Image: Ma Nyo (center) with her daughters and vegetable grown on her land in Karen State, Myanmar. (YSDA/CPI)
As conflict and instability push nearly half of Myanmar’s population below the national poverty line, families face growing hardship. Food insecurity in Myanmar is deepening as prices rise and incomes fall. In Karen State, a project supported by Community Partners International (CPI) helps households grow vegetables. Because families can eat and sell what they grow, the project strengthens nutrition, livelihoods and resilience.
“We are struggling to make ends meet and cannot save for our future,” confirms Ma Nyo, who lives with her husband and three children in Wae Gyi Village, Karen State. “Three years ago, our income matched our expenditure. Now, we are exhausted by high food prices and low income. We prioritize food for our children because their nutrition is crucial.”
Her family’s experience reflects a national emergency. Food insecurity in Myanmar now affects about 20 percent of the population. That is more than 10 million people, according to the 2024 Global Report on Food Crises. As a result, Myanmar ranks among the world’s ten most severe food crises.
Food insecurity in Myanmar has several overlapping causes. First, the country is highly vulnerable to global warming, which threatens food production. Second, conflict disrupts transport routes and markets. Finally, the economy continues to decline, so essential goods grow harder to afford.
World Bank estimates track six major food items: rice, pulses, edible oil, onions, eggs and tomatoes. Between 2017 and June 2023, their prices rose by an average of 16.6 percent a year. The 2017 baseline comes from the Myanmar Living Conditions Survey. The 2023 prices come from WFP’s Global Food Prices Database.
Nan Lin works as a field facilitator with CPI partner the Yoma Social and Development Association (YSDA). She monitors nutrition in 27 villages in Hpa-An Township. “We have identified some children with moderate acute malnutrition,” she says. “Financial problems and the lack of stable employment make it more difficult for families to access nutritious food. I worry that it will become worse, particularly if the villagers are displaced by fighting. Conflict is making it more difficult to transport food.”
Children carry the greatest risk. Because malnutrition in early childhood does lasting damage, the window to act is short.
To support families facing food insecurity in Myanmar, YSDA launched a project that helps households grow vegetables. “We worked with women from each village, including expectant mothers, breastfeeding mothers, and mothers with children under five,” explains Nan Lin. “As the primary caregivers, they provide meals for children. We trained them in organic cultivation techniques and provided them with seeds, including beans, okra, bottle gourd, ridged luffa, eggplant, water spinach, and chili. We also provided equipment like seedling trays, spray bottles, and watering cans.”
Gardens alone will not end food insecurity in Myanmar. Still, they give households a direct source of nutrition that does not depend on prices or roads.
Misconceptions about food and nutrition also affect children’s health. “Many people are unfamiliar with the importance of nutritious vegetables and lean meats,” reveals Nan Lin. “Some mothers only feed their children rice and salt.”
So the team works on behavior as well as supply. “We conduct nutrition awareness sessions and cooking demonstrations. We’ve seen a noticeable improvement in positive social behaviors related to nutrition, especially concerning children under five. People are actively engaging with us and showing a much better understanding of nutrition.”
Ma Nyo is one of the women participating in the project. “I’m growing a variety of vegetables with seeds provided by YSDA,” she confirms. “We are familiar with farming, but this training helped us cultivate better. Since the project began, cucumber and water spinach have been most successful, but every plant is flourishing and could be sold for income.”
She has also changed her farming methods. “Previously, I relied on chemical fertilizer,” she continues, “but I changed my approach after training. I’ve learned valuable techniques such as making organic fertilizer, composting, line sowing, and proper harvesting and storage methods. I now understand about seed propagation methods and optimal plant layout.”
For families facing food insecurity in Myanmar, a garden does two jobs at once. Ma Nyo now feeds her household and earns from what she grows.
“I can grow plenty of vegetables for our family’s nutrition,” she explains, “and I can sell them to make income and ease our hardships. With the income, I can buy meat, fish, eggs, and other ingredients, so I don’t need to worry about our food situation. I feel so happy when my children eat the vegetables I have grown. They also help in the garden and are learning to grow vegetables.”
Food insecurity in Myanmar will not ease quickly. Yet gardens like hers give families a measure of control while they wait.
Community Partners International (CPI) strengthens, equips and connects local organizations in Myanmar, Bangladesh and Thailand providing health and humanitarian services to conflict- and poverty-affected communities.
Support our mission: https://cpintl.org/ways-to-give/give
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