By Kantarawaddy Times
In the Daw Ku and Nan Phe village tracts, located near the border of Phruso Township and Bawlake in Karenni State, local residents and internally displaced persons (IDPs) are increasingly concerned about the potential for low market prices resulting from the monocropping of sesame, a crop they heavily rely on for their livelihood.
As the conflict continues, donations from benefactors have significantly dwindled, prompting IDPs to return to their fields to cultivate sesame as a means of ensuring food security. It has been reported that residents of Nan Phe have been unable to live in their villages for over three years due to the ongoing conflict.
While sesame cultivation is essential for their survival, there is growing anxiety that the yield may not be sufficient and that market prices for sesame could be unfavorable.
To obtain rice, villagers have been borrowing from one another, and basic commodities have been purchased on credit, with repayment contingent upon the sale of sesame. This system has been in place for over five months.
“In terms of how we manage to get by, when we don’t have much sesame left to sell, we press it into oil and lend it to one another within our communities. If there’s no rice left, we seek out sellers, even if it costs 130,000 kyats per bag, and we buy it to survive. If we have anything to pawn or sell, we do so to afford the rice,” stated a local resident.
During the last rainy season, poor road conditions disrupted transportation, leading to a shortage of basic foodstuffs like rice. As a result, residents had to cook and consume millet instead, according to a local woman, Daw Than Than Nyunt.
“We had to eat millet for three months. Due to the transportation challenges, donors couldn’t reach us. Those without millet had to manage as best they could,” she explained.
Despite a good sesame yield, locals fear that artillery shelling, air raids, transportation difficulties, and heavy rainfall could lead to crop failure, according to a female sesame farmer.
“We worry about what will happen if a battle breaks out during harvest season—whether we’ll be able to harvest or have to flee. If it rains before we can gather the crops, we’re concerned about how we’ll repay our debts,” she expressed.
Residents are also worried about the decline in sesame prices and the lack of buyers, forcing them to cut back on kitchen expenses as much as possible.
In the Nan Phe and Daw Ku villages, residents primarily transport basic commodities from Dee Maw Hso Township. However, during the rainy season, poor road conditions have led to significant price increases, according to local reports.
