Working outside creates labor shortage in Agriculture

 

IMNA

 

June 26, 2005

 

Agricultural farms in Southern Burma face lack of human resources after thousands of local people seek job in Thailand and others neighbor countries.

 

 

“No body wants to work in farm. Difficult to get people from our area and also have to give high payments because people are keen to seek job in Thailand,” Ma Sein, a farm owner in Mudon Township, said.

 

“We had hired a group of people from A-pyar, Pegu division for years for paddy transplanting and harvesting,” she added.

 

Farmers in southern area have to rely on people from middle part of Burma such as Bago (Pegu), Waw, Bilin, and Kyaikto for human resources.

 

“If the people from that area not coming, we will face many problems, (We have) not many people in the village, (they) all went to Thailand,” said Ma Pee, another farmer.

 

To get people from the area, some farmers already had given some money for advance payment to people who will come to work to their farm.

 

“One of my friends already gave advance payment to people from that area at 700 Kyat per day. Depending on area, for some people they will pay more,” Ma Pee added.

 

Currently the daily payment for transplanting worker reached about 1000 Kyat per day in Southern Burma where as in some areas more than 1200 Kyat to 1500 Kyat.

 

Many people from Pegu area also are interested to work in lower Burma due to higher payment and lesser work comparing to their area, according to farmers from Mon State.

 

In Bago (Pegu) division, the current payment is just 600 per day, said a resident farmer.

 

Not only farmer, local plantation owners in Mon State, Karen State and Teninsserim Division also have to rely on the people from upper Burma.

 

According to farmers, they rely people from upper Burma and Bago areas for years and for some, for a decade.

 

Almost all the Mon families in Mon and Karen States and Teninsserim division seek jobs in neighboring countries in legal or illegal ways.  Not enough daily income for their family to survive and human rights violations made them seek jobs in foreign countries, said a Mon leader who helps migrant workers.

 

Hundreds of people are still entering to Thailand through Three Pagoda Pass border area even though raining season makes them hard to travel.