Myanmar’s first online market to trade rice and seeds and function as an information hub will be available in the beginning of 2021, according to the Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF). “We are working to create a digital platform for the trading of seeds as well as crops like paddy and rice. This will be the first in Myanmar and we are aiming for it to be available in the last week of December or the first week of January. Applications will be simple and easy for farmers,” said U Ye Min Aung, chair of the MRF.
The MRF will establish a mobile application called the MRF Rice Portal, which will be made available to farmers, seed production farmers and companies, rice mill owners, and local and foreign rice traders. “Currently, seeds and rice are traded via social networks but it is not effective. With a centralized digital platform, traders and other stakeholders in the industry will be able to get all the available information via the MRF Rice Portal. There will also be messaging services via SMS. We believe this will be more effective in boosting trade,” he said.
Meanwhile, to further develop the paddy seed production industry in Myanmar, the MRF is cooperating with Germany’s Welthungerhilfe (WHH) for the first time to produce higher quality seeds expected to improve crop harvests and enable farmers to fetch better prices in the foreign rice market.
There are currently just five farms producing seeds in Myanmar. Efforts are now being made to grow the seed production market in Myanmar and develop a more robust seed trade locally as well,
he said. – Translated
To see the original article click link here
Source: Myanmar Times
