The residents of villages surrounding recent hostilities between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army in Chin State’s Paletwa Township are having difficulty harvesting paddy due to the fighting between the two armies.
Thousands of local people from at least 10 villages in Paletwa Township have been fleeing since August due to the renewed conflict.
“The paddy can be harvested at the beginning of September. Now is the time to harvest monsoon paddy,” said a resident of Namadar Village. “But we cannot harvest paddy in a timely manner because we have had to leave our homes and flee to safer locations.”
Paletwa residents are afraid to go to their paddy farmlands for fear of the risk that artillery shells from above or landmines below might maim or kill them.
Ko Oo Thein Aung, 23, from Ngapwee Village in Paletwa Township, was seriously injured in a landmine blast while harvesting paddy on his farmland near the village on September 9.
U Khaing Aye Maung from Abaung Thar Village said that if they are not allowed to harvest during the harvest season, the crop may be unsalvageable.
“If the paddy is not harvested when it should be harvested, the paddy may be damaged. We grow paddy to solve our livelihood problems. We are unable to harvest paddy for the time being, so we have no income. We will go hungry if we cannot harvest paddy in time,” he said.
There is little hope for many farmers looking for an opportunity to harvest rice due to the military tensions in Paletwa Township, said a local who is assisting internally displaced people (IDPs).
“Farmers displaced by fighting have had very few opportunities to harvest rice, so they have no income. As farmers no longer have income, their children’s education and health will be lost. As long as the fighting goes on, farmers will no longer be allowed to work in agriculture,” he added.
It is not yet known exactly how many acres of paddy are yet to be harvested in Paletwa Township.
Thousands of local people from 10 villages have fled the renewed hostilities between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army in Paletwa Township and neighbouring Arakan State.
