Rodents have destroyed paddy plants in farms in more than 20 villages in Paletwa Township in southern Chin State.
“They’ve eaten all of the rice and there’s nothing left to harvest in rotating farms,” says a farmer from Sami town. Swarms of rodents consume all of the crops on one farm, he said, and then move onto the next one.
When the bamboo species Melocanna baccifera flowers typically every 48 years the rodent population feed off of the flowers leading to overpopulation. Once it is finished, they start eating people’s crops. According to locals, the bamboo in the area started flowering in September.
Farmers have been trying to stop the rodents by lighting fires, setting traps and other traditional methods without success. Farms near Aboung Thar, Set Hlay, Sam Sik, Chi Palang, Seinsin, Laung Kadu, Inkhowa, and Har Dawa villages located along the road from Sami to Matupi have all been devastated by the pests.
“The farmers in Sami and Paletwa are facing a lot hardships because of these rodents,” the Sami farmer said.
“If the rats have infested, it is almost impossible to harvest rice from that field. For example, if a field can produce 50 bushel of rice when the rodents destroy it, you will not be able to get even a bushel full,” a farmer from Paletwa explained.
Christian organisations in Paletwa are trying to help the farmers affected by the pests.
In 2008, farmers in the area faced famine after a bamboo blossom caused a major rodent infestation.