Union Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation U Tin Htut Oo and officials inspected the irrigation system of Kintar Reservoir and Kintar Diversion Weir built on Panlaung river in Myittha Township, Kyaukse District, Mandalay Region on 1 September.
During the inspection tour, the Union Minister said the Ministry is supporting the production of cotton, paddy and various crops to be able to produce three times per year and improve crop yields. He added the need to systematically use natural fertilizer and green manures, to increase the efficiency of lakes and dams, to ensure the efficient use of water, and to accelerate the natural disaster preventive measures.
More than 150,000 acres of paddy, cotton, oilseeds and pulses are annually cultivated with the irrigation water from Kintar Reservoir and Kintar Diversion Weir. The Union Minister and officials of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation made the inspection tour to coordinate the needs to be met in upgrading irrigation system, water supply and water management technology so that a variety of crops, including paddy, can be produced three times a year by transforming the paddy-based crops into the new marketable crops, which need low water demand.
The Union Minister and party also inspected the cotton crop research and technology development activities; demonstration of cotton seed hair removal to improve germination of seedlings and for machine planting; spraying of cotton plantation using modern equipment and cottonseed production field in Wundwin Township.
During the meeting with cotton growers and officials from the Cotton Entrepreneur Association in Wundwin Township, Mandalay Region, the Union Minister said it is necessary for farmers and entrepreneurs to work together in a joint venture farming system to increase the cultivation of good and pure varieties of cotton and to increase the per acre yield, adding that coordination is being made to obtain timely loans for the cultivation of crops, to increase the yield of loans for the cultivation of cotton, to import and use of high-quality varieties with higher yields.
It is reported that the Union Minister and the cotton farmers and entrepreneurs cordially discussed the requirement to use the modern agricultural machinery in cotton production, agricultural management, and seedling and input requirements. – MNA
