Empowering women farmers in Myanmar

Country: Myanmar © MEDA

Daw Mu Htoo is a 40-year-old woman farmer from Myanmar’s Kayin State who left school early and has worked abroad for 11 years. Using her savings, she was able to return home to work as a farmer and run a rice mill.

As part of the Improving Market Opportunities for Women project implemented by MEDA, Daw was able to attend agriculture, business and leadership training as a lead farmer and sales agent. Through the training, she learned about agriculture technologies that increased her yield from 45 to 58 baskets per acre per crop. She was also able to upgrade her rice mill and now farmers from nearby villages come to use her mill, generating a profit for her of between $21 and $71 a day.

I...realized my ability after being involved in the project. Now, there are many demands from buyers after upgrading the rice mills. I plan to take a bank loan to expand my business and build a warehouse to store more rice, and buy a car to collect more rice from nearby villages.

Project profile — Improving Market Opportunities for Women Agricultural Producers