Coordination Meeting: Distribution of Urea fertilizer Steering Committee meets

The Distribution of Urea fertilizer Steering Committee held a coordination meeting at the Ministry of Cooperatives and Rural Development on Wednesday. At the meeting, Union Minister U Hla Moe said that the steering committee has already distributed and sold 70 percent of the inputs requirements for the monsoon paddy cultivation season and the cooperative societies and input companies need to cooperate in order to distribute the remaining 30 percent on time.

In the monsoon paddy projects that are carried out by state economic promotion fund, it needs to sell as the reference prices set by the steering committee. He added that in order to reduce the use of foreign currency for compound fertilizers and to replace imports, it needs to discuss the requirements of raw materials for the production of local compound fertilizers.

He stressed on cooperation of companies in the projects being implmented by state economic promotion fund, arrangement for getting necessary inputs on time for monsoon post cultivation, preparations for inputs necessary for winter crops, supervising on prevention of hoarding and market manipulation.

Later, Secretary of the Steering Committee, officials and representatives of the Ministries reported on following the rules set by the state in foreign currency exchange, fertilizer prices that farmers can buy reasonably, progress of works, difficulties and sector-wise implementations on which the Union Minister gave necessary instructions. 

In the afternoon, the Union Minister together with officials visited Nwe Yit village in Nay Pyi Taw Tatkone township and met monsoon paddy cultivating cooperative society farmers with the state economic promotion fund. At the meeting, the Union Minister said that the government is providing state economic promotion fund across the nation to carry out agriculture and breeding tasks for promoting socio-economic life of farmers, increasing family income and creating job opportunities.

The strains, inputs, fertilizers, pesticides and weed killers for monsoon paddy equivalent to 200,000 kyats per acre will be provided through the cooperative contract farming system. He called for society member farmers to strive for increasing income and fulfilled the needs on the agriculture and regional development.

The Union Minister and party then inspected tar paving on Yangon-Mandalay old road and Nwe Yit village-to-village road, called for completion of the task meeting set standard within the target time and fulfilled the needs. 

They then visited Ma Gye Pin village in Tatkone township and met with monsoon paddy cultivating cooperative society farmers from 9 villages including Ma Gye Pin village and called for achieving monsoon paddy cultivation tasks that are being undertaken by state economic promotion fund, high yield and use of natural fertilizers and fulfilled the requirements.

The Union Minister then looked into completion of solar system irrigation that can be available 11,000 gallons of water per hour for 200-acres of cultivated land in Ma Gye Pin village and stressed on maintenance for long-term substainability.