One year on, planting the first steps of recovery in Myanmar

After the earthquake disrupted life across central Myanmar, recovery in farming communities is being shaped by the need to start again with limited resources. Many farmers lost not only their homes but also their crops and income at a critical moment in the agricultural cycle. As a result, recovery has often meant making difficult choices: between rebuilding shelter and restoring livelihoods. With the return to planting, and with support providing access to seeds and practical assistance, farmers are gradually resuming cultivation, taking the first steps toward rebuilding both their income and food security.

Daw Cho Than stood beside the cracked wall of her partially collapsed house, calculating what she could afford to lose.

To repair the damage, she pawned half her farmland – three of the six acres her family depended on. Without it, she wasn’t sure how she would plant the next season.

“When the earthquake destroyed our home, I had no choice,” she said. “But I worried about how we would continue farming and support our family.”

Across central Myanmar, that same calculation – what to rebuild first, and what to sacrifice – has shaped recovery over the past year.

When the 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck on 28 March 2025, it hit communities already living close to the edge. In Mandalay and Sagaing regions, where agriculture underpins daily life, the damage extended beyond homes. Fields cracked, irrigation systems were disrupted and, in the days that followed, heavy rains destroyed crops that were ready for harvest.

Across affected areas, livelihoods were severely disrupted, with around 64 per cent of localities surveyed after the earthquake reporting job losses, alongside crop damage and workplace destruction.

In some areas, agricultural losses ranged between 20 and 60 per cent, wiping out income at the start of the planting season. For many farmers, the disaster did not just interrupt a season, it threatened the ability to continue farming at all.

In Kyaukse Township, Mandalay Region, Daw Cho Than’s monsoon rice harvest provided just enough food to get by, but little else. The loss of her green gram crop meant there was no income to cover rebuilding costs, healthcare or the next planting season.

Faced with limited options, she pawned land to repair her home, knowing only too well this was a decision that will take time to reverse. Her experience reflects a broader reality: without access to affordable credit, even basic repairs can come at the cost of long-term productivity.

In Sagaing Region, Daw Mar Yee faced a similar pressure. As the sole provider for her family, she needed to repair her damaged roof while continuing to support her husband, who has a disability.

“The cash support came at the right time,” she said. “Without it, I would have had to borrow money with high interest just to repair our roof.”

In the months that followed, stabilization efforts helped households bridge immediate income gaps, including through short-term employment and livelihood inputs. Nearly 6,000 people were supported through cash-for-work activities, while more than 28,000 people received inputs to restart livelihoods. UN agencies, including UNDP, has supported close to 4,800 cash-for-work opportunities and reached more than 28,000 people with livelihood inputs, illustrating the scale of support provided alongside other partners.

Starting again with what is left

For most people, seeds are easy to overlook – something small, inexpensive, almost incidental. But in farming communities, they are the starting point of everything. Without seeds, there is no planting. Without planting, there is no harvest, no income, and no way to recover.

After the earthquake, many farmers had lost not only their crops, but also the seeds they would normally save or buy for the next season. Local markets had stalled, turning what is usually routine into a barrier. For many families, access to seeds marked the difference between waiting and beginning again.

In the weeks that followed, some farmers were able to return to their fields as support reached communities, including assurance delivered by the UN agencies such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and its partners, providing seeds, basic inputs and practical guidance to restart production.

For Daw Cho Than, this meant planting again.

Using techniques introduced through training, she cultivated green gram on her remaining land during the winter season. The results were modest but enough to begin rebuilding — saving seed for the next cycle and selling a portion to others struggling to find quality inputs.

“The Good Agricultural Practices training and seeds helped me start over again,” she said. “Now I can save seeds for the next season and even sell them when others need them.”

The training focused on practical adjustments: how to manage soil altered by the earthquake, conserve water and reduce input costs using locally available materials. In a landscape reshaped by both the earthquake and subsequent flooding, recovery has depended not only on restoring inputs, but on adapting how farming is done. These efforts were part of wider support provided by the UN agencies including FAO and local partners working with 9300 farming households across affected areas. Such efforts have helped thousands of farming households resume cultivation, not replacing what was lost but restoring a degree of stability.

Not all livelihoods could be restored in the same way.

In parts of Shan State, where support from organizations such as Mercy Corps has focused on restoring mixed livelihoods, families depend on a mix of farming and fishing, the earthquake disrupted not only crops but the tools needed to sustain daily life. For U Kyaw Soe, the loss of his boat engine made it difficult to fish, transport goods and move between places.

Replacing it allowed him to return to work more regularly, increasing his daily catch and easing the strain on his household. “The boat engine was urgently needed and has already made a significant difference for the entire family,” he said.

For families like his, recovery has meant restoring not only what they grow, but the means to sustain a range of livelihoods.

Alongside these efforts, support has also extended to small businesses and skills development, helping people diversify income sources beyond agriculture. Across affected areas, hundreds of people have participated in group-based livelihood activities, business development training and technical and vocational education, while micro, small and medium enterprises have received start-up support to resume operations. UNDP-supported programmes have reached over 700 people through group livelihoods, more than 400 through business training, and supported vocational training and enterprise recovery initiatives.

But even with support, recovery has not been straightforward.

In some areas, fields were buried under sand or altered by shifting water levels after the earthquake and flooding that followed. In Mandalay’s Yamethin Township, U Thein Min Htet found his rice fields severely affected.

“We thought only groundnut could grow here now,” he said. “But with the support we received, we were able to plant again. It gave us hope and a way forward.”

Adapting has required more than inputs. It has meant learning how to farm under new conditions. For many farmers, recovery is no longer about restoring previous harvests, but about adjusting to a changed environment.

Progress, but still fragile

There are signs of progress.

Fields that once lay idle are being cultivated again. Farmers are returning to markets with small but growing harvests. In some communities, seeds are being shared among neighbours, helping others restart production.

But recovery remains fragile. For households that lost both shelter and income, progress has been slow and is shaped by limited resources and the need to balance immediate needs with long-term survival.

Recovery efforts are expected to scale up significantly in the coming period, with plans to reach up to 150,000 people through cash-for-work and 250,000 through livelihood inputs. UNDP is expected to contribute to a substantial share of this scale-up, alongside continued support for skills development, enterprise recovery and access to finance, including targeted support to small businesses and training opportunities.

While these efforts have helped many families begin again, a large number of households continue to face ongoing livelihood challenges, with limited assets, reduced income and uncertainty about future harvests. Continued, coordinated support will be essential to ensure recovery can be sustained and expanded.

For Daw Cho Than, the improvement in her harvest is only part of the story. The land she pawned to repair her home is still out of reach.

Recovery, she says, is not about returning to what was lost.

It is about finding a way forward, with less than before.

This story is informed by field inputs and programme data from United Nations agencies, international and national non-governmental organizations and local partners supporting recovery efforts in earthquake-affected areas of Myanmar, including the provision of livelihoods support, agricultural inputs, cash assistance, training and essential services.