Impact of Cyclone Nargis on Rice Production and the Process of Restoration in the Ayeyarwady Delta, Myanmar:

Three Years after the Disaster

Abstract

In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis struck the southern coast of Myanmar, causing extensive damage and severely affecting the livelihoods of the inhabitants of the Ayeyarwady Delta. This study compared data from different sources to examine the impact of the cyclone on rice production as well as the subsequent restoration process three years after the disaster. Official agriculture statistics from the government, reports by an international team (the Tripartite Core Group) led mainly by Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and results of field surveys by the author are presented here. Although the government’s statistics did not indicate a decrease in either the sown area or rice yields after Nargis, the other sources reported a marked decrease in rice production, particularly in rice yield (per area), in the monsoon season of 2008 (immediately after the disaster). Although rice yields in some of the affected areas had recovered by the monsoon cropping season of 2009, yields in some of the survey areas along the coast were still less than half that before Nargis in 2010. Assistance focused on the recovery of rice farming, as well as continuous monitoring of recovery level has been necessary, even after three years. The government played an important role in the recovery of the agriculture sector, particularly in ensuring the sown area in the monsoon cropping season of 2008. To better understand several of the irregular instances when no negative impact was observed on rice yield after the disaster, even in severely affected areas, further agro-ecological studies should be undertaken on the mechanisms of yield decrement and its restoration.