USSEC hosted Myanmar’s first farmers’ day for the aquaculture industry on January 9.
Held in Okkan, a town about 60 miles northwest of the capital Yangon, the USSEC-sponsored Farmers’ Field Day was attended by some 62 farmers, representatives of local farm organizations, township government officials and leaders, and reporters.

Local USSEC fish farmer cooperator Myo Aung received the USSEC aquaculture team in his hometown of Okkan.  The team was comprised of USSEC Myanmar Technical Manager - Aquaculture Aubrey Winbaw, USSEC Southeast Asia Technical Director – Aquaculture Lukas Manomaitis, USSEC Philippines Technical Manager – Aquaculture Levy Mañalac, and former USSEC Local Coordinator May Myat Noe Lwin.
Mr. Aung, who is also chairman of the Okkar Maung Livestock and Fisheries Production and General Trading Cooperative, hosted the one-day event for his farming neighbors who raise freshwater catfish Pangasius and other commercial carps.  Additionally, he runs another trial on a hatchery for Asian sea bass with USSEC marine hatchery cooperator United KMK Co., Ltd. in Myeik along Myanmar’s southern coast.
Mr. Winbaw introduced the concept of the Farmers’ Field Day in his opening welcome speech, followed by Mr. Manomaitis, who shared the various aquaculture activities spearheaded by USSEC in Myanmar and the Southeast Asia region.
Ms. Lwin, Mr. Aung, and USSEC feed mill cooperator Dr. Pe Tin, who is also an advisor to the Myanmar Fisheries Federation, went on to deliver presentations and share their experiences working with USSEC in Myanmar.  Many farmers listened with rapt interest as Mr. Aung shared his experiences with the use of extruded floating aquafeed formulated in cooperation with USSEC and Htoo Thit Feed Mill, the major feed producer in the Pangasius demonstration in Okkan last year.
Newspaper The Voice published an article highlighting the upcoming Farmers’ Field Day after an interview with Mr. Aung.

On January 8, USSEC technical manager Mr. Winbaw attended the official launching of an Asian sea bass stocking trial in a freshwater grow-out pond that had benefitted from USAID technical support, administered through the U.S. Embassy in Yangon in cooperation with the University of Yangon and Myanmar Fisheries Federation at Okkan, Rangoon.  A USSEC farmer cooperator who successfully raised Pangasius in a demo pond last year provided the culture facilities for the trial.