As Burma鈥檚 government finally allows foreign aid workers into the country, the UN is warning that only a few weeks remain before the country鈥檚 main rice crop, in the hard-hit Irrawaddy Delta, must be planted.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation says that the damage caused by Cyclone Nargis to the region鈥檚 irrigation canals and tidal defenses will have to be repaired before soils can start to recover from salt damage. So even if the next crop gets planted, it could yield less rice than usual.
Nargis, which hit southern Burma on 2 May, is now thought to have killed 134,000 people and left 2.4 million homeless. The UN estimates that only a quarter of the victims have received any assistance. There are reports of cholera among survivors, who have little or no shelter or clean water.
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No-go delta
Foreign aid workers, and ordinary Burmese trying to bring help from elsewhere in the country, have been banned from going deep into the delta region. It was not immediately clear whether Friday鈥檚 announcement, made by after a meeting with the junta鈥檚 chief, General Than Shwe, meant foreign aid workers would be able to enter the delta, or when.
But that 鈥渢he already severe food security situation is worsening鈥�, with rice prices doubled near Rangoon and sharp increases across the country. This means widespread hunger, as Burmese already spend some 70% of their income on food.
The next rice crop will be vital to restoring food supplies. The FAO says: 鈥淭here is a very narrow window of opportunity to provide seeds and other inputs鈥� for the country鈥檚 main crop, normally planted in June after monsoon rains begin.
Salt in the earth
But, says Yuji Niino of the , salt water deposited by the wave that washed across the delta during the storm may have left salt in the soil. This can damage rice.
Normally the salt would be washed out by the monsoon rains, if the sluice gates on irrigation and drainage canals are operated to keep rainfall from running off the surface, and allow it to percolate through soils then drain away.
But, says Niino, 鈥渢his type of salinity problem may remain even after considerable rainfall, if the drainage ways are not open.鈥�
Many may not be. , a water systems engineer at Yokohama National University in Japan who is familiar with Burma, inspected damage near Rangoon last week. He told 快猫短视频 that the destruction of irrigation canals is 鈥渁 major problem鈥�.
Another problem, he says, is fresh intrusion of salt water from the sea. Normally, this is held at bay in the brackish delta by gates that stop seawater from flowing into irrigation channels at high tide, and by walls that prevent seawater intrusion along the coast.
The gates have been destroyed, says Shibayama. 鈥淚t will take a long time to survey the whole damaged area and start reconstruction of the irrigation system, including salinity prevention.鈥�
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