Thousands of paddy acres flooded in five Arakan townships

By Admin 11 Jul 2025

DMG Newsroom

11 July 2025, Mrauk-U

Farmers in Arakan State are facing difficulties as heavy rains and flooding have destroyed many acres of cultivated farmland.

Incessant rains since early June have caused flooding in Arakan State's Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Buthidaung, Maungdaw and Minbya townships, inundating tens of thousands of acres of farmland.

Farmers say rice plants affected by the flooding are still young and could suffer significant damage.

"We won't get any ploughing fees or seeds. We will have to plough the fields again and sow seeds, which will cost you labour and tractor rental fees. Tractor drivers may also charge higher ploughing fees than they did the first time," said U Maung Gyi Yay, a local farmer in Kyauktaw Township.

Arakanese farmers have been cultivating monsoon paddy despite difficulties such as rising fertiliser prices and high input costs.

This year, the cost of cultivating one acre of farmland is between K600,000 and K1 million, and farmers are struggling to replant paddy fields damaged by flooding.

Daw Thein Thein Aye, a farmer from Mrauk-U Township, said it is uncertain whether her paddy fields damaged by the flooding will be fully replanted.

"Farmers are facing many difficulties. Due to high costs, farmers are unable to replant their paddy fields that were damaged by the flood. The livelihood of farming families is not balanced between income and expenditure," she told DMG.

A precise figure on flood-damaged paddy acreage is not yet known, but farmers estimate that the damage could be extensive due to the prolonged flooding.

Facing significant difficulties replanting their damaged paddy fields, farmers are hoping the Arakkha People's Government can help them in any way.

Arakan State is prone to flooding during the rainy season, destroying thousands of acres of farmland every year. Last year, more than 30,000 acres of paddy farmland in Arakan State were destroyed by flooding.