PROGRAM DETAILS

Product: Rice and Pulses
Program Phase: Research
ProgramPartners: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).
Year Completed: 2019

THE CHALLENGE

Myanmar is one of the fastest growing economies in Asia. Agriculture is a core driver of Myanmar’s economy, contributing approximately 35% to GDP and employing 70% of the country’s labour force.

As agriculture is the leading employer in the economy, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research’s (ACIAR) role in research for development is filled with opportunity and potential to support broader reforms.

​Myanmar is one of the largest producers and exporters of rice and pulses. Despite its growth potential, the agriculture sector persistently experiences insufficient investment in research, extension, technology transfer, infrastructure development, value-chain upgrading, and marketing.

​The challenge for ACIAR was to better understand and assess the agribusiness landscape to identify constraints and opportunities for inclusive market development for these two commodities.

THE APPROACH

Business for Development, in partnership with Rogers MacJohn, was commissioned by ACIAR to undertake an analysis of Myanmar’s agribusiness landscape and develop an analytical framework to identify opportunities for inclusive agribusiness-led development.

​A combination of desktop research and stakeholder interviews across public, private, and social sectors were used to identify priority areas for research and investment, based on the greatest reach and impact potential for smallholder farmers.

• 88 stakeholders were interviewed from the public, private and social sectors to provide insights on the priority constraints and opportunities within the rice and pulse sectors.
• A private sector perception survey and a CEO survey canvassing 135 investors provided an understanding of the business environment, the investment criteria important to the private sector, and the relative ease of doing business in Myanmar.
• An analytical framework was developed, taking a systemic approach to rice and pulse value chains in Myanmar to identify key constraints to inclusive agribusiness-led investment.

THE RESULTS

• A set of recommendations were provided, focused on holistic solutions taking into account the entire value chain, as well as the critical interdependencies between the public and private sectors.
• One of the top recommendations for pulses was a market development analysis as a precursor to other value chain interventions. Business for Development has been re-engaged by ACIAR to take forward this work.