FVAS Research Projects
Myanmar, like other countries in Asia, has made great efforts to intensify the production of cereal crops to feed a rapidly growing population. But recently the smallholder farmers in Myanmar have only achieved relatively low cereal crop (rice and maize) yields. It is widely recognized that the underperformance of crops in Myanmar is closely related to the inadequate supply of nutrients, particularly nitrogen (N). Although other crop management practices can limit crop yields, management of nutrients for crop production is an important contemporary issue as the Nitrogen (N) rates applied by Myanmar farmers are generally low and do not consider economic aspects.
This project conducts multi-disciplinary research involving collaborating local institutions (Yezin Agricultural University and the Department of Agriculture) with the objective of providing information to improve management of nutrients for increased profitability and sustainability of crop production in central Myanmar. The research will develop improved decision-making processes for smallholders, promote improved management practices resulting in improvements to livelihoods and increase the human capacity of local academics, government officers and people in the agricultural input supply chains.
Research questions related to raising rice and maize yields achieved by farmers by fertiliser applications in the relatively infertile areas of central Myanmar, and whether they can be realistically improved for increased farm profits.
The project was initiated with a planning meeting in Nay Pyi Taw on 2 – 4 May 2016, but fieldwork did not start in Myanmar until early 2017. It will terminate before July 2020.
PROJECT AIM
The overall aim of the project is to increase incomes and strengthen local food security of small-scale farmers and their families in central Myanmar by improved fertiliser use and associated crop management practices.
PROJECT TEAM
The University of Melbourne
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Yezin Agricultural University
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Myanmar Department of Agriculture, Land Use Division
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PROJECT OBJECTIVES
- Establish the biophysical basis for appropriate fertilizer use for rice and maize crops in central Myanmar.
- Determine and address economic and policy-related constraints to adoption of improved rice and maize production by nutrient management;
- Build capacity for the long-term improved nutrient management at the farm level, through training of YAU staff; and
- Develop decision support systems for rice and maize in central Myanmar and for intensive vegetable production in Victoria, Australia, by the integration of the results of the biophysical and social-economic sub-projects.
FUNDING BODY
The Management of nutrients for improved profitability and sustainability of crop production in Central Myanmar Project is funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), part of the Australian Government’s development assistance program.
ACIAR is an Australian Government statutory authority that operates within the portfolio of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. ACIAR was established under the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research Act 1982 (Cth), to assist and encourage Australian agricultural scientists to use their skills to identify and find solutions to agricultural problems of developing countries.
ACIAR aims to enhance rural household incomes and broader economic growth by investing in international research partnerships that encourage agricultural development, sustainable use of natural resources and capacity-building of benefit to partner countries and Australia. ACIAR forms part of the Australian Government’s overseas aid program and works toward the aid program’s objective of assisting developing countries to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development in line with the national interest.
ACIAR in Myanmar has developed a multidisciplinary program, in collaboration with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and in consultation with Myanmar counterparts, donors and potential research providers to support the Myanmar Government’s goals on agricultural development and is consistent with Australia’s strategic objective on inclusive economic growth. The program aims to meet the immediate needs of Myanmar’s vulnerable people. It will also build capacity for both people and institutions, as many of Myanmar’s agricultural scientists have been isolated from international co-operation over recent years.
The project focuses on three research themes:
BIOPHYSICAL RESEARCH
Dry season summer rice crops showed nitrogen responses at the Taungoo farmer’s field site and at the Yezin YAU research farm site. The highest N fertiliser rate (160 kg N/ha) at Taungoo achieved a mean rice grain yield of 5.24 t/ha compared to the zero N treatment mean grain yield of 3.74 t/ha. At Yezin, the highest mean rice grain yield for the dry season crop was 8.15 t/ha which was obtained with 130 kg N/ha. At Yezin even the zero N rate treatment produced high mean grain yield of 6.8 t/ha, which was higher than the highest treatment grain yield at the Taungoo site. This reflected the influence of other sources of N apart from fertiliser on crop yield. The Yezin soil had significantly higher total N levels than the Taungoo soil.
