DISCUSSION PAPER No. 63
Agricultural Policies and Development of
Myanmar’s Agricultural Sector
: An Overview
Koichi FUJITA*
Ikuko OKAMOTO**
June 2006
Abstract
This paper reviews the development of the agricultural sector in Myanmar after the transition
to an open economy in 1988 and analyzes the nature as well as the performance of the
agricultural sector. The avoidance of social unrest and the maintenance of control by the
regime are identified as the two key factors that have determined the nature of agricultural
policy after 1988. A major consequence of agricultural policy has been a clear difference in
development paths among the major crops. Production of crops that had a potential for
development showed sluggish growth due to policy constraints, whereas there has been a
self-sustaining increase in the output of those crops that have fallen outside the remit of
agricultural policy