Farmers planting rice in Chin State, 2024. (Salai Production)
Biak Lian Thang witnesses the worsening food crisis facing Chin State since the 2021 coup.
“We had no choice but to flee when the fighting started near our town. Our house, our farm, our animals – we left it all behind. What’s even harder now is the cost of everything. Rice, cooking oil, salt – everything is three or four times more expensive than it was (before the coup).”
This haunting account is from a displaced farmer in Chin State, Myanmar, where conflict and food insecurity are deeply intertwined. Her experience reflects how the ongoing violence in Myanmar has forced farmers to abandon their farms, disrupted agricultural cycles, and made it increasingly difficult to afford even basic staples in the region.
As someone born and raised in Chin State, I have witnessed my homeland’s long struggle with food insecurity, which has now transformed into a looming famine following Myanmar’s 2021 military coup. Drawing on interviews with both displaced and non-displaced farmers across the region and analyzing publicly available documents, including reports from international NGOs, local CSOs, and independent media outlets related to Chin State’s agriculture and food insecurity chronology starting from 2007 to 2025, I explore the devastating toll of post-coup conflict on Chin’s food security. While highlighting the resilience of local farmers, I argue that lasting solutions must prioritize localized responses, especially given the uncertainties of international aid.
Nestled in the rugged western highlands of Myanmar along the borders of India and Bangladesh, Chin State has long endured chronic food insecurity. With its mountainous terrain, fragile soils, and limited infrastructure, the region has historically grappled with a unique ecological crisis that occurs approximately every fifty years: the phenomenon known locally as “Mautam” or bamboo flowering. This natural disaster has shaped the food security landscape of Chin State for generations. The most recent major 2007 Mautam cycle affected around 200 villages and over 100,000 people or about 20% of the population. Approximately 82% of the farmland had been destroyed, and over 54 people died as a result.
Chin is no stranger to crises. Beyond the cyclical bamboo flowering crisis, it has faced additional challenges that have compounded food security issues. Cyclone Komen in 2015 caused widespread flooding and landslides, particularly devastating Chin State. According to a report from FAO, almost 2,500 hectares of agricultural land across the country were affected by landslides, with Chin State experiencing the most significant impact . These events exposed the region’s limited resilience and emergency response capacity. In addition , the COVID-19 pandemic amplified existing vulnerabilities. Travel restrictions and lockdown measures limited access to markets and agricultural inputs, while reduced income opportunities left many households unable to afford basic food necessities.
Chin State has also long been trapped in poverty and poor health. As of the 2019 UNDF’s Poverty Report, 58% of the estimated 500,000 population live below the poverty line, ranking the poorest region in Myanmar. The rugged terrain and poorly developed road infrastructure isolate communities and limit access to essential services and markets. This, in turn, exacerbates the cycle of food insecurity. The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (2009-2010) reveals that 13% of children in Chin State suffer from diarrhoea, a major cause of child deaths associated with poor nutrition and sanitation, the highest rate in the country. Additionally, stunting, a sign of long-term malnutrition and the major global driver of preventable brain impairment, affects up to 58% of Chin State’s children under five.
The February 2021 military coup has drastically escalated Chin State’s already fragile situation, transforming chronic vulnerability into an acute crisis. According to a recent report from the United Nations World Food Programme, hunger in Myanmar has reached alarming levels, with an estimated 15 million people expected to go hungry this year (2025) – up from 13.3 million in 2024 – and Chin State among the regions facing the highest levels.
The ongoing armed conflict has displaced tens of thousands of civilians from their homes and agricultural lands. Since the coup in Myanmar, as reported by the United Nations, more than 50,000 people have fled to India – almost 40,000 of them residing in Mizoram – while another 54,000 remain displaced in Chin State. This mass displacement has catastrophically ruptured agricultural production cycles in the region. In Paletwa Township, for example, renewed fighting in September 2022 halted the crucial monsoon-paddy harvest. Farmers from at least 10 villages could not collect paddy in early September, resulting in lost yields and income. Similarly, in Thantlang, the initial battle of Thantlang in September 2021 caused more than 10,000 residents to flee. The displacement occurred just before the harvest season, meaning whole standing crops were destroyed or left to rot. The persistent conflict has repeatedly displaced farmers in Chin State during both planting (typically April-June) and harvesting (October-November) seasons.
The consequences of these disruptions extend far beyond a single lost harvest. Displaced farmers I spoke with said they cannot return to cultivate their fields, even if they lie fallow, due to fears of landmines, renewed fighting, or military reprisals. This has led to the complete loss of annual harvests for multiple consecutive years for countless families. A farmer from Falam Township I talked to shared her experience:
We fled our village when the fighting came close. We left everything behind: our home, our farm, our livestock…. It (the fighting) was right after we had planted crops in the fields. We had onion, garlic, ginger, and a few other crops, but we couldn’t stay. Even now, we can’t go back, even though the shooting has stopped in some areas. There are rumors of landmines around the fields, and the military still patrols the area… and who knows if the fighting will happen again? Even if the land is empty, it’s not safe. I don’t know when we’ll be able to return.
