Large areas of farmland across Mon State have been left uncultivated this planting season as many rice farmers have either abandoned farming or reduced the amount of land they cultivate, citing rising production costs and repeated financial losses.
Farmers in Kyaikmaraw, Mudon, Chaungzon and Paung townships said they had reduced their wet-season rice cultivation after years of poor returns and mounting economic hardship.
A farmer from Ka Mar Wet town in Mudon Township said only about a dozen households in his village are still growing wet-season rice, leaving thousands of acres of farmland idle.
“Last year I cultivated 25 acres of rice, but this year I could only manage about 10 acres. Thousands of acres in our village have been abandoned and are now covered with grass and shrubs,” he said.
Farmers said the price of Thai-made fertilizer, one of the main agricultural inputs, has risen to nearly 200,000 kyat per bag, while the daily wage for rice-transplanting workers has increased to around 30,000 kyat. The price of a barrel of diesel has also climbed to nearly 200,000 kyat, further increasing production costs.
Some farmers have adopted wide-row planting methods to reduce expenses, but they said the practice has resulted in lower yields. In some areas, flooding has also damaged rice fields.
A farmer from Kyaikmaraw Township said rice farming is no longer able to provide a sustainable livelihood for rural families.
“Farmers can no longer depend on wet-season rice as their family’s main source of income. Rice prices remain too low, while production costs keep rising. After investing so much money, there’s no profit left. We only produce enough rice to feed our own family for a year,” he said.
Beginning in 2026, the government increased agricultural loans for wet-season rice cultivation to 300,000 kyat per acre for up to 10 acres. However, farmers said the additional loans have done little to ease the challenges facing the sector.
According to sources close to the Ministry of Agriculture of Mon State, nearly 700,000 acres of wet-season rice are cultivated in Mon State each year.
