UN development partnership seeks to boost agricultural sector in Myanmar

United Nations development officials held talks with Government ministers in Myanmar today aimed at boosting the impoverished country’s agricultural sector to help it reclaim its status as the rice bowl of Asia.

“It is my hope these ideas and analysis will open a new space for policy discussion and a further deepening of our development partnership,” UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Executive Secretary Noeleen Heyzer said at the event held in Myanmar’s capital, Nay Pyi Taw.

This development partnership, requested by the Government, provides a unique platform for eminent international scholars and local researchers to exchange experiences and ideas with government agencies and civil society, she added of this the second in a series of events being organized by ESCAP with the country’s Ministries of Agriculture and Irrigation, and National Planning and Economic Development.

At ESCAP’s invitation, Nobel Prize-winning economist Professor Joseph Stiglitz and other eminent experts discussed various strategies for Myanmar to reduce poverty in light of Asia’s regional and sub-regional experiences. Mr. Stiglitz noted that Myanmar was well-positioned to learn from other countries in the region that have developed economically on the back of gains in agriculture.

There are large opportunities for improvement and Myanmar should take a comprehensive approach, he said, urging the Government to promote access to appropriate agricultural financing and boost access to seeds and fertilizers. The country should also dramatically boost spending on health and education, and create well-paid jobs in construction of rural infrastructure to stimulate development and raise incomes and spending.

Mr. Stiglitz also noted that well-functioning institutions were critical to success, stressing that revenues from oil and gas can open up a new era, if used well. If not, then valuable opportunities will be squandered, he warned said, adding that economics and politics cannot be separated.

For Myanmar to take a role on the world stage and to achieve true stability and security, there must be widespread participation and inclusive processes, he said.

Myanmar’s Agriculture and Irrigation Minister U Htay Oo welcomed the continued close cooperation with ESCAP in the development partnership series. “I look forward to the joint activities to come in 2010, in particular the regional development programme for sustainable agriculture towards inclusive rural economy development,” he said.