Intensified Livelihoods Improvement and Environmental Conservation through Social Business Activities (Natural Fertilizer, Myanmar)

CFC funded a project in Myanmar to promote good agricultural practices, whereby farmers in Myanmar would be able to reduce costs, increase their yields, and improve their soil as well. The project enabled farmers of Myanmar to experience how organic fertilizers could be offered at lower costs than chemical fertilizers with effective social, economic and environmental impact.

The Swanyee Group is active in selling organic agricultural inputs mainly to small holder farmers in Myanmar. There are many distributors of chemical fertilizers in Myanmar but only a few of them are engaged in the supply of natural and bio fertilizers. Swanyee has a research department that has been experimenting with the production of natural fertilizers, in the form of vermiculture. The core of the project is to expand the current levels of vermiculture-based liquid and compost fertilizer.

Current status

The CFC loan was fully disbursed in the fourth quarter of 2016. The development impact of the project is the reduction in fertilizer costs for farmers from USD 60/acre to below USD 50/acre. As most of the farmers are at subsistence level, such reduction of cost always add up to their increased income eventually.

For 2019, the company experienced declining sales due to difficulties with credit sales which led the company to impose a 25% advance payment requirement. This advance payment requirement led to a reduction in credit losses but a decline in overall sales. That said, Swanyee believes that demand for bio-fertilizers remains strong. For 2020, Swanyee plans to focus on G.A.P. (Good Agriculture Practices) systems in which bio-fertilizers are preferred and thus increase its market reach.