Ben Belton, Yin Yin Phyu, Stuart Le Marseny, Jessica Scott POLICY SEMINAR Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 on Myanmar’s Livestock and Fishery Sectors AUG 26, 2020 - 09:00 AM TO 10:30 AM MMT

1. V I RT U A L P O L I C Y S E M I N A R
Assessing the impact of COVID-19 on
Myanmar’s livestock and fishery sectors
August 26, 2020 at 9:00 AM MMT
MODERATOR
Xiaojie Fan, FAO
Representative, FAO
PANELISTS
Michael Akester, Country Director,
WorldFish Myanmar
SPEAKERS
Ben Belton, Associate Professor,
Michigan State University
Yin Yin Phyu, Co-founder and
Director of Operations,
Greenovator Company Ltd.
Stuart Le Marseny, Monitoring,
Evaluation and Information
Management Advisor, FAO
Jessica Scott, Research
Fellow in Gender and Nutrition,
WorldFish Myanmar

2. COVID-19 and Poultry and Egg
Value Chains in Myanmar
Percy Fang1, Ben Belton2, Hnin Ei1, Xiaobo Zhang1
1IFPRI, 2MSU & WorldFish
Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 on Myanmar’s Livestock and Fishery Sectors
August 26, 2020

3. Background
• Fortnightly survey of 275 broiler and layer farms around Yangon
• One of nine surveys of agricultural supply chains conducted by
MAPSA
• Poultry farms = subsample of 423 farms surveyed in July 2019
Inputs
• Agri-retailers
(220)
• Mechanizati
on service
providers
(420) &
retailers (90)
Farms
• Poultry
(275)
• Agriculture
& gender
survey
(600)
Midstream
• Crop
traders
(150)
• Millers
(310)
Food
wholesale &
retail
• Urban food
retailers
(440)
Consumers
• Urban &
rural
community
survey
(600)

4. Why poultry and eggs?
• Rapidly growing sector: Number of farms around Yangon doubled
between 2014 and 2018
• Consumption chicken and eggs increased 72% and 40% in
Myanmar from 2010 to 2015 (Cho et al., 2020)
• Chicken and egg, with fish, are now the most important animal-
sourced foods in Myanmar

5. Poultry farm phone surveys
Survey objective
• Understand the challenges that poultry
farms have faced since the outbreak of
COVID-19
• Learn about adaptations and changes
poultry farms are making in response to
those challenges;
• Track input procurement and marketing
activities, including quantities and prices.
Dates Sample size
Round 1 June 1-12 275
Round 2 June 15-26 249
Round 3 July 1-10 247
Round 4 July 13-24 235
Round 5 Aug 10-21 229
Round 6 Nov 9-20
Geography of sample: within a 100
km radius of central Yangon, which
covers 13 townships in Yangon,
Ayeyarwady and Bago regions (same
as the 2019 FSP livestock survey).

6. • Demand for broilers suffered a
double hit in 2020 – a January
salmonella outbreak, followed
immediately by COVID-19.
• Without COVID-19, broiler
market was expected to recover
by March for Thingyan
• Fewer layer farms closed, and
closed with a lag, due to longer
production cycles.
• 82% of broiler farms and 86% of
layer farms operational by late
July, compared to 2019
• 12% of broiler farms and 9% of
layer farms permanently closed
by late July
-22
-20
-18
-16
-14
-12
-10
-8
-6
-4
-2
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
Broiler farms closing Layer farms closing
Broiler farms reopen Layer farms reopen
Broiler and layer poultry farms closing and reopening
by month, September 2019 to July 2020, number
Note: Our survey started in June, so we do not have data regarding farms reopening
before June. However, farms were unlikely to reopen before June as the demand for
poultry products was very low.
Farm Closures

7. 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Inputs (too expensive or no access)
Price too low/ not enough buyers
Logistic/transportation disruption
Cash flow problem
No access to credit
High labor cost
Labor shortage
Disease
No access to market information
Government policy to close business due to COVID-19
Personal or family reasons
Before Yangon lockdown
After Yangon lockdown
Main reasons for closing poultry farm, as
reported by those having closed
• Inadequate cash flow one of the main problems causing farms to close.
• The share of farms reporting being unable to maintain operations on their current
cash flow has been gradually increasing for broiler and layer farms
Farm closures linked
to cash flow problems

