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Hla Htoi is a member of a corn plantation group established by Oxfam partner, Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC), as part of the programme's work to support internally-displaced persons (IDPs). The group has had significant success in growing corn, but faces many challenges related to the conflict and fluctuating markets.
La Htoi (Group Leader)
Our group is currently growing corn, so we need to keep watch. There are five people in the group. KBC did a one-week agriculture training. Rather than individuals, KBC supported groups. We also learnt about family economic planning. There is no affordable land near here, so we have to go outside. We had to find an area big enough for the group. We then got a grant of 600,000 Kyat (circa $445US), but we all contribute our labour.
We chose corn because last year the corn price was very high and it’s not very risky – it’s good for the landscape in Kachin. This year, the corn price isn’t good. Last year, it was 480 Kyat per viss (1.63kg), but this year it’s only 350 Kyat per viss. We want better market linkages for selling. CP (Thai company) gave credit to many farmers to plant corn, but then they only paid a low price. This made a lower price for everyone because of too much corn being produced.
One viss of seeds cost 25,000 Kyat. We bought five viss for 125,000. For ploughing, we had to hire support, which cost 30,000 Kyat per acre. We had to plough two times. For all three acres, we spent about 270,000 Kyat to grow the corn. We then had to pay 500 Kyat per bag (50-60KG) for harvesting. We do the harvesting ourselves, but others take the seeds off the corn. The price for corn is unstable and even went down to 250 Kyat per viss.
The corn collectors only pay a low price, so we want to see if we can connect more directly with markets. The corn is used for animal feed, usually chickens. We started in September and harvested in March. It then takes one to two weeks for drying. We estimate that we will get at least 100 bags of corn, but we’re not sure on how many viss. We should get a decent profit, but it depends on the price. We have to repay the grant after one year.
In July, we have to repay the grant. For March to July, we will just lend the money and earn interest, as the rainy season isn’t good for plantations. After selling all the corn, it will be good and we will know more. The plantation doesn’t use chemicals – it’s all natural.
It would be good if we had a ploughing machine – we can then do ploughing faster and save costs. The machine does a better job and it will make it more flexible for us. It’s better if we plough three to four times instead of two. We can also make money from ploughing other people’s land. A ploughing machine costs 2,500,000 Kyat. We could also use the machine for harvesting.
We regularly go to check the plantation, but stay in the camp. It’s not safe to stay the plantation. We used to go three times per month. We need to visit regularly until the corn has dried out. Only three group members have participated throughout. Two dropped out because of family problems and they needed to look after their children. We then hired two other people with their wages covered from the grant and our profit.
There are problems working together, but we use the skills of each other. Our group is implementing according to our promise with KBC. We are more active than other groups that don’t have as much benefit to show. We have clear benefits. If we work together in the future, it’s better if we can access a ploughing machine. Our group is successful because of our commitment and putting the family economic planning skills into practice. We are enthusiastic and work well together.
The plantation is on a river island, so it’s only accessible by boat. We used to sell corn to China, but because of the war, it’s difficult to sell to China. This has also made the prices lower. There is a bigger market for corn for animal feed than for corn for people. I think we might be able to sell all of our corn for about 1,500,000 Kyat, or maybe more. We will lend the profit to gain interest until next growing season.
Background
We attended a Family Economic Planning workshop. During the training, the trainers encouraged us to work with a group of five members who are in the same livelihood activities. It was KBC’s priority to provide funds to those groups.
We formed a group of 5 members with 3 women and 2 men. Our group chose corn plantation since it is stronger enough against bad weather and insects or pests. We rented 3 acres of land from U Hla Htoi, the group leader, for 100,000 MMK per acre for a year round.
Investment of the grants
We had to pay 300,000 MMK for leasing 3 acres of land and most of the rest money was utilized for the labor costs from ploughing to harvesting. We started our plantation in September 2016 and now we have already collected the corn, but are still drying the seeds. After drying, we will pack them into bags of about 50-60KG. We estimate about 100 bags of dried corn seeds.
Potential Profits
The profits are likely to be lower than we expected. So we are now wondering how KBC can help us to sell the corn at a good price or if KBC can buy the corn seeds from us since the current price at the market is only 330 MMK per viss. In fact, it is much lower than the previous year when it was about 400-450 per viss. Whatever the price is, we will keep the corn seeds for a while until the price is higher.
Grants Utilization Period and Repayment
We are allowed to use the grants for a year (12 months). We received the grants in September 2016 There will be at least 3 months gap (April-June) before the repayment due time, but we have few ideas for reinvesting the grant during this period. It is impossible to grow any crops on the land on lease in this short period. As women, we can buy and sell some products during these months, but feel that it is not possible as a group work.
Benefits and Challenges of Group Works
We are the most active group under the guidance and support of the KBC staff. I really take great pride as a leader of such an active group of the corn plantation.
We have been working together as a group since the beginning, but only 3 members including me gathered and worked together, while the other 2 hired and sent laborers for them to the plantation from the ploughing to the harvest time. We have to pay the wages for the labourers from the group fund. As a result, those members will get less of the profit.