USAID Mission Director Aler Grubbs
Remarks at the launch of the Fish for Livelihoods Shwe Ngar App for Fish Farmers
12:00 pm, October 13, 2020
[Remarks as Prepared]
Mingalabar, welcome everyone. Thank you for joining us today.
We are launching the new Shwe Ngar (shway neh-gar) mobile application today. The Shwe Ngar app will make life easier for fish farming families in Myanmar, increase their productivity, connect to new markets, and increase their family income.
Easy technology like this Shwe Ngar app helps people in Myanmar improve their income and be able to handle shocks like the impact of COVID on businesses in Myanmar.
USAID’s Fish for Livelihoods project developed the Shwe Ngar app. The project helps small-hold fish farmers improve their yields and gain better access to local markets. The Fish for Livelihoods project works with communities in Shan and Kachin states, Sagaing and Mandalay regions. The project works with these communities to increase small-scale aquaculture production; connect farmers to markets; and improve nutrition through safe fish-based food products.
The Shwe Ngar app and the Fish for Livelihoods Program are part of the U.S. Government’s global agriculture and food security initiative, called Feed the Future.
The Feed the Future program is celebrating 10 years of support to people around the world on:
- Agriculture led-economic growth that is inclusive and sustainable
- Resilience among people and systems to withstand economic and other shocks
- Nutrition, especially for women and children
USAID’s agriculture activities in Myanmar have helped over 177,000 households working in agriculture. Our support has helped 77,000 micro, small and medium businesses – including farmers – to access credit over $65 million; and catalyzed $3.5 million in private sector investment in the agriculture sector.
We expect that the Fish for Livelihoods project will lead to even more innovative approaches in the future, and continue to expand valuable partnerships, all of which will scale-up the aquaculture sector and benefit Myanmar’s rural communities.
There is no better way to achieve these objectives than in partnership with all of you. And we are very excited to continue this work through the Shwe Ngar App.
The U.S. Agency for International Development supports the people of Myanmar in democratic progress, and inclusive economic development. Use of innovative technology for agriculture, like this Shwe Ngar app, is one of the ways we are helping make economic growth accessible to everyone: women, youth, and ethnic communities.
Thank you for joining us and for the invaluable partnerships we are building together.