8. • Supply shortage causes price of
broiler to double in May (MMK 2650
to MMK5300/viss).
• Broiler prices gradually decreased
until July, as the supply of broiler
recovered.
• Shortage of broiler chicks in May-
June caused DOC price to spike.
Stabilized when government allowed
imports of DOC
• The decrease in supply of eggs was
smaller than for broilers. Price of
eggs increased >25% from May to
July, partly due to demand for eggs
for mooncake production
0
200
400
600
800
1000
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
4-May
7-May
10-May
13-May
16-May
19-May
22-May
25-May
28-May
31-May
3-Jun
6-Jun
9-Jun
12-Jun
15-Jun
18-Jun
21-Jun
24-Jun
27-Jun
30-Jun
3-Jul
6-Jul
9-Jul
12-Jul
15-Jul
18-Jul
21-Jul
24-Jul
27-Jul
30-Jul
Priceofbroilerday-old-chick,MMK/chick
Priceofbroilerandegg,MMK/Viss
Broiler
Egg
Day-old-chicks
Price of broiler in 2019
Daily farmgate prices of broiler chickens and chicken
eggs, and price from suppliers of broiler day-old-
chicks, May to July 2020
Price increases for
chicks, eggs, broilers

9. • Access to inputs not very severely
affected during lockdown period.
• Logistical disruptions were the
main problems in accessing inputs
during lockdown period, but
almost disappeared by late June.
• Supply shortage of DOC became
the new bottleneck for broiler
farms in June, and for layer farms
since July.
• Price increases in feed became a
challenge in late July. Likely a
delayed effect of feed factories
reducing production during
lockdown.
2
28
18
4
0
0
3
65
0
2
2
0
0
2
2
94
0
15
2
2
0
27
14
69
3
13
6
1
0
17
1
76
100 50 0 50 100
Unable to obtain credit
to buy inputs
Wait longer than expected
to procure inputs
Current market prices too high
Input suppliers out of stock
Input suppliers not open
Restrictions on road transport
prevented movement
Unable to hire transport
services to acquire inputs
No problems at all
with procuring inputs
Layer
Broiler
April/May June
Logistic
problems
almost
disappeared in
late-June
Supply
shortage of
broiler day-
old-chicks in
late-June
Problems related to accessing inputs for poultry farms,
percent of farms surveyed
Lagged impacts on input
supply

10. • Low demand/low
market price was main
marketing problem
during lockdown
• Few broiler farms
reported problems with
sales from June
onwards
• Slow demand remained
a problem for some
layer farms in June/July.
0
0
0
0
1
99
0
12
0
15
5
77
1
34
3
56
11
31
6
19
7
49
4
44
100 80 60 40 20 0 20 40 60 80 100
Buyers could not
pay on time
Had to retain products
that they planned to sell
for longer than expected
Market closed
Decline in demand/
orders, or market
price too low
Logistic
disruption
No problems
at all with sales
Layer
Broiler
April/May June
Problems related to selling products for poultry farms,
percent of farms surveyedDemand for broilers
& eggs recovering

11. • Average number of hired regular workers on operational poultry farms
in June and July was significantly lower (p<0.01) than before lockdown.
• Including farm closures, 684 regular jobs were lost on the 275
surveyed farms, compared to 2019
 30% of the permanent labor force of surveyed farms
• No reduction in wages paid to regular workers.
Before lockdown June/July
Broiler farms 5 4
Layer farms 16 14
All 9 7
Big reduction in employment on farms
Average number of regular workers hired per farm

12. Conclusions
• Immediate effects of lockdown short-lived, but longer lasting impacts
of mismatches in supply and demand; COVID-19 intensified risks in an
already volatile sector
• Poultry and egg prices have increased significantly; effects more
lagged for eggs
• Likely adverse implications for nutrition security of low-income
households for whom egg is a critical animal-sourced food
• Swift government action allowing DOC imports played an important
role in averting a more serious crisis in supply
• Farms report significant cash flow problems (main cause of closures)
• Substantial losses in on-farm employment, affecting workers who are
typically migrants from poorer rural areas.

