Myanmar: Why Agriculture is Ailing and How Best to Revive the Sector

Aug 9, 2017 | Kang Wan Chern, Myanmar Times
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Agriculture forms the backbone of the Myanmar economy. The sector contributes to almost 40 percent of the nation’s GDP, accounts for close to a third of total exports and employs more than 60pc of the workforce, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. Yet, just 1pc of foreign direct investments (FDI) in the country is channeled into the sector, while bank loans extended to agriculture businesses have contracted sharply since 2016, data from the Central Bank of Myanmar reveals.