Bamauk residents choose peanuts as more profitable crop

Some village residents in Bamauk Township of Katha District in the Sagaing Region start harvesting the groundnuts. The farmers gain extra income from cultivating the peanuts.
The nuts are grown to start Nadaw, and they take about 100 days. It earns K13,000 per basket of peanut, and each acre can produce between 80 and 100 baskets of peanuts. Currently, the demand for peanut is high, and the nut farmers earn between K1.5 million and K2 million per year.
The peanut workers get K1,500 or K2,000 per basket. Therefore, if they can harvest the peanut between four or five baskets per day, they can get K8,000-K10,000.
The farmers from Bamauk Township planted only paddy more than ten years ago, and now they do not want swift to other crops. However, they go to other regions as migrant workers. But now, they plant peanuts or other seasonal produce in their areas without going anywhere.
“More than ten years ago, the people went to other regions after they harvested the paddy. Now, we grow seasonal crops, especially the groundnuts in our farmlands. We get about between K1.5 million and K2 million per year after we use the expenses for labour. We get that much amount during three months, and so it can cover the cost of our family,” said peanut farmer U Maung Naing from Pin Hin Kha Village.
The peanut price is K13,000 per basket, and the cost of peanut oil is between K65,00 and K7,000 per viss. — Hlaing Bwar (Bamauk)/GNLM