13. Recommendations
• Allow imports of broiler and layer chicks to continue until
domestic breeder farms recover normal production capacity
• Provide temporary income support and/or tax deferrals or
exemptions, to farms (registered and unregistered) and other
businesses in the poultry supply chain to buffer COVID-19 related
shocks
• Include livestock farmers as beneficiaries of government credit
guarantee schemes to help ease cash flow problems, conditional
upon maintaining or rehiring workers
• Continue or expand income support to vulnerable households to
bolster egg and chicken consumption for nutrition security, in
turn help poultry farms.

14. Thank you
Full policy notes at: round 1, 2, 3, and 4.
Burmese versions are also available.

15. PHOTO
COVID-19 Impacts on Fish Value Chains in
Myanmar
Yin Yin Phyu, Aung Than Oo, Christine Wai, Don Griffiths, Ei Ei Phyo, Goutam Dhar, Khin Maung Soe, Kyaw Moe Oo, Kyaw
Win Khaing, Kyi Thar Myint, Leah Rosen, Mike Akester, Saadiah Gazali, Sai Noot, Yu Maung, Ben Belton

16. Introduction
• Context: Multi-country survey of 765 fish supply chain actors in
Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Nigeria, Egypt, and Timor-Leste
• Method: Interviews by phone, recall for Feb-April (in May), then
weekly until July; monthly until December 2020
• Rationale: Understand the evolving impacts of the COVID-19
pandemic on the availability and price of aquatic foods and
production inputs across the entire supply chain.

17. Survey implementation in Myanmar
15
12
14
45
25
12
5
15
Fish retailer
Fish trader
Processor
Farm
Fisher
Feed seller
Feed mill
Hatchery
• 143 respondents, 10 data
collectors
• Non-representative sample; based
on pre-existing contacts (e.g.
project participants)
• Tried to ensure geographical
coverage and mix of smaller and
larger businesses,
• Ayeyarwady - 29%
• Yangon - 21%
• Shan - 25%
• Sagaing - 22%
• Mandalay - 3%
Number of survey respondents in Myanmar,
by fish supply chain segment

18. PHOTO
General results
Photo: May Lay

19. Short term effects of lockdown; longer-term impacts on demand
98 98
9697
95
91
82
73
79
9
18 19
7
5 4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Feb Mar April May June July
%ofrespondents
Able to access transport Able to find buyers Selling products online
• Effect of lockdown on ability to
access transport temporary
and small
• Short lived increase in use of
social media and internet to
buy and sell during lockdown
• Impact on demand is bigger
and longer lasting than impact
on supply (from 97% able to
find buyers in Feb to 73%
June) – slight recovery in July
% of respondents able to access transport, find buyers
and selling products online*
* Excluding fishers

20. Demand for products and labor slow to recover
55
61
50
57
49 5050
39
44
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Feb Mar April May June July
%ofrespondents
Attempting to buy inputs Attempting to sell products
45
49
46
33
26
38
19
24
22
7
9 9
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Feb Mar April May June July
Men Women
% of respondents attempting to buy inputs
or sell products*
% of respondents employing daily laborers,
by gender of laborer*
• % of respondents attempting to sell products fell
sharply since March
• % of respondents buying production inputs
decreased slightly
• % of respondents employing casual
workers dropped since March and
remained low
* Excluding fishers

21. Supply chain
actor results
Photo: Don Griffiths
Photo: Don Griffiths

22. Seasonality has big effects on business operation
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Hatchery Feed mill Feed seller Fisher Farm Fish trader Fish retailer
%ofbusinessesoperating
Feb Mar April May June July
% of businesses operating, by month • Seasonality has bigger
influence on operations of
most supply chain actors
than COVID
• Hatchery & farm operation
increase as move into
monsoon; fishers and
retailers selling capture fish
operate less due to bad
weather and closed season
• Pelleted feed sellers in
some areas affected by
restrictions on feed imports

