These farmers in Dalla were lucky to avoid losing their cattle, unlike many of their colleagues in the Ayeyarwady Delta. Pic: Khin Maung Win, AFP

FARMERS often amusingly refer to power tillers as “Chinese tractors” and for the owners of such devices right now business is good, a number of farmers and tillers owners in Pyapon township said last week.

Cyclone Nargis exacted a terrible toll from the people and land of the Ayeyarwady Delta and it also swept away many of the area’s hardest workers – the cattle.

U Htun Naing is a farmer who lives in Kyon Kyeik village and said he – and many just like him – have no choice but to rent power tillers.

“We’re ploughing our farms with power tillers that we rent from other farmers who bought them before the storm because all of our cattle perished.
“This has increased the cost of farming a lot,” he said.

He added that to plough one acre of rice paddy costs K25,000 in rental fees but the farmer also has to pay for the diesel to run the machine. However, the farmer does not have to pay for the worker who drives the tiller, this is covered by the tiller’s owner.

Another farmer from Kyon Kyeik village, U Thein Naing, said diesel to fuel the power tiller costs about K1500 per bottle and there are six bottles per gallon. To till one acre requires about three gallons of diesel, which sells for about K5200 a gallon.

To till that single acre costs about K45,000 U Thein Naing said.
People living in Pyapon survive by growing rice and catching fish, although most are employed in the agricultural field.

“I had 10 cattle before Cyclone Nargis but now I only have six and it’s not enough to plough my fields,” said U Ohn Than, a farmer in Pyapon.
“So I have to rent a power tiller for about K25,000 an acre” he said.

U Aung Khaing is the owner of a power tiller rental service in Pyapon.
“Our rentals are much higher than they were before the storm because so many people around here lost their cattle,” he said.

Farmers in Taman village in Pyapon have begun entering into contract farming agreements with Myanmar Aung Tagon company that sees the company supply paddy seeds, farm machinery and fertiliser to grow monsoon paddy.
And when the rice is harvested the farmers will repay the company at market prices, said U Aung Kyaw, a manager at the company.

“There are 4000 acres of farmland in and around Taman village and about 600 acres are being farmed under a contract system with my company.

“We make sure the farmers have got all they need to grow rice, including seeds, power tillers, fertilisers and other expenses. We’ve calculated a cost of about K50,000 an acre for all of these expenses and when the rice is harvested the farmer can pay that back to us,” he said.

He added that the contract system lets farmers concentrate on farming because they don’t have to worry about renting tillers and buying seeds and diesel.