FARMERS are expected to exceed a government target of 13.69 million acres for this year’s monsoon paddy crop, a senior agricultural official said last week.

Favourable weather conditions and government encouragement for farmers to plant more rice this wet season were the main reasons why the target was likely to be exceeded, said U Thaung Han, an assistant manager at the Myanma Agriculture Service.

Monsoon paddy was grown on 13.43 million acres last year.

More than six million acres have been planted so far this monsoon season, including two million acres in Ayeyarwaddy Division, the nation’s main rice producing area, said U Thaung Han.

U Thaung Han said government expected the monsoon crop to produce 960 million baskets of paddy, up from 887 million baskets last year.

A basket of paddy weighs 46 pounds (about 21 kilograms).

Along with the increase in the sown area, the use of hybrid varieties, advanced technology and greater use of fertiliser would also contribute to a bigger harvest, U Thaung Han said.

Average yields last monsoon crop were 68.68 baskets an acre but were expected to reach 70.06 baskets this year, he told Myanmar Times.

He said that unlike summer paddy, the area on which the monsoon crop was grown was increasing each year. It was grown on 13.38 million acres in 2002.

“The sown area for summer paddy depends on the prevailing price. Farmers grow more when prices ensure they will make a profit”, U Thaung Han sai

. He said the government had been running campaigns to educate farmers about the advantages of using biological and organic fertilisers as an alternative to chemical fertiliser.

Monsoon paddy is mainly grown from June until September, but the season varies depending on location and the start of the monsoon.

He said more than 30 varieties of monsoon paddy were cultivated. The most commonly grown varieties are middle-grade Emata and Manawthukha and the lower-grade Shwewartun and Ngasein, U Thaung Han said.