The Postharvest Learning Alliance (LA) conducted a second joint meeting to train on 31 farmer-participants rice quality and marketing in Yangon on 13-14 February.
The farmers visited the Wardan wholesale market to gain more awareness on the importance of rice quality and facilitate stronger linkages between farmers and traders at wholesale markets. They also visited the Hmawbi Seed Farm to observe seed production techniques. The meeting also facilitated sharing of rice varieties and production practices for quality and marketing among farmers from Shwebo, Maubin, and Bogale. Shwebo is particularly known in Myanmar for its high-quality Paw San rice.
After the event, the participating farmers made plans to use the seed selection techniques they learned at the seed farm. They will also pool about 20 tons of rice and sell it to a new trader in Yangon they met through the meeting.
“The end goal of these efforts is for rice farmers to get high profits by meeting the quality standards required by the market,” said Martin Gummert, postharvest expert at IRRI. “In order to do this, farmers should choose varieties with traits that the market requires, and improve postharvest practices to prevent quality deterioration of their grains after harvest.”
Myo Aung Kyaw, IRRI consultant and a member of the millers and traders’ association , facilitated the educational visit and will continue linking farmers with traders who are willing to pay premium price for high-quality rice.
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