23. Production of feed and seed stalled early in season
(April/May), but began to recover from June
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
Feb Mar April May June July
Totalquantity(tons)
Ingredients procured
Feed manufactured
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Feb Mar April May June July
Totalvalueofsales('000USD)
Hatchlings
Fry
Fingerlings
Total quantity of ingredients procured, and
feeds manufactured by surveyed mills
Total value of fish seed sales by surveyed
hatcheries

24. Feed ingredient prices remained stable
Average prices of ingredients procured by
feed mills
Average prices of inputs procured by farms
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Feb Mar April May June July
Oil cake Rice bran
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Feb Mar April May June July
USD/ton
Oilcake Rice bran
• Little change in prices of the 2 main feed ingredients (rice bran and oilcake)
purchased by feed mills and farms

25. Farmed fish prices impacted by lockdown
Average farmgate, wholesale and retail
prices for rohu
3035
2093
2759
3541 3495
2897
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
Feb Mar April May June July
MMK/viss*
Farmgate price Wholesale price Retail price
• Big drop in farmgate price in April,
and increase in wholesale & retail
price, reflecting increased
transaction costs due to lockdown
• Farmgate prices quickly recovered
in May as lockdown eased
• Prices in all supply chain segments
in July at least 10% lower than
February: could reflect lower
consumer demand, closure of
export market for large rohu, or
may be normal seasonal effect
*1 viss = 1.63 kg

26. Limited assistance received
May June July Source
Hatchery 9 9 9 Govt
Feed mill 0 0 0 N/A
Feed seller 0 0 0 N/A
Fisher 8 0 0 Govt
Farm 5 5 21 NGO
Fish trader 0 0 0 N/A
Fish retailer 11 0 0 Govt
Processor 0 0 0 N/A
• Most COVID-19 assistance
received by farms, from
NGOs (most likely due to
WorldFish linkages,
reflecting sample selection)
• Very little support to key
supply chain actors – feed
sellers, mills, traders,
processors, retailers
% of surveyed enterprises receiving assistance

27. PHOTO
Conclusions & recommendations
Photo: May Lay

28. Conclusions
• Prices of inputs and fish have remained quite stable
• Inability to access inputs and transport was a temporary problem during
lockdown
• Low demand is a more serious, longer term problem
• Respondents along the supply chain seem to have reduced input use,
including labor, in response to slow demand (leading to reduced demand
elsewhere in chain and economy)
• Relatively few businesses stopped operating due to COVID-19 so far
• Very few businesses have received direct government support.

29. Recommendations
• Provide training and resources to ensure safe, hygienic operation of businesses
throughout the fish supply chain
• Provide clear guidelines on criteria for businesses to access assistance programs
• Provide financial support to businesses in fish supply chains (not only producers) – e.g.
tax holidays, rebates on utility bills.
• Unconditional cash transfers for vulnerable groups to stimulate demand and increase
fish consumption
• Avoid restrictions on imports of inputs (e.g. feed, feed ingredients) and exports of fish
to help prices remain stable
• Take the opportunity to invest in better market infrastructure
• Ensure that businesses in the fish supply chain and or providing supporting services to
it (e.g. transporters) are treated as essential under any future lockdowns.

30. Thank You
This work was undertaken as part of
In partnership with

31. Impact of Covid-19 on Fishing/Aquaculture Communities
Three Phase Survey for FishAdapt
Final Report
Strengthening the adaptive capacity and resilience of fisheries and
aquaculture-dependent livelihoods in Myanmar

32. Outline
1. Purpose of Research
2. Methodology
3. Comparative Findings
a. Covid-19 Transmission and Preventative Measures
b. Impact on Fishing/Aquaculture Livelihoods
c. External Support for the Community
d. Labour Market and Impacts of Unemployment
e. Alternative Sources of Income and Social Welfare
4. Analysis of Three Phase Survey
a. Global Shock
b. Myanmar Changes
c. FishAdapt Project
d. Moving Forward
5. Intervention Strategies
6. Conclusion/Questions
3
2

