Rice Seed Producers’ Attitudes to Hybrid Rice Seed Production in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar

Agriculture in Myanmar, dominated by paddy rice cultivation, generates a direct or indirect economic livelihood for over 75% of the population. Hybrid rice development in Myanmar has been hampered by several nontrivial scientific and technical challenges. So far, hybrid rice has had limited impact in Myanmar. Hybrid rice is a very new seed industry which is pushing hard for hybrid rice’s success. Therefore, research was conducted to determine the influential factors contributing to rice seed producers’ attitudes to hybrid rice seed production in the Nay Pyi Taw area, Myanmar. Objectives of the study were: 1) to study the characteristics of the rice seed producers, and their performance in seed production; 2) to find out hybrid rice seed producers’ perceptions regarding rice seed sector development; 3) to determine the factors influencing change in the hybrid rice seed production development in Myanmar. A total of 54 respondents (13 hybrid rice seed producers and 41 inbred rice seed growers) in Nay Pyi Taw were interviewed between October and December 2017 using structural questionnaires and analyzed by descriptive statistics and the Rensis Likert (1932) scale using 5 points to measure attitudes to seed production. The study revealed that among the 41 respondents producing inbred rice seed (39 male and 2 female) the average age was 45 years, ranging from a minimum of 36 years to a maximum of 58 years. Average farm size was 4.1 ha, most growers have formal education (19.5% of were graduates) and 92.7% had rice seed production experience. Almost all, 97.6%, had 1 to 5 year’s seed production experience and 92.7% used their own land. Only 14.6% of seed growers had adopted mechanized farming. Among the13 respondents producing hybrid rice seed (10 male and 3 female) and the average age was 43.7 years, ranging from a minimum of 33 years to a maximum age of 52 years. Almost, 12 out of 13 respondents possessed a Diploma or Bachelor Degree related to agriculture. All respondents had received technical training and had 6 to 10 years’ experience. Among important factors for inbred rice seed producers, the majority (95.1%) stated the need to “register seeds” and 83% and 87.8% respondents considered “labor scarcity” and “skill labor” to be most important. Also, 78.1% and 87.8% of seed grower farmers identified “high cost of production” and to “roguing difficulties” as important or most important factors, while 51.2% and 41.5% of seed growers identified “difficulties of transplanting” and “water problem” as important or most important. In contrast to inbred seed producers, hybrid rice seed producers universally considered obtaining parental lines and “rouging” as most important, while 84.7% and 92.3% faced “water problem” and “weed, pest and disease problem”. Additionally, 92.3% of seed producers mentioned “difficulties of transplanting” and 61.5% and 92.3% identified “labor scarcity” and “skilled labor scarcity” as important or most important problems. A large majority, 92.3% and 84.7%, considered “farm machinery availability” and “high cost of production” as important or most important. Furthermore, 84.6% of respondents faced a “synchronization problem” as important and important because of climate change and technical weakness. More than half of respondents complained of cost and availability to buy GA 3 from China, and 69.3% of respondents used insufficient quality. Hybrid seed producers identified “chemicals cost and availability” as important or most important, while 30.8% paid attention to “synchronization” and considered “spending too much time in field” as important. Several major influential factors were behind the change from inbred rice to hybrid rice seed production. The majority (96.3%) of seed producers agreed to “extension agents” as the main information source, while 85.3% mentioned “technical training”. More than half of respondents pointed out the “seed business market” as most important or important, while 51.8% identified “water availability” as important or most important. As a result, this study recommends additional research and advanced breeding for hybrid rice, a stronger extension strategy, establishment of seed production zones with sufficient water, introduction of contract seed production, access to credit and a good input delivery system, fully mechanized seed production, partnership between the public and the private sector for hybrid rice seed production, and a well-designed seed policy with provision of hybrid rice seeds and hybrid rice promotion.