Insecticide credit system hurts farmers
Insecticide prices in Myanmar are much higher than they should be, because sellers are using a credit system, an official has said, with some farmers paying three or four times the market price to keep pests away from their crops. U Aung Kyaw Oo, director of the Crop Protection Division under the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, said farmers are losing out, while insecticide manufacturers and distributors are able to make huge profits. Ministry data shows there are 2757 different types of insecticide legally on sale in Myanmar and 145 companies licensed to distribute pest-killer in the local market.