33. Purpose of research
1. To provide an indicative snapshot of the impact the Covid-19 pandemic and
subsequent restrictions in FishAdapt communities.
2. Assist in understanding the immediate and future needs of community
members due to the impact of Covid-19 restrictions from their perspective.
3. Provide a rapid assessment baseline of the resilience of communities in
times of crises relevant to implementing future climate change adaption
and natural disaster risk management strategies.
3
3

34. Methodology
Three Phase Dates 2020 Ayeyarwaddy Yangon Rakhine Total
Survey One 23 Apr to 6 May
30 33 40 103
Survey Two 15 May to 12 June
34 37 40 111
Survey Three 21 July to 31 July
34 33 39 106
In-depth Discussion 29 July to 8 August
2 2 2 6
3
4
• Community representatives from 120 FishAdapt communities
• Three surveys conducted by phone interviews with community representatives
• Survey three additional questions based on feedback from survey one and two
• Six follow-up in-depth discussions with community representatives

35. Comparative Findings
a. Covid-19 Transmission and Preventative Measures
• As at survey three (July) Covid-19 no positive cases in FishAdapt communities
3
5
Covid-19 Transmission and Preventative Survey One Survey Two Survey Three
Engaging Preventative Measures 99% 94% 92%
Use of Preventative Tools 89% 85% 43%
Correct Use of Face Covering 79%
Home Quarantining 90% 74% 38%
Dedicated Quarantine Facility 40%
Recording New Entrants to Community 71%
Public Health Messaging 91% 82% 81%
Equal Impact on Health Men and Women 82%

36. Comparative Findings
b. Impact on Fishing/Aquaculture Livelihoods
3
6
Fishing/Aquaculture Livelihoods Survey One Survey Two Survey Three
Impact on Normal Operations 47% 27% 14%
Restrictions limiting food production 11% 12% 15%
Access to Usual Market 79% 81% 96%
Found New Markets 8%
Able to Sell all that is Produced 90%
Decrease of Market Prices 64% 47% 59%
Normal Market Prices 19% 35% 38%

37. Comparative Findings
b. Impact on Fishing/Aquaculture Livelihoods continued
3
7
Fishing/Aquaculture Livelihoods Survey One Survey Two Survey Three
Individual Income less than prior Covid-19 86%
Sufficient Food for all Community Residents 95% 95% 83%
Storage of Produce until Prices Favourable 11% 5% 23%
Individual Storage Plans 22%
Community Plans for Fishing/Aquaculture Livelihoods 6% 20% 24%

38. Comparative Findings
c. External Support for the Communities
3
8
97
26
18
91
30
47
92
22
15
93
28
26
3
74
82
9
70
53
8
78
85
7
72
74
0 20 40 60 80 100
Survey 1
Survey 2
Survey 3
Survey 1
Survey 2
Survey 3
Survey 1
Survey 2
Survey 3
Survey 1
Survey 2
Survey 3
AyeyarwaddyYangonRakhineTotal
External Food Assistance from Government and Organisations
Yes No NA

39. Comparative Findings
39
d. Labour Market and Impacts of Unemployment
LabourMarketandImpacts of Unemployment SurveyOne SurveyTwo SurveyThree
Increase Unemployment due to Covid-19 70% 63% 46%
Decrease in Amount of Paid Work Available 64%
Lack of Skilled LabourforFishing/Aquaculture 68% 81% 11%
Unemployed Returnees from Overseas orInterstate 31%
Community Members with Less Cash than priorCovid-19 77%
Salaries/Wages Less than priorCovid-19 61%
Unemployment Equal Impact across Gender 21%

40. Comparative Findings
e. Alternative Sources of Income and Social Welfare
40
Alternative Sources of Income and Social Welfare Survey One Survey Two Survey Three
Alternative Ways of Generating Income 17% 32% 10%
Community Members Access to Loans 79%
Community Members with Difficulties Making Loan Payments 72%
Community Members without Income to Meet Household Needs 73%
Community Members Sufficient Cash Reserves Future Shocks 9%
Negative Impacts on Women or Children from Covid-19 66%
Equal Impact of Loss of Income across Gender 68%

