on rural de­velopment, I have often reflected on how we can truly improve the lives of people in rural areas in Myanmar. Twenty years ago, a professor opened my eyes to the importance of breaking down the rural-urban divide by strength­ening agriculture, creating jobs, and promoting agro-tourism. This requires a focus on land use plan­ning, environmental conservation, and resource management, while ensuring social equity and equal­ity; all aimed at improving resi­dents' quality of life and achieving sustainable development. This is Rubanization – urbanizing the rural. Rubanization is a process of improving rural livelihoods by enhancing agriculture, promot­ing agro-tourism, and creating jobs, while also narrowing the gap between rural and urban areas. This approach encourages rural regions to adopt certain urban characteristics such as improved infrastructure, modern lifestyles, and better services. It also aims to diversify the rural economy and reduce migration from villages to cities.

 

India began implementing this concept in 2016 through the National Rurban Mission, which focuses on developing 300 clus­ters – groups of geographically connected villages. The mission aims to promote a more balanced and sustainable model of develop­ment by combining the benefits of urban life with rural settings, ensuring inclusive growth across the country.

 

It is difficult to rubanize a vil­lage when it is already well-estab­lished in terms of physical layout and infrastructure, as rubaniza­tion requires properly allocated land for various purposes, such as residential, industrial, commer­cial, educational, health, and com­munal areas, as well as space for transport, utility networks (water, sanitation, waste management, electricity), and other essential systems to support village func­tioning. Rubanization is more commonly applied to the planning of new village settlements.

 

Right timing..

 

For the past decade, I have quietly dreamed of pursuing rubanization in our rural areas, but found significant challenges in reorganizing land use and cre­ating an enabling environment. Now, our country is entering a favourable period to begin ruban­ization in our rural areas.

 

With the possibility of cease­fire agreements on the horizon, there will soon be a need to re­build conflict-affected regions where rubanization can play a crucial role in shaping future development. Without a doubt, rubanization has the potential to bring out the best possible outcomes, even in the worst-case scenarios affected by the conflicts.

 

Strengthening synergies with agro-based industries ...

 

Moreover, while rubani­zation keeps agriculture at its heart, it also promotes economic diversification by creating more jobs and income opportunities. It connects with other sectors such as agro-tourism, service industries, and manufacturing, fostering a more resilient rural economy. Alongside economic diversification, rubanization en­courages local entrepreneurship and supports small businesses based on local context and availa­ble raw products. Ensuring equal access to credit and financial services for rural entrepreneurs is essential for business invest­ment and growth. In a post-con­flict setting, rubanization serves as a powerful tool to transform hardship into opportunity, offer­ing every rural person a mean­ingful new beginning.

 

Rubanization must follow a multifaceted process influ­enced by a variety of intercon­nected factors. These include investments in infrastructure such as transport, energy, and communication; better access to education and healthcare; support for entrepreneurship and economic diversification; and the development of social infrastructure like housing and sanitation, all guided by active community participation. In ad­dition, policies that strengthen agriculture, protect the environ­ment, reduce climate change impact, promote sustainable natural resource management, and ensure access to credit and financial services are essential to driving rubanization forward.

 

That’s why rubanization re­quires multi-sectoral planning, involving various areas of exper­tise. Town planners are needed to develop and implement partic­ipatory rural development plans; architects to design public facil­ities; engineers for infrastruc­ture and transportation systems; economists to assess the eco­nomic impacts of planning deci­sions and diversification; sociol­ogists to bring community voices into the process and analyze the social implications of rubaniza­tion; environmentalists to carry out environmental assessments and recommend sustainable ecosystem practices; land use experts to study the impacts of land use; and agricultural and tourism specialists, along with other technical professionals, to provide essential services in education, health, water and sanitation, waste management, and more. Rubanization must also take population growth into account. It aims to create func­tional, livable, and sustainable villages that meet the needs of residents while maximizing eco­nomic development, protecting the environment, and promoting social and economic equity.

 

However, the siloed working culture in Myanmar makes mul­ti-sectoral coordination difficult. From my experience between 2014 and 2019 in establishing gov­ernment-led multi-sectoral coor­dination platforms in three re­gions – Mandalay, Magway, and Sagaing – only one-third were successful. Yet, evidence shows that with good governance and strong political will focused on the public interest, it is possible to bring different stakeholders to the table. For example, after the tsunami, the government of the Maldives – an island nation in South Asia with 26 atolls – devel­oped a plan to provide one school and one health clinic in each at­oll, regardless of population size, to ensure equal access to basic education and healthcare.

 

Coordination among ac­tors is already challenging in our country, and establishing integrated regulations for rural development will be even more difficult.

 

In rubanization, establish­ing structural frameworks is essential, including regulations on minimum wage, land use that considers physical layout, economic functions, social and environmental impacts, and the management of activities such as chemical use in agriculture and manufacturing. Countries like Thailand and Vietnam, now among the world’s top rice exporters, have implemented strong regulatory frameworks in their agricultural sectors, including tax relief and setting timely minimum wages for ag­ricultural workers. Improving such regulatory frameworks in our country will take time, es­pecially given the parliamenta­ry process and inexperienced members. However, good gov­ernance can effectively guide rubanization in a transparent, accountable way paving the rule of law which are essential for at­tracting investment, coordinate multi-sectoral actors, and coordi­nating multi-sectoral actors, and ensuring efficient and effective use of resources.

 

In conclusion, rubanization, an approach that blends rural and urban development strate­gies, offers a powerful means to improve rural livelihoods, drive economic diversification, and invite more investments. Add­ing value to agro-based indus­tries and promoting sectors like agro-tourism creates a strong foundation for sustainable ru­ral development that integrates agriculture, modern infrastruc­ture, and environmental sustain­ability. Although rubanization requires coordinated efforts across sectors, strong regulatory frameworks, and effective gov­ernance, these challenges can be addressed through inclusive planning and committed leader­ship. By learning from successful regional examples and tailoring them to Myanmar’s context, we can build rural communities that are livable, productive, and equitable. Ultimately, rubaniza­tion provides a transformative change to reduce inequality, strengthen rural economies, and contribute to long-term national progress.

 

(The author, Khaing Khaing Shwe (Public Policy, NUS), wrote this article based on 30-year rural development experience in Myanmar, Af­ghanistan, the Maldives, Isra­el, Kenya and Uganda.)