9 research outputs found
Monitoring the impact of COVID-19 in Myanmar: Agricultural input retailers - Mid-June and early July 2020 survey rounds
No full textPhone surveys were conducted with input retailers from Shan, Kachin, Bago, Ayeyarwady, Sagaing, and Mandalay between 17 and 20 June and again between 6 and 8 July 2020 to understand and monitor the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the agricultural input sector.Non-PRIFPRI1; CRP2; MyanmarSSP; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural Economies; MAPSADSGD; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM
Monitoring the impact of COVID-19 in Myanmar: Agricultural commodity traders - May 2020 survey round
No full textCrop traders comprise the mid-stream of Myanmar’s food supply chain. They form important links between farms and food processors, exporters, and other downstream actors. Because they are close to the farmgate on the supply chain – many purchase agricultural commodities directly from farmers – any additional challenges to traders presented by the COVID-19 crisis and corresponding policy responses have important implications for the crop marketing channels farmers use and for the prices they receive for their crops. Further, challenges or changes to crop trading will have effects on the food system downstream and, ultimately, on consumers. Traders either carry out or facilitate the sales, transport, and purchases of raw agricultural commodities. Thus, they may be negatively affected by the travel and transport restrictions imposed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 as well as other policy measures that restrict exports or affect food retail channels to consumers. This research note seeks to help the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (MOALI) of the Government of Myanmar and agricultural sector stakeholders understand the effects of recent COVID-19 shocks on Myanmar’s agri-food marketing system through the perspective of crop traders. We conducted a phone survey with 154 crop traders to understand the challenges of COVID-19 shocks to both their upstream and downstream operations, (ii) learn about adaptations and changes they are making in response to those challenges, and (iii) track recent (two weeks) and longer-term (last year) changes in the buying and selling prices of the commodities they trade.Non-PRIFPRI1; MyanmarSSP; CRP2; MAPSA; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural EconomiesDSGD; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM
Monitoring the impact of COVID-19 in Myanmar: Rice millers - September 2020 survey round
No full textThis is the third policy note in a series presenting the results from rounds of telephone surveys with rice millers in three important rice-growing regions of Myanmar: Ayeyarwady, Bago, and Yangon. Mills are the most important link between farms and consumers in the rice value chain. Thus, any shocks to rice mills will impact both rural rice-producing households as well as urban consumers.Non-PRIFPRI1; MyanmarSSP; CRP2; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural Economies; MAPSA; 3 Building Inclusive and Efficient Markets, Trade Systems, and Food IndustryDSGD; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM
Monitoring the impact of COVID-19 in Myanmar: Rice millers - September 2020 survey round [in Burmese]
No full textNon-PRIFPRI1; MyanmarSSP; CRP2; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural Economies; MAPSA; 3 Building Inclusive and Efficient Markets, Trade Systems, and Food IndustryDSGD; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM
Monitoring the impact of COVID-19 in Myanmar: Agricultural commodity traders - May 2020 survey round - An analytical summary [in Burmese]
No full textNon-PRIFPRI1; MyanmarSSP; CRP2; MAPSA; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural EconomiesDSGD; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM
Monitoring the impact of COVID-19 in Myanmar: Agricultural input retailers - Synopsis of results from five survey rounds through late July 2020 [in Burmese]
No full textNon-PRIFPRI1; MyanmarSSP; CRP2; MAPSA; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural Economies; 3 Building Inclusive and Efficient Markets, Trade Systems, and Food IndustryDSGD; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM
Monitoring the impact of COVID-19 in Myanmar: Agricultural commodity traders - Late June 2020 survey round
No full textCrop traders comprise the mid-stream of Myanmar’s food supply chain, forming important links between farms and food processors, exporters, commodity exchange centers, and urban food markets. Traders engage in a variety of business activities ranging from wholesalers that buy, store, grade, and sell commodities to brokers that facilitate crop sales on commissions. Many traders have strong and direct ties to farmers, often providing farmers with agricultural inputs on credit to strengthen relationships and to build business later in the year when crops are harvested and sold. These connections to the farm have important implications for any challenges that traders face due to the COVID-19 crisis. Effects on traders will also be felt upstream by farmers through both their post-harvest crop marketing activities, including the prices they receive for their crops, and potentially through access to agricultural inputs on credit. Furthermore, challenges to crop trading will also have effects on the food system downstream and, ultimately, on consumers. This is the second policy note in a series presenting results from phones surveys tracking a sample of crop traders across Myanmar. The surveys are designed to better understand the effects of COVID-19 shocks on Myanmar’s agri-food marketing system. This Policy Note builds on the results from the first round of the survey of crop traders. 1 This second round of the survey also added questions on two key themes from the first-round report – credit offered out by traders to farmers and trader’s use of mobile phones.Non-PRIFPRI1; MyanmarSSP; CRP2; MAPSA; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural EconomiesDSGD; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM
Monitoring the impact of COVID-19 in Myanmar: Agricultural input retailers - June 2020 survey round
No full textAgricultural input retailers play a key role in Myanmar’s agri-food system by supplying farmers with fertilizer, seed, pesticides, and other inputs necessary for successful harvests. Because farm-level input use is an important driver of yields for all major food crops, shocks to the input retail sector have major implications for the welfare of rural households, as well as for their food security.
This policy note presents results from round two of a five-round phone survey of agricultural input retailers. Our purpose is to provide data and insights to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Irrigation (MOALI) and other agricultural sector stakeholders to assist them in better understanding COVID-19 related shocks to Myanmar’s agricultural input retailers. The round one results emphasized (i) widespread disruptions from the COVID-19 to both input supply and demand, (ii) higher transportation costs leading to higher input prices, and (iii) dramatically lower revenue expectations for retailers in 2020 compared to 2019.1 This note builds on the round one results by (i) exploring the effects of the COVID-19 crisis since the first-round interviews, (ii) tracking sales changes since the first round of the survey, and (iii) providing more detailed information on retailer credit and transportation.Non-PRIFPRI1; MyanmarSSP; CRP2; MAPSA; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural EconomiesDSGD; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM
Project-level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture: Results from cognitive testing in Myanmar
No full textWhen designing and evaluating policies and projects for women’s empowerment, appropriate indicators are needed. This paper reports on the lessons learned from two rounds of pretesting and cognitive testing of the project-level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (pro-WEAI) in a total of five States/Regions in Myanmar. We assess if respondents understand the modules as intended and which questions require modification based on the cultural context. We find that the questions also present in the abbreviated WEAI are generally well understood, particularly on instrumental and group agency. The challenge to respond to hypothetical and abstract questions did become apparent in the domains representing intrinsic agency, and was problematic for questions on autonomy and self-efficacy. Also, the internationally validated questions on attitudes towards domestic violence were too abstract, and responses depend on the scenario envisioned. We also suggest including an adapted version of the module on speaking up in public, to reinforce the domain on collective agency. Our findings provide an encouraging message to those aspiring to use pro-WEAI, but emphasize the need for continued attention for context-specific adjustments and critical testing of even those instruments that are widely used and deemed validated.Non-PRIFPRI1; CRP2; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural Economies; 5 Strengthening Institutions and Governance; G Cross-cutting gender theme; Capacity Strengthening; Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture IndexDSGD; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM
