In August 2023, we surveyed 388 active rice millers from 13 states and regions across Myanmar to learn more about the impacts of the current political and COVID-19 crises.

Strict lockdown measures implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic had extensive impacts on agriculture, and especially on women farmers. These effects were worsened by a lack of reliable and timely access to agricultural extension.

The COVID-19 pandemic had negative impacts on nutrition and strained intrahousehold relations, particularly among poorer households.

After decades of isolationism and economic stagnation, Myanmar opened its economy in the beginning of the 2010s, leading to rapid economic growth (Myanmar’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was almost 50 percent larger in 2020 than in 2011).

Myanmar’s agrifood system has proven surprisingly resilient in the face of multiple crises—COVID 19, the military coup, economic mismanagement, global price instability, and widespread conflict—with respect to production and exports.

Agricultural extension can have important impacts on vulnerable populations by increasing food production, which improves both rural incomes and urban food security.

The COVID-19 pandemic not only imposed severe health risks but also raised major challenges to the economy, due to widespread and severe measures to control the spread of the disease.

Agricultural extension can have important impacts on vulnerable populations by increasing food production, which improves both rural incomes and urban food security.

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, interest has grown in what kinds of assistance protect household food security during shocks.

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).

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, entailing widespread school closures as well as acute disruptions to household livelihoods, had substantial consequences for adolescent well-being in low-income countries.

In the decade prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Myanmar was in the midst of a dietary transition driven by rapid economic growth and urbanization.

The social protection system in Myanmar has remained at a rudimentary level for the past decade, with policies scattered and fragmented across various government departments, and serving only a fraction of the eligible population.

Rice is an extremely important product for farmers’ livelihoods and for food security in Myanmar.

In August 2022, we surveyed 467 active rice millers from 13 states and regions across Myanmar to learn more about the impacts of the current political and COVID-19 crises.

Key Points:

Crop traders are important actors in the mid-stream of Myanmar’s food supply chains serving as the essential link between farms and food processors, exporters, commodity exchange centers, and urban food markets.