41. Analysis of Three Phase Survey
• Global Shock
1. The economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been passed to all economic and
financial levels including small village markets in Myanmar fishing/aquaculture
communities
2. The prevalence of no cases until July in the 120 surveyed communities and then only
three communities recording cases from 106 communities during the July survey three
period reflects the low rate of infection and spread in Myanmar.
3. The ongoing, prolonged Covid-19 pandemic has now encountered a population fatigued, a
lack of urgency and diminished resources and response capacity. The FishAdapt
communities have also fatigued and lack available resources. 41

42. Analysis of Three Phase Survey
• Myanmar Changes
1. Communication of the Covid-19 pandemic, both the consequences and the preventative
measures to rural and remote populations has been successful.
2. Market prices for fishing and aquaculture produce have fluctuated over the survey period.
3. Community representatives identified job opportunities and job diversification as the most
pressing priority for Covid-19 recovery.
4. Whilst early food relief packages from the Government of Myanmar were gratefully received, the
distribution of support and assistance has been sporadic, geographically limited and criteria for
receiving assistance confusing.
5. The servicing of financial loans has challenged many community members during the Covid-19
period and will continue to be difficult in the year to come.
6. The vulnerable of the community continue to shoulder the burden of the slowing economy, the
increased unemployment and lack of sufficient resources for basic needs.
42

43. Analysis of Three Phase Survey
• FishAdapt Project
1. The research clearly established that fishing and aquaculture communities are resourceful, quick to adapt
to changing circumstances, and will and are able to implement unfamiliar strategies if they receive the
appropriate information and support.
2. Overall, the research across the three regional areas of Ayeyarwaddy region, Yangon region and Rakhine
State has highlighted the diversity of the project scope.
3. Whilst there is some confusion regarding what a ‘plan’ is and how this is articulated to the individual, in the
community and especially by NGOs, there has been an increase in community management plans for
fishing/aquaculture.
4. The communities have embraced new methods of communication most importantly social media.
5. Overwhelming feedback requesting training and skills development in the community in all areas to
address unemployment, food storage, health issues, disaster risk management, pandemics, climate change
adaption and leadership.
6. The survey highlights the differing roles of men and women throughout the fishing/aquaculture
communities depending on geographic, cultural and livelihood parameters. Yangon region recorded greater
Covid-19 related impacts on women.
43

44. Moving Forward
• FishAdapt Project
• The FishAdapt project has been identifying specific vulnerabilities related to
natural resources status and management, and climate change to identify gaps
at the community level to be specifically addressed by integrated community
based plans.
• The integrated plans are designed to incorporate current good practices
related to natural resource management and critical adaptive methodologies
to climate change will be identified and implemented by community members.
The plans will now also include adaptive strategies already implemented by
communities and adjustments due to the Covid-19 impacts.
44

45. Intervention Strategies
FishAdapt in conjunction with the Government of Myanmar
• Supply Inputs for Freshwater Farming
• Provision of fish seeds should contain key nutritional and Covid-19 health
messages.
• Support should include fishmeal for feeding in aquaculture.
• Provide subsidies and loans for fingerlings for aquaculture farm producers and
for smallholder farmers to prepare inputs for aquaculture production and
enable fish production at household level therefore assuring availability of a
protein source.
• Include healthy fingerlings for aquaculture communities to supply protein.
45

46. Intervention Strategies
FishAdapt in conjunction with the Government of Myanmar
• Excess Production of Freshwater Farming
• The Government of Myanmar should consider purchasing and storing existing
fish products (from small scale fisheries and aquaculture producers) in
communities where marketing possibilities or prices have been impacted by
Covid-19 (intervention pricing) and encourage safe storage of produce at
community level to ensure food availability in the future.
• Fish not purchased by the Government of Myanmar should be converted to
fishmeal which is returned to the community for feeding aquaculture. The
Government of Myanmar will need to ensure there are adequate
infrastructure storage facilities in the communities.
46

