Myanmar Climate-Smart Agriculture Strategy

Laws and Policies

CCLW

CCLW national policies

Law passed

The Climate-Smart Agriculture Strategy (CSA) has been elaborated in response to the adverse effects of climate change that Myanmar suffers from, such as "scarcity of rainfall, irregular rainfall, heat stress, drought, flooding, seawater intrusion, land degradation, deserti cation, deforestation and other natural disasters" (CSA, Chapter 1.1). 
It seeks to "optimize the benefits and minimize the negative trade-offs across food security, agricultural development and climate change adaptation and mitigation. The key elements of CSA include food security by increasing agricultural productivity, resilience of agricultural systems through adaptation, and mitigation by reducing GHG emission or enhancing carbon sequestration and managing interfaces with other land use management" (CSA, Executive Summary, p XV). 
The key targets of CSA include the below (Chapter 4.1.1.3): 
 
 
 
 
 
Adaptation targets: 
<ol> 
<li>New varieties and improved farming systems resilient to drought and water stress</li> 
<li>Diversified rural income and improved household economic resilience</li> 
<li>Increased prevention and protection against disasters</li> 
</ol> 
 
 
 
Mitigation targets: 
<ol> 
<li>Reduced CH4 emissions</li> 
<li>Reduced land degradation and soil erosion</li> 
</ol> 
 
 
 
 
 
Climate-Smart Village targets: 
<ol> 
<li>Improved farmers' livelihoods and income</li> 
<li>Climatic risks resilience of farming</li> 
<li>Enhanced farmers' adaptive ability to climate change</li> 
</ol> 
 
 
 
The implementation of CSA strategies in Myanmar has three steps as follows (text adapted from the CSA, Art 5.1 - 5.3): 
Short-term Steps: 
 
<ol> 
<li>Resource and social mobilization</li> 
<li>Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) or Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) in benchmarking climate change challenges in the various ecological regions</li> 
<li>Institutional analysis</li> 
<li>Establishment or strengthening of local agro-meteorology stations</li> 
<li>Strengthening communication and public awareness on climate change</li> 
<li>Evaluation and promoting cultivation of special traditional rice varieties with natural tolerance for deep-water, prolonged flooding, or drought</li> 
<li>Reducing methane from rice fields and livestock farming</li> 
<li>Information and knowledge sharing with national, regional and international agencies</li> 
<li>Promoting adaptive crop - livestock development and farming practices</li> 
<li>Strengthening climate change research and extension services</li> 
<li>Practice of conservation agriculture including water, pest and disease management</li> 
</ol> 
Medium-term Steps: 
 
<ol> 
<li>Developing new high-yielding varieties and livestock breeds, climate smart management options for stress-prone environment</li> 
<li>Establishment of an adaptation/mitigation information and advisory services</li> 
<li>Establishment of CSVs in strategic areas</li> 
<li>Strengthening the NARES</li> 
</ol> 
Long-term Steps: 
 
<ol> 
<li>Disaster risk management program in farming</li> 
<li>Crop and income loss risk management program</li> 
<li>Climate-resilient investment program</li> 
</ol> 
The Myanmar Climate-Smart Agriculture coordinating body under the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, is responsible for monitoring and guiding the government in prioritizing investments in CSA.