A phone survey was conducted in January 2023 to understand the effects of COVID‑19 and political instability on Myanmar’s mechanization service providers (MSPs). MSPs are crucial to enabling
smallholder farmers to undertake a range of power-intensive farm and post-harvest operations in a timely manner. This note reports on the results of this survey, the tenth in a series of phone surveys, and trends from earlier surveys.
You can view the full research note in English here.
Key Findings
- Combine harvester service providers (CHSPs) provided harvesting services in the 2022 monsoon harvest season in areas comparable to the same time in 2021.
- However, achieving this was likely more costly in 2022. Not only because the costs of equipment increased but also because the costs of fuels and services like repair and machine operations started rising in 2022. The harvesting service fees have increased by more than 50 percent in nominal terms since 2021.
- Farmers are likely paying higher harvesting charges as they have few alternatives. Therefore, the increase in hiring charges is expected to reduce farmers’ incomes directly.
- Business prospects among MSPs, which were already poor in 2021, remain dismal in 2022.
Recommended Actions
- Access to formal credit, including loans to small enterprises, should be expanded to help MSPs to cope with sharp increases in costs of materials and labor. Broader financial support can also help MSPs to cope with the rising costs of other general services like utility and rent.
- Transportation restrictions and curfews enforced at multiple administrative levels are reducing the availability of machines, spare parts, and attachments and are impacting the supply of mechanized services. Travel restrictions should be removed, or at least made consistent, to allow MSPs to operate freely and to ensure the cost efficiency of the equipment supply-chain.
- Access to formal credit through the MADB or microfinance institutions should be expanded to help ensure farmers’ access to affordable mechanization services, as farmers are otherwise likely to continue facing significantly increased costs in the 2023 season.
