DONORS and rice experts are racing against time to get seeds to farmers hit by cyclone Nargis before the planting season ends – which is normally in June.

The Myanmar Paddy Producers’ Association (MPPA) will distribute paddy seeds to farmers in Pyapon township, Ayeyarwady Division, in July, U Sein Htwe, the general secretary of MPPA, told The Myanmar Times last month.

“We will distribute 5000 baskets of paddy seeds (one basket is 20.9 kg) to Taman village and to Kyon Kyeik village in Pyapon township,” he said.

Distribution is based on an expert survey of the region, which found that the most suitable varieties would be sinthwe latt, manaw thukha, shwewar tun, ziya and shwe Myanmar varieties.

One of the experts, U Aung Mon, said the two villages did not need salt-resistant varieties because their fields had not been flooded by seawater.

“They just lost all their seeds because the wind blew away their warehouse and the seeds were soaked by the rain,” he said.

Normally monsoon paddy growing in Myanmar starts in May and the latest time for planting is June.

The association also donated 1000 baskets of paddy seeds in Kungyangon village in Yangon Division in June. Two baskets of paddy seeds will cover an acre of land.

“When we donated the first time in Kungyangon, we acted through the Myanmar Agriculture Service under the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, but this time, our association will donate directly to the villages,” U Sein Htwe said.

He said anyone wishing to donate seeds can contact U Sein Htwe at 09-511-2535. The farmers also need diesel to prepare land to grow rice.