47. Intervention Strategies
FishAdapt in conjunction with the Government of Myanmar
• Training for Aquaculture Workers
• Development of aquaculture production technology production training, communication materials
and communication campaigns with integrated key nutrition and WASH messages. (Department of
Fisheries (DoF) & FishAdapt).
• Training in aquaculture production systems, water management and postharvest (DoF & FishAdapt).
• Integrate key nutrition and WASH messages in training, delivered by the FishAdapt project.
• Continue to develop regional information systems for aquatic diseases and updating the biosecurity
framework for aquaculture in collaboration with the University of Yangon. (FishAdapt in
collaboration with the University of Yangon)
• Identify causes and develop responsive recommendations on fish and aquaculture communities for
improving markets connectivity. (FishAdapt Covid-19 Impact Survey responses to provide guidance).
47

48. Discussions/Questions
1. The fishing/aquaculture livelihoods will continue to experience uncertain market
demand, fluctuating employment, and unstable incomes for years to come.
2. Communities are adaptive and are embracing rapid and unknown change. The ability to
reach a large, diverse and remote audience is available and currently the audience is
attentive and willing to accept change and engage in new concepts.
3. Communities are able to identify their collective and individual needs and report what
they need rather than being assessed externally. Communities are organised and wanting
to plan to the future as they have identified ongoing consequences of the Covid-19
pandemic at the local level.
48

49. PHOTO
Animal sourced foods: Contributions to Nutrition
and Impacts of COVID-19
26th August 2020
Jessica Scott1, Ben Belton 1,2, Kristi Mahrt3, Shakuntala Thilsted1
1WorldFish, 2MSU, 3IFPRI

50. Outline
• Importance of Animal Source
Foods (ASF) for the Myanmar
diet and malnutrition
• Consumption patterns of ASF
from Myanmar national
surveys
• COVID impacts on
consumption and in turn
nutrition
• Informing nutrition sensitive
interventions

51. Malnutrition in Myanmar
• Malnutrition continues to persist in many forms
• Stunting (27% children 6-59 months)
• Underweight (19% children 6-59 months)
• Anemia (35% children 6-59 months, 51% 5-9 y.o, 30% girls 10-14 y.o & WRA)
• Multiple micronutrient deficiencies (children and pregnant & lactating women)
• Increasing overweight and non communicable diseases in adults
(Myanmar Micronutrient and Food Consumption Survey 2017-2018)
• Most vulnerable to malnutrition – infants and children, adolescent girls and
pregnant and lactating women.
• Causes of malnutrition are multifactorial; inadequate diet diversity a key
target for Myanmar.
• COVID-19 serious threat to food insecurity and worsening malnutrition
globally (SOFI 2020, HLPE 2020)

52. Myanmar Diet Patterns
• General Myanmar diet pattern
• High in white rice, providing carbohydrates and energy. High fat and salt.
• Low in animal foods, fruit and vegetables
• Need for increased community nutrition knowledge
• Infant feeding suboptimal
(National Nutrition Centre, Lwin Mar Hlaing 2020)
• Over half of the population cannot afford the cost of the nutritious diet
(IFPRI (CoRD-FP), WFP (CotD).
• Knowledge gap in quantified dietary surveys
• Current food and nutrients composition tables required to calculate
nutrient intake and compare to nutritional requirements.

53. Importance of Animal Source Foods (ASF) for the
Myanmar diet
• Limiting ASF consumption – current global discourse w.r.t sustainability
and negative health correlations in high consuming countries.
• Well planned plant based diets can meet nutritional requirements, though
less realistic for low and middle income countries (LMICs). (GAIN 2020)
• ASF are nutrient dense – small quantities are rich in micronutrients and
high quality proteins.
• ASF can meet nutrient requirements more easily, especially pregnant and
lactating women, adolescent girls and young children in LMICs. (GAIN 2020)
• A healthy balanced diet supports a strong immune system for the best
protection against disease.

54. Research Aim
• Understand the role of specific ASF in the Myanmar diet
• In the absence of national dietary survey, use the available national
household survey for insight into dietary trends and patterns.
• Estimate the nutritional contribution of different ASF to meeting
population requirements
• Identify opportunities for culturally appropriate nutrition sensitive
approaches to target malnutrition in Myanmar; informing program and
policy.

