Contract Farming In Burma

Summary: Since 2005, the Burmese Government has encouraged
investors from China, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Kuwait to
invest in contract farms; to date, only the Thais have a
formal agreement to farm 120,000 acres along the Thai-Burma
border. Over the past six months, several Burmese companies
-- Tay Za's Htoo Trading, Zaw Zaw's Max Myanmar, Steven Law's
Asia World, and Aung Thet Mann's Aye Ya Shwe Wa -- were given
more than 100,000 acres of farmland in the Irrawaddy Delta
and Rangoon Division for contract farming. The Ministry of
Agriculture denies any land seizures associated with contract
farming, saying the government is the sole owner of farmland
and takes it away only if farmers do not use it for farming
purposes. According to agricultural contacts, the GOB
encourages contract farming because private investors help
shoulder the costs of improving Burma's dilapidated
agricultural infrastructure. There is no information on how
much the contract farming investments in Burma are worth.
End Summary.