The Feed the Future Myanmar Agriculture Policy Support Activity (MAPSA) is hosting a series of capacity strengthening modules designed to train Myanmar economists and policy analysts on current knowledge, evidence, and methods for the analysis of the Myanmar agri-food system. Through these modules, participants will learn new analytical and relevant economic methods using updated datasets for Myanmar and will benefit from expert insights on the functioning of the rural and agricultural economy. Through this series, participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of the supply, demand, and markets for agricultural products, nutritional issues, the non-farm economy, and investments required to achieve inclusive and sustainable growth in Myanmar.
About the Module
In secure non-fragile settings, labor market changes and availability of labor-saving agricultural technologies have been shown to be important drivers of agricultural transformation in low- and middle-income countries. This module will explore changes in the adoption of labor-saving agricultural technologies after economic growth and after the COVID-19 pandemic and military coup. The findings will show that there have been continuously higher uptakes of labor-saving agricultural practices during the economic growth as well as the crisis years. However, conflict is leading to disruptions in uptake and farmers in conflict-affected areas participate less, which is leading to lower agricultural production in these areas, an important concern for food security. Participants will learn about three agricultural technologies (mechanization, herbicides, and agriculture management techniques) with strong links to agricultural labor to understand the transforming effects of economic reform as well as the impacts that conflict might impose on agricultural labor markets and consequent agricultural technology adoption.
Presenter
Bart Minten, Myanmar Program Leader, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
Moderator
Moe Sabai, Research Analyst, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
Download the slides from "The continuous rise – during economic growth, the COVD-19 pandemic and conflict – in the adoption of labor-saving agricultural technologies in Myanmar" here.