In the wet season, the rice crop responses to N were small at both the Taungoo and Yezin sites. At Taungoo the 130 kg N/ha rate achieved the maximum mean grain yield of 4.2 t/ha which
was only slightly higher than the zero N/ha treatment mean yield of 3.5 t/ha. At the Yezin YAU site there was also only a weak response to nitrogen fertiliser in the wet season with the top N fertiliser rate treatment (160 kg N/ha) achieving the maximum mean grain yield of 4.7 t/ha, a slight increase on the zero N treatment mean yield of 4.1 t/ha. This site at Yezin site was replaced with a nearby farmer’s field at Sein Sar Pin village as it had atypically large nitrogen inputs in the past.
A comparison of deep-placed urea briquettes (UDP) with current farmer practice [surface broadcast application – 50% at 10 days after transplanting (10DAT) and 50% at panicle initiation (PI)] at 77.6 kg N/ha in the dry season showed no differences at Yezin. At Taungoo, the UDP treatment achieved a 10% higher mean grain yield but this was not significant at 5%. No comparative benefit was found for UDP at either of these sites for the monsoon crop, but this comparison was compromised by problems with the briquettes which disintegrated on the application, apparently relating to poor coherence of the product under high humidity conditions.
There was a strong response by maize to N fertiliser at sites at Laythar and Tatkon. At the Laythar farmer’s site, 250 kg N/ha treatment achieved the maximum mean yield of 8.4 t/ha, which was significantly higher than the zero N treatment mean yield of only 1.8 t/ha. At the Tatkon research station site, the highest N fertiliser rate (250 kg N/ha) achieved the highest mean maize kernel yield of 13.2t/ha. This was significantly higher than the zero N treatment mean kernel yield of 2.3 t/ha.
Fieldwork on N dynamics in soils, including denitrification, DNRA, and biological N fixation, were completed at sites in Myanmar and Australia. The soils that had received little N fertiliser in Myanmar showed greater N fixation, resulting in an N-conserving system, and this contrasted strongly with rice produced on soils with large N fertiliser addition in Australia. An explanation of the long term sustainable production of rice in Myanmar, with low yield and little fertiliser N input, was elucidated. The field trials included 15N labeled urea in micro-plots for selected treatments to allow determination of fertiliser N uptake. Soil and plant samples have been analysed.
Representative samples of fertilisers in market places were taken, and a questionnaire collected supporting information from fertiliser sellers. The nitrogen content of commercial fertilisers in the local markets of central Myanmar are generally up to specification. Only a few (6%) of the inspected fertilisers were deficient in nitrogen, and they were all compound fertilisers (containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium). Factors influencing quality control of fertilisers included weak control of fertiliser imports at borders, inadequate fertiliser inspection, delays in providing up-to-date information on fertiliser products, limited knowledge of dealers, and slow feedback from laboratories. A comparison of the analytical results for nitrogen in fertilisers done in Yangon and Melbourne showed the Yangon laboratory is producing reliable results.
Soil pits for site characterisation were dug, and soils were described and sampled. Soil surveys near the project sites were started at Zayathiri village tract. Soil information is scarce in central Myanmar and is a key input for decision support systems to make fertiliser recommendations. A decision support system in the form of an app is planned, and farmer participation—in terms of identifying soils for fertiliser decision purposes—is expected.
SOCIOECONOMIC RESEARCH
The work addressing economic and policy constraints to adoption of improved rice and maize production by fertilisation have established that existing levels of fertiliser application are relatively low, but farmers in central Myanmar apply both compound (15:15:15) and urea fertiliser. This confirms the main premise of the project that fertiliser use by these smallholder farmers is relatively low.
Socioeconomics surveys, initially of 232 farmers and subsequently, and in more detail, of 600 farmers, and focus group meetings were done to provide a great deal of useful information for understanding the farming systems and some information on the farm management systems. CommCare tablet-based software has been evaluated and developed for the surveys.
The Focus Group Workshops and Baseline Survey elicited a range of concerns, including climate change, water supplies and the importance of the economics of fertiliser use as they transition to semi-subsistence agriculture where some crop produce is sold in the market. This work has confirmed the importance of the project objectives and scope which includes both bio-physical (soil and plant conditions and responses) and socio-economic components as we address the question of improved fertility management of cereal crops for these farmers and farming systems.
A comprehensive review of decision support systems has been prepared for journal publication. A smartphone DSS for rice in central Myanmar has been developed and data and soils information from the project area are being collected to tailor it. The need for additional fieldwork in Victoria is being investigated by a review of existing literature and other available information.
