26 May 2026 By Ra Wai
CHAUNGZON, Myanmar — More than 10,000 acres of vital rice fields in Mon State’s Chaungzon Township have been left completely uncultivated this season, after the ruling military junta refused to allocate subsidized diesel fuel for agricultural machinery, local farmers and monitors report.
The agricultural crisis unfolded during the crucial plowing and dry-seeding months of March and April. Local farmers, heavily reliant on motorized tractors rather than traditional draft animals, found themselves entirely cut off from the state’s military-controlled fuel quotas.
With regular distribution channels blocked by regime bureaucracy, black market diesel prices in the delta region soared above 10,000 Myanmar Kyat (MMK) per liter. Combined with hyperinflation affecting imported chemical fertilizers, the basic cost of preparing the soil became an impossible burden for rural families.
“Without fuel, our modern tractors are useless,” a resident from Chaungzon’s Kalwi village told MPA. “Buying black-market diesel at over 10,000 MMK a liter made no economic sense. When you calculate the combined costs of tilling, high fertilizer prices, and ultimate harvesting expenses, it is mathematically impossible to break even with the projected price of paddy. Leaving the land barren was our only option to avoid crippling debt.”
Chaungzon Township possesses a total of roughly 60,000 acres of arable rice land. Agricultural experts and local surveyors estimate that the current fuel-induced stoppage has systematically knocked out more than one-sixth of the area’s entire seasonal food production capabilities.
When questioned on whether local political structures had attempted to formally petition the military high command to release fuel emergency reserves for the starving agricultural sector, residents noted that domestic political parties remain frozen by fear. Under current regime restrictions, political organizations strictly avoid raising any issues that might provoke anger from junta administrators.
An exiled resident from Thekkaw village expressed deep disillusionment with the local Mon Unity Party (MUP). “When the general fuel crisis first hit, our representatives didn’t even have the basic decency to hand out bottles of water to citizens collapsing in mile-long fuel station queues,” the resident stated.
“They genuinely lack the comprehension or willingness to question the regime regarding the farmers’ plight. The public should not expect anything from them. Their only expertise lies in polishing the boots of the military generals in exchange for crumbs of superficial local authority.”
Historically, Chaungzon’s farmers relied on dense communal labor networks to manually transplant rice seedlings during the early monsoon rains. However, a severe domestic labor shortage—fueled by thousands of young workers fleeing the civil war and forced conscription laws—had previously forced the township to switch entirely to mechanized dry-seeding methods.
By choking off the fuel supply lines required for this mechanized farming model, independent economic analysts warn that the junta is directly undermining the agrarian foundations of Mon State. The resulting deficit in regional paddy yields is expected to trigger severe food supply shocks across southern Myanmar later this year.
