Xinhua | 31 May 2015

Myanmar works for formulating policy framework for foreign investment in agriculture

YANGON, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar government is working closely with the 34-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to formulate a policy framework to boost foreign investment in the agricultural sector, official media reported Sunday.

OCED officials were quoted as saying that allowing foreign ownership of land and creating a legal framework to encourage contract farming will attract foreign direct investment in Myanmar 's agricultural sector.

The OECD held a workshop in Yangon on Saturday on modernizing Myanmar's economic building on a strong agricultural sector.

According to official statistics, Myanmar's agricultural sector ranked the 9th out of 11 sectors in terms of foreign direct investment with approved capital of 242.686 million U.S. dollars as of March 2015 since late 1988 when the country started to open to foreign investment.

Meanwhile, the International Fund for Agriculture Development ( IFAD) offered aid to Myanmar to carry out project for agricultural development which lasted from 2013 to 2015 covering three villages in central Magway region.

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) also helped the country grow rice under Myanmar Rice Sector Development Strategy and Program.

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Global New Light of Myanmar | 30 May 2015

Myanmar should allow foreign land ownership to boost agriculture investment: OECD

Allowing foreign ownership of land and creating a legal framework to encourage contract farming will attract foreign direct investment to Myanmar’s agriculture sector, according to a senior Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development official.

There will be concerns about agriculture investment unless land ownership is opened to foreign investors, Mr Jan Rielander, head of the OECD’s Multi-dimensional Country Reviews Development Centre, told The Global New Light of Myanmar on Friday.    He also stressed the need to formulate regulations and legal frameworks that can facilitate contract farming.

Myanmar’s agriculture sector ranks ninth out of 11 sectors in terms of foreign direct investment, with approved capital of US$242.686 million from fiscal 1988-89 to 2014-15.

“In order to make the agriculture sector really attractive, it is required to improve security of land, property rights of land ownership and allow contract farming,” Mr Rielander said.
Officials from the 34-nation OECD held a press conference in Yangon on the sidelines of a workshop on modernizing Myanmar’s economy building on a strong agricultural sector.

According to the press conference, the Myanmar government is closely working with the OECD to formulate a policy framework for investment in the agriculture sector.

The second volume of the OECD Multi-dimensional Review of Myanmar was released in January 2014, providing recommendations to support Myanmar’s reform efforts. The report acknowledges the reforms initiated by the government in the many areas including management of external development finance, the tax structure and the financial system, and stresses the need for continued progress.