CAPACITY BUILDING
An assessment of analytical capacity at YAU was made and constraints identified. Two laboratory staff were trained in soil analyses, basic laboratory safety, and the calculation and reporting of results. The correct installation and operation of existing and new equipment were demonstrated. The YAU laboratory is now able to determine soil pH, EC, total C, total N, mineral N and Olsen P. QC protocols including ASPAC reference samples have been successfully introduced. Now that basic safety standards have been introduced and some capacity for soil analyses has been achieved we will train additional staff.
Three Ph.D. students are associated with the project. One has been awarded a UM scholarship and her work will supplement socio-economics research by the project. Another is responsible for the detailed work on N fixation in rice soils. An ACIAR-funded Ph.D. student has started research after a period of English language training. A YAU staff member received research management training through an ACIAR John Dillon Fellowship and the project is developing research project management capacity at YAU.
Ten Master students from YAU were trained on mobile data collection using CommCare.
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NEWS
Special Seminar on Economics of fertilizer decisions
29 July 2019, Yezin Agricultural University, Myanmar – Assoc. Professor Bob Farquharson from the University of Melbourne gave a special seminar on the “Economics of fertilizer decisions”.
The seminar was attended by 75 attendees, including staff and students from YAU.
EVENTS
Recent Events
- 64th AARES Annual Conference in Perth, 11-14 February 2020
Past Events
- DST workshop – “Nitrogen fertilizer management for cereal crops in Central Myanmar: Farmer decisions and tools for decision support” – 25 November 2019 at the University of Melbourne.
- Field Day – 31 July 2019 at Maize demonstration site, Lay Thar Village
- Project Annual Meeting – 1 August 2019 at Yezin Agricultural University, Nay Pyi Taw Myanmar
- Two papers presented at the 63rd AARES Annual Conference in Melbourne, 12-15 February 2019
- Project mid-term review in July 2018. There were no major revisions to the project’s objectives or approaches but several suggestions for improvements were acted upon and the field research program was revised.
- One paper presented at the 62nd AARES Annual Conference in Adelaide, 6-9 February 2018
- Three papers presented at the Myanmar Soil Fertility and Fertiliser Management Conference in Nay Pyi Taw, 2017
- Two papers presented at the 61st AARES Annual Conference in Brisbane, 7-10 February 2017
- Two papers presented at the 7th International Nitrogen Initiative Conference, “Solutions to improve nitrogen use efficiency for the world” in Melbourne, 4-8 December 2016
Journal Papers
- Pandey, Arjun, Suter Helen, He Jizheng, Hu Hang-Wei, Chen, Deli. (2018). Nitrogen addition decreases dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium in rice paddies. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 84(17).
- Pandey, Arjun, Suter Helen, He Jizheng, Hu Hang-Wei, Chen, Deli. (2019). Dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium dominates nitrate reduction in long-term low nitrogen fertilized rice paddies. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 131, 149-156.
- Pandey, Arjun, Suter Helen, He Jizheng, Hu Hang-Wei, Chen, Deli. (2020). Dissimilatory nitrate ammonification and N 2 fixation helps maintain nitrogen nutrition in resource-limited rice paddies. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 1-9.
- Thar, S. P., Ramilan, T., Farquharson, R. J., Pang, A., and Chen, D. (2020). An empirical analysis of the use of agricultural mobile applications among smallholder farmers in Myanmar. Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, e12159. doi:10.1002/isd2.12159.
- Thar, S.P., Farquharson, R. J., Ramilan, T., Coggins, S., and Chen, D. (2021). Recommended Vs Practice: Smallholder fertilizer decisions in central Myanmar. Agriculture, 11(1), 65. MDPI AG. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11010065
- Thar, S. P., Ramilan, T., Farquharson, R.J., Chen, D. (2021). “Identifying Potential for DecisionSupport Tools through Farm Systems Typology Analysis Coupled with Participatory Research: A Case for Smallholder Farmers in Myanmar.” Agriculture 11, 516. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11060516
Conference Papers
- Thein, S.S., Chen, D., Farquharson, R., Willett, I.R. (2016). Mineral Nitrogen and Rice Production in Myanmar, 2016 International Nitrogen Initiative Conference, “Solutions to improve nitrogen use efficiency for the world”. 4-8 December, Melbourne.
