The Republic of the Union of Myanmar (hereinafter Myanmar) is one of Korea’s priority partner countries for official development assistance (ODA), mainly focused in the four sectors of public administration, rural development, transportation and energy, based on the Korean government’s Country Partnership Strategy (CPS). As of 2015, the country’s total population has risen to almost 51 million, among which the urban population accounts for 30.0% and rural population 70.0%. Although the urban population is increasing rapidly, the majority of Myanmar people reside in rural sectors and engage in agriculture and forestry, utilizing the abundant natural resources of land, water, grass, trees, and mountains. Land use by these primary industries remains high in proportion.
   This research studies Korea’s agricultural and forestry development cooperation with a focus on rural development, which is one of the focal areas approved by Korea’s CPS with Myanmar. Our study begins with current agricultural and forestry development and future needs for Myanmar, scheduled in particular within its agricultural development strategy for the next five years (ADS 2018-19~2022-23) recently approved by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Irrigation (MOALI) in 2018, as well as the national forestry master plan (2001-02~ 2030-31) approved in 2000 by the Ministry of Forestry. We examine in detail agricultural and forestry programs in Myanmar supported by other countries or international organizations such as Japan, Germany, the UK, USA, Australia, Asia Development Bank (ADB), World Bank Group (WB), Livelihoods and Food Security Fund (LIFT), and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), to identify possible avenues for cooperation and draw significant implications for promising agricultural and forestry programs. Meanwhile, Korea’s agricultural and forestry capacities are essential for implementing programs suitable to Myanmar, meaning that Korea’s agricultural and forestry programs currently being implemented offer valuable lessons. Both grant and loans are studied for a better understanding of the bottlenecks or challenges in Myanmar. Based on agricultural and forestry needs in Myanmar and Korea’s capacity in the same sector, our findings suggest several promising agricultural and forestry programs.
   Myanmar’s ADS (2018-19~2022-23) has three objectives: 1) enhanced governance and capacity of institutions responsible for agricultural development, 2) increased productivity and farmers’ income, and 3) enhanced market linkages and competitiveness. The target rate for agricultural growth in five years is 4.0%, aiming to double the current 2%. The target for land and labor productivity in five years is to realize 50% increase compared to the current $1,200/ha and $1,600/labor, respectively. The target for agrifood exports is $3,865 million in five years against the current $2,400 million. Under the first objective of governance, there are nine outcomes (needs), including: 1) planning, 2) policy, 3) monitoring and evaluation, 4) statistics, 5) associations and groups, 6) land rights, 7) coordination and participation, 8) food and nutrition security, and 9) MOALI restructuring. There are nine outcomes (needs) in the second objective, productivity, as well: 1) research, 2) extension, 3) education, 4) irrigation and water management, 5) crop inputs, 6) mechanization, 7) livestock and fishery, 8) good agriculture practices, and 9) resilience. Finally, the third objective of competitiveness aims to achieve the following nine outcomes: 1) Business Environment, 2) Intellectual Property Rights, 3) Quality System, 4) Participatory Planning for Rural Development, 5) Rural Infrastructure, 6) Agro-enterprise Development, 7) Food Quality and Safety, 8) Financial Services, and 9) Trade Facilitation and Export Growth.
   Myanmar received a total of almost $1.5 billion in 2016 from international societies, of which agricultural and forestry ODA account for only 5.9%. Japan ($235 million) is the biggest donor country, followed by the USA ($183 million), Korea ($124 million), Germany ($72 million), France ($48 million), UK ($46 million) and Australia ($46 million) in 2016. The World Bank ($300 million) and Asian Development Bank ($263 million) also support many programs in Myanmar. Technical cooperation programs with Japan, including the private sectors, are most dominant in Myanmar, indicating there will be an increase in private sector investment in Myanmar from Japan. Germany focuses on environmental and forestry development by advocating for human rights and the wellbeing of minorities residing in remote areas. The USA has engaged in agricultural development projects to support small farmers’ production and marketing capabilities in response to climate change. The Australia Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) has been conducting research in collaboration with Myanmar experts, making much scientific information available within ACIAR’s networks. The ADB’s strategy focuses on enhancing agricultural value chains, technical cooperation for rural development, and natural resources. The WB supports Myanmar by providing agricultural package programs in the areas of finance, urban and rural development, and environment management. LIFT has helped farmers and their families to generate more income, maintain the environment in their village, and ensure that children and women are getting enough nutrition. The FAO has focused on enhancing the food value chain through mitigating natural disasters and coping with climate change.
   Korea is an important donor in Myanmar which has provided many projects such as technical assistance through the Korea Program on International Agriculture (KOPIA) center of Rural Development Administration (RDA), rural development projects that focus on Korea’s New Village Movement, post-harvest research center, and enhancing agricultural marketing ability with wholesale market through KOICA, consulting agricultural policies through the Korean Agricultural Policy Experiences for Food Security (KAPEX) program at the Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI). Future activities should be more aligned with each other to increase aid effectiveness in Myanmar.
   In conclusion, the future direction in agricultural and forestry development cooperation with Myanmar should first of all focus on sustaining the agricultural policy framework, by continuing current programs such as the KAPEX, KSP, CPS, and other ODA policy research, leading to the initiation of pilot programs for good agricultural and forestry policies in Myanmar for mutual recognition. There should be additional discussion on the aid effectiveness of the pilot program currently being conducted with rural community development projects, supported by a total of $22 million by 2019. Second, facilitating and implementing agricultural policies in Myanmar should be supported by Korean government programs in areas such as technical assistance, capacity building, and agricultural value chains in order to create a good business environment in the private sectors. Third, agricultural and forestry development programs should be linked with current frameworks such as the Korea-Mekong Initiative, Korea-ASEAN cooperation projects, and the Korean government’s New Southern Policy. Fourth, incorporating private sectors and/or non-government organizations (NGOs) throughout the programs is important for sustainable agricultural and forestry development activities in the long run. These programs should contribute to the social and economic growth for Myanmar to grow into a middle-income country in the near future.