Myanmar and FAO: Achievements and Success Stories
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Myanmar economy did not undergo significant structural changes, even though it experienced different political and economical systems since it independence in 1948. The country is still an agro-based country in which agriculture sector is the backbone of the economy and main stay of rural economy. Some 20 percent of Myanmar’s 48 million people suffer from undernourishment, confirming that the nation has significant work ahead of it if it is to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of reducing the proportion of people suffering from hunger by half by the year 2015. Life expectancy is low at 57 years of age, while child mortality rates are high at about 107 per 1 000 live births. Agriculture in Myanmar is the most important sector of the country’s economy, contributing 42 percent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Agricultural exports are valued at $379 million a year. The sector supports 70 percent of Myanmar’s labour force. Rice is the major crop, covering about 60 percen t of the country’s total cultivated land area. Rice accounts for 97 percent of total food grain production by weight, and it is one of the main reasons that more than 98 percent of Myanmar’s total water use goes to agriculture. Myanmar became a member of FAO on 11 September 1947, and an FAO Representative Office was opened in 1978. Over the past 30 years, FAO has provided assistance through some 100 national projects and many regional field projects that support crops, livestock, fisheries and f orestry efforts. Projects also cover agriculture and rural investment planning, census, statistics, agricultural research, food and industrial crops, crop processing, food technology, plant protection, and animal health with a total budget of $193 million since 1978. FAO projects in Myanmar are funded from the Organization’s own resources under the Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) while others are funded through donor contributions (e.g. Australia, Austria, Italy, Japan, PricewaterhouseCoop ers Charitable Foundation, Sweden, UK-DFID and the UN Central Emergency Response Fund.). The country further benefits from a number of FAO assisted regional and global programmes, including emergency operations and rehabilitation programmes, and the Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases (EMPRES).