Farmers in the Inle Lake area of Nyaungshwe Township, in southern Shan State, are struggling to produce crops due to damage caused by the 28 March 2025 earthquake and flooding before that.

The deadly 7.7-magnitude 28 March earthquake, with its epicentre under central Myanmar’s Sagaing Town, badly affected the Inle Lake area and in the floating villages around Inle Lake it destroyed and damaged many houses built on stilts over the lake.

Prior to that, flash floods in the Inle Lake area in mid-September 2024 had already badly hit farmers around the lake.

A woman from a village on the lake explained that many farmers neglected to plant crops because after the earthquake they were too busy trying to rebuild their houses before the rains came.

She said to Shan Herald: “Since last year’s flash floods, Inle’s agriculture sector has taken a serious hit. And just as things were starting to get back on track, the earthquake struck. Some farmers had only just resumed their work when it happened. Now, with most locals focused on repairing their homes, they’ve missed the planting season. At this point, it’s just not possible to restart farming yet.”

Tomato farmers have been particularly badly hit and face heavy losses. Some have lost their entire crops and all the money they they invested into them.

The woman said: “Every tomato farmer has taken a huge hit. All the time, effort, and money they put into their crops—it’s all gone to waste. The tomatoes didn’t sell for a good price, and the harvest was poor too. Forget making a profit, they haven’t even been able to recover what they invested. And honestly, they’ve been struggling like this ever since the floods.”

Tomatoes are the main crop around Inle Lake, but farmers also grow other seasonal produce such as gourds, cucumbers, and fruit.

Being struck by two severe natural disasters in about six months has left many residents of the Inle Lake area facing financial hardship. As there are few job opportunities in the area many desperate farmers have turned to working as day labourers rebuilding damaged houses.

To make matters worse, the earthquake also destroyed many boats which has made it hard for people to fish in the lake.

The 28 March earthquake destroyed around 3,500 homes in about 30 villages around Inle Lake. Nearly all of those villages also now face drinking water shortages and diarrhoea outbreaks have been reported in the Inle Lake villages of Killar, Zayatgyi, Nampan, and Sheywagyi.