THE drying up of three reservoirs in the village of Ywar Tharyar, located in the Sagaing Region township of Yinmabin, has rendered almost 100,000 acres of land uncultivable, according to local farmers.
“Many farmers from our village have depended upon the large water reservoirs for paddy cultivation for over a decade. But, there’s absolutely no more water to be found in these reservoirs anymore. The drying up of these water supplies has deprived us of the chance to plant paddy. Farmers are going to have to stay strong and cultivate paddy with rain water that will come with the monsoon season.” said U Theik Aung, a paddy farmer from Ywar Tharyar village.
Local farmers have encountered difficulties for decades with roughly over 100 farmers having been unable to grow paddy for over that last 20 years because of droughts.
“The farmers would be better off if the State dug more reservoirs. The reservoirs we have are devoid of water, so as a result we aren’t able to plant paddy anymore. In the past these reservoirs used to be full to the brim with water – we could cultivate paddy all year round. It would be good for us farmers if the State once again carried out a national initiative to create more of a water supply.” said U Thaung Htun, a Ywar Tharyar village farmer. The village of Ywar Tharyar consists of over 300 households, making up a population of over 1,500 residents. The drying out of the aforementioned three reservoirs has forced local farmers to plant substitute crops to paddy in order to survive.
According to local residents the reservoirs were first dug over 90 years ago.
Myitmakha News Agency