A total of 627,996 acres of monsoon paddy had been cultivated in Yangon Region as of the end of June, out of the target of 1,148,222 acres, according to the Yangon Region De­partment of Agriculture.

Across the region’s nine districts, 14 high-yield rice varieties desig­nated for export are being cultivated on 39,400 acres during this monsoon sea­son. Moreover, six pre­mium varieties such as Ayamin, Pawsan Hmwe, Pawsan Yin, Inma Yebaw, Basmati and Hmawby-2, and six local varieties: Zeeya, Medone, Ngaky­we, Ngasein, glutinous rice and Yahnintun are also under cultivation. Planting will continue until the end of the culti­vation season in late Oc­tober to meet the planned acreage.

This year, the export-oriented culti­vation zones are being implemented to achieve targeted yields, support farmers with production inputs, ensure adequate fertilizer application, en­courage greater invest­ment in rice cultivation, develop internationally competitive rice-based agricultural production, promote the effective ap­plication of Good Agricul­tural Practices (GAP) and Integrated Pest Manage­ment (IPM) through bal­anced use of organic and chemical fertilizers, and strengthen cooperation among companies, rice millers and farmers to produce safe, high-qual­ity and sustainable rice for export.

“This monsoon season, 14 high-yield rice varieties are being grown in export-orient­ed cultivation zones. The cultivated area will be further expanded next year. For example, the Pawsan variety, which has strong international demand, was grown on 16,570 acres in six town­ships last year, but this year cultivation has been expanded to 10 townships. Since high-quality rice will be produced for ex­port this year, farmers will also benefit. Techni­cal training on soil fertili­ty improvement and pest and disease management has been provided, while farmers have also been educated on the com­bined use of chemical and organic fertilizers. Therefore, rice quality is expected to improve, and farmers are eagerly look­ing forward to this year’s harvest,” said U Myo My­int, deputy director of the department.

In the export-ori­ented cultivation zone, the varieties such as Sinthukha, 90-day, Aung­naingtoe, Yadanatoe, Hnankauk, Theehtet Yin, Hmawby-2 and -3, Kayin­ma, Tunpu, Ngasein Yak­yaw, Pawsan, Ayamin and GW-11 are being grown.

Yangon Region cul­tivated 1,006,205 acres of monsoon paddy in 2023, 1,148,222 acres in 2024 and 1,142,155 acres in 2025. For 2026, the regional government has targeted the cultivation of 1,148,222 acres. To improve yields, the government has dis­tributed 5,640 bags of urea fertilizer produced by My­anmar Petrochemical Enterprise to farmers in the first phase this year. It also plans to distribute an additional 60,000 bags of urea fertilizer and 30,000 bags of compound ferti­lizer. — Thitsa (MNA)/ KTZH