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UNION OF MYANMAR

Improving the living conditions of isolated
rural populations in Chin State

AREA OF EXPERTISE

Sécurité alimentaire et moyens d'existence

Food security and livelihoods

FUNDING

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Fondation de France
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BENEFICIARIES

3,984
people

FROM 10/2013 TO 06/2017

45
months

BUDGET

393,835
euros

TGH's action is developing the production of agricultural products for sale, including konjac, in 15 villages in the township of Matupi. This programme allows increased income for the 130 families involved, while enhancing village territories in order to strengthen and sustain the impact of the initial agricultural project implemented in the targeted villages in 2012-2013.

The programme has 3 specific objectives:

Hung Om, Daw Sang and Lin Nin (Field Supervisor) preparing teaching materials for a meeting

A feedback meeting on the study on the Elephant Foot Yam sector and discussions

Discussions on the training of producers'teams

Mapping work during a data collection workshop in the village of Pha Nai

A plot of Elephant Foot Yam

Model of Yam cleaver provided to producers through the project

Hung Om, Project co-Manager, taking notes during a discussion with a producer

A producer of Elephant Foot Yam in his field

A producer of Elephant Foot Yam in his field

Daw Sang, Field Supervisor, taking notes during a discussion with Pha Nai producers

A plot of Elephant Foot Yam

A producer of Elephant Foot Yam in his field

Discussion between TGH's agronomist and farmers from the village of Pha Nai

View of the Lemro River valley

Hand-cutting of yams

Cutting yam with a cleaver

Cutting yam with a cleaver

Hung Om, Daw Sang and Lin Nin (Field Supervisor) preparing teaching materials for a meeting

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A study was conducted in 2014 in order to determine the level of knowledge and cash crop production practices of farmers in the 15 targeted village. Konjac, also called elephant foot yam, seemed to be the crop offering the highest yields and income to farmers. This plant, very popular in Asian countries, is traditionally harvested in the forests in mountainous areas of Chin State.

In order to pool farmers' knowledge, TGH and AYO organized exchange visits allowing everyone to compare practices and spot potential improvements in the production process. Furthermore, the TGH and AYO teams distributed 50 cleavers in the villages, in order to facilitate the cutting of konjac, previously cut by hand, a process considered long and tedious by farmers.

TGH supports the creation of village committees in a sustainable development perspective. The township of Matupi is regularly hit by natural disasters (heavy rainfall, storms, etc.) or by disasters linked -more or less directly- to human activities (deforestation, fires, erosion, etc.). The TGH team, together with the villagers, conducted mapping activities aiming to identify sensitive areas and areas to be protected (houses, agricultural land, rice fields, roads, etc.). Depending on the maps established for each village, a local preventive action plan (reforestation, water resource protection, control of slash and burn practices, etc.) will be defined and implemented in the targeted areas in 2015.

Finally, in order to strengthen the organizational and operational capacity of the local partner, the TGH teams organized training sessions on project management and provided help for the development of technical tools.