55. Method
Research Paper in Progress
• ILHCA 2010 and MPLCS 2015 Household data used as a proxy for
apparent consumption per adult equivalent (with thanks to Kristi Mahrt, IFPRI)
• ASF Nutrient composition data complied from neighboring countries and
literature review.
• Food items to nutrient composition matched by dietitian, local knowledge
applied for edible portions and local consumption behaviors.
• Does not assess the whole diet, however informs strong indications of
in/adequacy and trends in consumption of ASF.

56. 0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
Q1 (2010) Q1 (2015) Q2 (2010) Q2 (2015) Q3 (2010) Q3 (2015) Q4 (2010) Q4 (2015) Q5 (2010) Q5 (2015)
Gramsperday
Fish Meats Chicken Eggs Fresh milk
National Consumption of Animal Source Foods per Adult Equivalent

57. Estimating the Nutrient Contribution of ASFs Toward Meeting Estimated Average
Requirements (EAR) for an Adult Woman (2015)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Energy
(kcal)
Protein (g) Fat (g) Iron (mg) Zinc (mg) Calcium
(mg)
Vitamin
b12 (µg)
Thiamine,
b1 (µg)
Vit A (µg
RAE)
Sodium
(mg)
PercentageofNutrientEAR
Fish Meats Chicken Eggs Milk

58. 0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Energy (kcal) Protein (g) Fat (g) Iron (mg) Zinc (mg) Calcium (mg) Vitamin B12
(µg)
PercentageofNutrientEAR
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5
Total ASF Contribution to Nutrient Requirements per Wealth Quintile

59. Rising vulnerability, inequity and inequality
• COVID-19 increases the risk of further exacerbating
inequalities
• SOFI & HLPE 2020 - Vulnerable groups at increased
risk of further nutritional decline during COVID-19
• Serious risk to the nutritional status of vulnerable
populations in Myanmar (Headey et al. IFPRI 2020)
• A quarter of households in the CDZ irrigation scheme
area, decreased their food expenditure to cope with
income loss. Decreased consumption of fish and meats
• Vegetable consumption increased (Lambrecht et al.
IFPRI August 2020)
At risk groups
Women Children
Landless households
Internally displaced households
Migrants
Those already in the bottom
quintiles

60. Risk of Reduced Incomes on Consumption of
Animal Source Foods
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
Q1 (2010) Q1 (2015) Q2 (2010) Q2 (2015) Q3 (2010) Q3 (2015) Q4 (2010) Q4 (2015) Q5 (2010)Q5 (2015)
Gramsperday
Fish Meats Chicken Eggs Fresh milk

61. Visualising malnutrition in
the time of COVID-19
Produced by Amanda Coile and Arja
Huestis, MQSUN+
CONSULTED RESOURCES: FAO | COVID-19 and the risks to
food supply chains: How to respond; WHO | Operational guidance for
maintaining essential health services during an outbreak; WFP | potential
impact on world’s poorest; UNSCN | food environments; UNICEF, GNC,
GTAM | IYCF in the context of COVID-19; UNSCN | Food environment in
the COVID-19 pandemic; CDC | combatting stigma; IASC | Include
marginalised and vulnerable people; IASC | Interim guidance for gender
in COVID-19; UNICEF | consideration for children and adults with
disabilities; JMP | WASH data; UN | COVID-19 impact on children
https://mqsunplus.path.org/blog/visuali
sing-malnutrition-in-the-time-of-covid-
19/

62. Recommendations for Nutrition Sensitive Interventions
• Protect and enhance consumption of nutritious
foods for the most vulnerable
• Support and monitor stable market distribution for
availability of safe nutritious foods and accessibility
(affordability) to vulnerable groups
• Enhance nutrient rich homestead food production
• Nutrient dense ASF with increased shelf life
• Processed products dried fish, fish powder
• Eggs
• Multisectorial National Plan of Action on Nutrition MS-
NPAN
Forthcoming: Nutrition-Sensitive Guidance in
the Context of COVID-19 in Myanmar
(LIFT, FAO, WFP c. Nutrition in emergencies Myanmar
working group)
Kengtung Wet Market, Shan State

63. PHOTO
V I RT U A L P O L I C Y S E M I N A R
က ျေးဇျေးတင်ပါတယ်
Thank you
IFPRI-Myanmar website: https://myanmar.ifpri.info