As one of the theaters of the ongoing war, the military has deployed its “Four Cuts” strategy in almost all Chin State townships, designed to sever insurgents’ supplies of food, funds, information, and recruitment. This directly translates to the blockade of food and essential supplies, explicitly weaponizing hunger against the civilian population. Essential commodities like rice and medicine are prevented from entering conflict zones. Prices for basic foodstuffs have skyrocketed (e.g., rice costing 3-4 times pre-coup prices). As one farmer said:
Even rice, the most basic food, is blocked from reaching us. The military searches trucks coming from Kalay to Falam to Hakha and often blocks the main roads. Before the conflict, a sack of rice from Kalay cost around 40,000 kyat and arrived regularly. Now, after it makes it through all the military checkpoints at all, it’s over 150,000 kyat – sometimes even more. They (the military) also seize medicine, claiming it might be used by the resistance… but it’s us (the ordinary people) who are suffering.
The neighboring regions of Sagaing and Magway, which are key suppliers of food to Chin State, are also caught in ongoing armed conflict, disrupting agricultural production. As a result, food shortages have worsened, and the prices of staple items such as rice, cooking oil, and salt have tripled compared to before the coup.
The broader implications extend beyond immediate food shortages. Conflict and reduced agricultural production are contributing to a severe lack of food resources, trapping displaced communities in a cycle where they cannot return to farming due to persistent security threats. Meanwhile, the breakdown of agricultural value chains has disrupted input supplies, making it difficult for farmers who remain in less affected areas to maintain productivity. These compounding factors have pushed Chin State to the brink of famine. A household welfare survey in April-July 2024 indicates that a staggering 14.4% of Chin State households experienced moderate to severe hunger – the highest rate in Myanmar. One-third of households showed “poor” food consumption, and diet diversity declined sharply, with women particularly impacted.
Amid these hardships, resilient farmers in the region, particularly in less conflict-affected areas, have shown remarkable determination. In the face of adversity, they have diversified the crops they grow and the animals they raise – sowing paddy, planting corn, cultivating vegetable gardens, and rearing livestock, such as pigs, chickens, and goats. Despite the ongoing conflict, they devote their full efforts to strengthening food security in their communities. As one farmer shared:
We don’t have much, but we do what we can with what we have. Before the conflict, our family mostly grew corn and a few vegetables, but now we plant everything we can: mustard, tomato, bean, potato, ginger, cauliflower…. We’ve also started raising more chickens, pigs, and goats…. My neighbors and I share seeds and help each other during planting and harvesting seasons.
International organizations such as the UN and ICRC have also made efforts to mitigate the crisis by delivering food relief and other emergency assistance. However, the situation is too severe to be resolved by these efforts alone, and current aid levels remain grossly insufficient to meet the growing needs. Furthermore, recent funding cuts by the Trump administration to major aid agencies like the WFP, coupled with resistance from the junta, threaten to leave entire internally displaced communities without essential support.
Chin State’s food security, with its complex historical fragility, has been pushed to the brink of famine by the ongoing conflict. Addressing this urgent crisis requires going beyond short-term emergency aid to strategic, multifaceted, and locally rooted solutions. While international aid continues to be vital in addressing immediate needs, achieving long-term food security can only be approached through localized, community-driven strategies that harness the region’s inherent strengths. Local civilian administration,[1] emerging as vital anchors of stability, should urgently prioritize establishing localized, community-based agricultural and food systems that support smallholder farmers and build village-level market links to ensure local produce circulates within the local community. Religious leaders and local church networks also play a critical role in this effort. Deeply woven into the fabric of Chin society, they command unparalleled trust, organizational networks, and physical infrastructure, including church grounds and community halls. Leaders and stakeholders should consider strategic, multifaceted approaches beyond a one-size-fits-all solution. Cross-border routes, for example, from Mizoram, should also be explored and facilitated where overland access from within Myanmar is impossible. The ongoing conflict in Myanmar shows no signs of abating and is, in fact, intensifying. It remains to be seen how this will further worsen Chin State’s risk of sliding deeper into famine. Strategic, multifaceted action with a focus on local initiatives to address this issue is not just important, but essential for long-term survival.
Biak Lian Thang is a farmer and youth environmental advocate from Chin State, Myanmar. After earning his bachelor’s degree from Thanlyin Technological University in 2019, he returned to his hometown of Hakha, where he spent four years farming. He is a recipient of the 2025 Quad Fellowship, and his research interests include climate resilience strategies for small-scale family farmers, generational farming, and food security. Currently, he is pursuing a Master of Science in Environmental Studies at the University of Montana.
Acknowledgements: I want to express my deep gratitude to Dr. Margiana Petersen-Rockney, who has advised and supported me throughout my research journey, and to Dr. Hilary Faxon for her thoughtful advice and feedback in reviewing this article.
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