The following is a statement of the 4th Myanmar Opium Farmers’ Forum held in Loikaw, Kayah State on 9 May 2016.
“We, opium farmers and representatives of Kayah, Kayan, Shan, Pa-O, Lahu, Ta-ang (Palaung) and Kachin opium farming communities from Kayah State, Southern, Eastern and Northern Shan State, and Kachin State, came together in Loikaw, in Kayah State in Myanmar, to discuss the challenges we face in our lives, and to share experiences and find ways to solve our problems.
We would like to make the following recommendations to the new government of Myanmar:
We grow opium because we are poor and do not have other livelihood opportunities to feed our families and send our children to school, as well as for medicinal and traditional uses. We are not involved in the drug trade, we are not criminals, and we are not commercial farmers. Some of us also grow it for traditional and medicinal uses. It is important to differentiate between small-holder farmers like us, and those people who grow opium commercially and/or who invest in it. (Courtesy of Mizzima)
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