Myanmar Seed Exchange

During the recent 2012 ECHO Myanmar Agriculture Workshop in Yangon, a seed exchange was held with representatives from nine Myanmar organizations bringing plant materials for 38 crop varieties.  

Crop seeds, cuttings and seedlings brought for exchange included green mung, peanut, grain sorghum, corn, pigeon pea, pearl millet, Hesperethusa crenulata (tanaka), millet, Straculia versicolor, sugar pea, mustard greens, cassod tree, wax gourd, okra, bitter eggplant, taro, black mung, broad bean, cowpea, bottle gourd, passion fruit, yard long bean, dill, radish, pumpkin, cucumber, roselle, lettuce, sweet onion, coriander, kidney bean, bush okra, euphorbia, ginger, lentils, black bean, chaya and Napier grass.

The goals of the seed exchange included:

• Introducing and/or reinforcing the concept of seed saving and sharing to strengthening crop diversity and food security beginning at household and community level.
• Highlighting Myanmar’s crop diversity across a variety of ecological zones including the Irrawaddy Delta, the Dry Zone as well as diverse upland region.
• Encouraging networking and exchange among the participating agricultural development agencies

Workshop in Myanmar

The 2012 ECHO Myanmar Agriculture workshop was held in Yangon during Oct. 30-Nov. 2.  With 66 registrants, over 25 Myanmar-based organizations were represented, making this the largest ECHO Asia event offered outside of Chiang Mai thus far.  

Topics and activities included Agricultural Responses to Climate Change, Biochar, Natural Farming and Alternative Fuels/Stoves as well as four post-workshop tour options around Yangon.  

Many thanks to the Myanmar Baptist Convention’s CSSDD team for co-hosting this event.