- Farquharson, R., Chen, Deli, Li, Yong, De Li, Liu, Ramilan, Thiagarajah (2016). Nitrogen decisions for cereal crops: a risky and personal business. 2016 International Nitrogen Initiative Conference, “Solutions to improve nitrogen use efficiency for the world”. 4-8 December, Melbourne.
- M. Than, S.P. Thar, T. Ramilan, R. Farquharson, and N. M. Aung (2017). Economic and social issues for fertiliser decisions of smallholder farmers in Myanmar. pp 150-164. Myanmar Soil Fertility and Fertiliser Management. Conference Proceedings. Yezin, Nay Pyi Taw. International Fertiliser Development Center and Department of Agricultural Research, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation.
- Farquharson, B., Ramilan, Thiagarajah, Thar, So Pyay, Shwe, Mar Than, Aung, Nay Myo (2017). Nitrogen for smallholders and cereal crops in Myanmar: economic and social dimensions for fertility decisions, 61st Annual Conference of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, Brisbane.
- Ramilan, T., Farquharson, Bob, Thar, So Pyay, Than, Shwe Mar, Aung, Nay Myo (2017). Characterisation of farming systems in Central Myanmar, 61st Annual Conference of the Australian Agricultural & Resource Economics Society, Brisbane, 8-10 February.
- Nyi, A.J. Weatherley, and R. Farquharson (2017). Nitrogen content and fertiliser quality in Central Myanmar. pp 255-263. Myanmar Soil Fertility and Fertiliser Management. Conference Proceedings. Yezin, Nay Pyi Taw. International Fertiliser Development Center and Department of Agricultural Research, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation.
- M. Eldridge, A.K. Myint, Z.T. Mang, S.S. Thein, A. Weatherley, I.R. Willett, R. Farquharson, R. and Chen, D. (2017). Dry Season Rice Yield Responses to Nitrogen Fertiliser in Central Myanmar. pp 82-88. Myanmar Soil Fertility and Fertiliser Management. Conference Proceedings. Yezin, Nay Pyi Taw. International Fertiliser Development Center and Department of Agricultural Research, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation.
- Thar, S. P., Farquharson, B., Ramilan, T., and Chen, D. (2018). Review of Decision Support Tools for Fertiliser Management: Current Status and Future Research Direction, 62nd Annual Conference of the Australian Agricultural & Resource Economics Society Inc. Adelaide, 7-9 February.
- Farquharson, R.J., Ramilan, T., Thar, S.P., Eldridge, S.M., Than, S.M., Li, Y., Chen, D., Weatherley, A., and Willett, I. (2019). Nitrogen fertility management by smallholder farmers in Myanmar: current practices and further opportunities, 63rd Annual Conference of the Australian Agricultural & Resource Economics Society Inc., Melbourne, 12-15 February.
- Thar, S.P., Ramilan, T., Farquharson, R., and Chen, D. (2019). Influence of socio-economic factors on the use of mobile applications for smallholder farm decision making in Myanmar. 2019 Conference of the Australasian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society. Melbourne, 12-15 February.
- Chen, D., Thar, So Pyay, Farquharson, Bob, Li, Yong (2019). Development and use of decision support tools for nitrogen fertiliser management, EMBRACING THE DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT: 2019 ASA‐CSSA‐SSSA International Annual Meeting. ASA‐CSSA‐SSSA, San Antonio, Texas.
- Farquharson, R., Thar, S.P., Ramilan, T., Chen, D. (2020). Financial imperatives for fertiliser decisions by smallholders in Myanmar, 64th Annual Australasian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, Perth 11-14 February.
Project Reports
- Farquharson, B., Than, S.M., Thar, S.P., Ramilan, T., Aung, N.M. (2017). Perceptions of smallholder farmers in Central Myanmar: crops, fertilizers, and livelihoods. ACIAR Project report.
- Farquharson, B., Thar, S.P., Kyi, A., and Ramilan, T. (2021). Myanmar Government Policies on Paddy Rice and Financial Regulations: Implications for fertilizer management and crop choices, 26 March 2021.
- Farquharson, Bob, Thar, So Pyay, Ramilan, Thiagarajah (2022). Rice yields in smallholder rainfed agriculture systems in Myanmar—Assessing the contribution of farmers’ knowledge of soil quality to Nitrogen fertiliser decisions, 30 June 2022.