Ministries and region and state authorities should avoid seeking profits by applying authority and must focus on serving the interests of the nation without political scandals, said Chairman of the State Administration Council Prime Minister Senior General Min Aung Hlaing at the meeting 2/2022 of the Union government at the SAC Chairman office yesterday morning.
In his speech, the Senior General said that individual oil consumption is high in Myanmar. Hence, he noted that it is necessary to reduce oil consumption while ministries and chief ministers need to seek the best way for increased production of edible oil. If edible oil crops are grown on all cultivable lands through double cropping, the per-acre yield of edible oil crops will increase.
Concerning the agriculture sector, the Senior General said: “We have to efficiently utilize the farmlands with per-acre yield and then strive for increasing the per-acre yield. We have to seek good quality strains of crops. The Agricultural Research Department is taking responsibility for conducting agricultural research. It identifies the quality strains as their results. It can be used on a commercial scale. The whole country grows 15 million acres of paddy, including monsoon and hybrid paddy. For example, two each strains from regions and states, totalling 28 plus two from Nay Pyi Taw must be produced. It is not enough to just research and their findings. It needs to lead the ways how to implement it. Will the State implement it? If so, how does the State manage it? Now, demonstration covers the display of research but it does not comprise a wider scale of works. All staff have in nature when they will do everything under the management of the superior level. I’d like to remove it. They all have to culture the spirit of how to do everything for their regions.
Regarding sunflower, it has domestic high yield strains and hybrid strains. I observe the hybrid strain yields 50 baskets per acre and domestic strains some 25-26 baskets per acre. So, we need to choose the hybrid strain. How can we do it? How can we seek the strains? It will be done by the State. If so, how shall we do it? How shall private businesspersons do it? Importantly, we have to do everything practically.”
Currently, electrification must be implemented with solar power while efforts must be made for timely completion of the electric power projects within two or three years.
It is necessary to increase the export volume and reduce the import of edible oil and fuel as much as possible.
The Senior General stressed the need to do cultivation of seasonal crops and operate river water pumping stations with solar power as well as strive for the development of the nation.
The Senior General urged all to implement generating of electricity through solar power in respective regions in order to reduce the supply of electricity from the national grid. Currently, electrification must be implemented with solar power while efforts must be made for timely completion of the electric power projects within two or three years.
It is necessary to increase the export volume and reduce the import of edible oil and fuel as much as possible, the Senior General noted.
The Senior General also noted that only when the people receive vaccination for COVID-19 will it take the preventive measure against the disease infection to some extent. Hence, the vaccination process must be carried out in respective areas under the proper security measures, he added.
Ministries and region and state authorities should avoid seeking profits by applying authority and must focus on serving the interests of the nation without political scandals. Region and state chief ministers were urged to make efforts for doing nation-building endeavours as the good records in the tenure of the current government.
Before the speech of the Senior General, Union ministers for Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, Electricity and Energy, Commerce and Health reported on changes in agricultural techniques for increasing per-acre yield, the establishment of a special zone for edible oil crops, plans to generate electricity from hydropower, wind power, recycle and solar power projects, cross-border interconnection projects and electrification in regions and states, efforts to reduce import volume of palm oil and to stabilize the price of palm oil, and arrangements to vaccinate students under 12 in 2022-2023 academic year.
In conclusion, the Senior General said officials must supervise thrifty measures for all expenses of the ministries as much as possible. The thrifty measures will control the high prices of commodities on one hand. He highlighted that all courses of universities will be reopened in May 2022 for the attendance of students who passed the 2019-2020 academic year matriculation examination. As those students will be posed various threats not attending universities, preparations must be made to take security measures. Moreover, the Senior General said regions and states have been allowed to organize this year’s Thingyan festival as COVID-19 can be placed under control to some extent. — MNA
