NGA PU DAW, 27 November 2008 (IRIN) - Salt farmers across southern Myanmar are slowly returning, but still need assistance almost seven months after Cyclone Nargis struck, leaving close to 140,000 people dead or missing.

The multi-million dollar industry plays a critical role in the local economy, which was devastated by the category four storm on 2 and 3 May.

More than 9,712 hectares or 80 percent of all salt fields in Myanmar's badly affected Ayeyarwady Delta were affected, according to the Post-Nargis Joint Assessment (PONJA) http://www.asean.org/21765.pdf].

The fields are particularly vulnerable to tidal surges such as accompanied Nargis, as they are on the lowest ground.

The cyclone caused maximum damage to stocks, as warehouses full of just-harvested salt were completely destroyed. According to the government-controlled New Light of Myanmar newspaper, 24,214MT of raw salt were destroyed.

The PONJA report noted that some 35,000 farms, mostly private, were damaged, resulting in a loss of livelihoods for thousands.

An estimated 20,000 salt farmers and their families were living in the delta at the time of the disaster, many of whom died in the storm, it added.

"The storm destroyed all my property. Now it's time to begin salt farming, regardless of whether we get any loans from the government. Otherwise our lives will never return to normal," said Poe Sar, a farmer in his 70s, who manages a dozen workers on 14 hectares.

Fortunately, he lost none of his workers in the storm even though his fields and workers' accommodation, warehouses and equipment were damaged.

Staff at Poe Sar's are working overtime to get things back on track, repairing damaged pumps, water containers and motor engines.

But there is a price. Poe Sar has no choice but to pay his workers double what he paid last year.

"We need to pay them more this year as everything here is more expensive," he explained.

Devastated labour force

By some accounts, as many as eight out of 10 workers were killed in the storm – which will undoubtedly affect next year's harvest and profitability.

Farmers say they will try to recruit skilled workers from salt farms in unaffected regions, but will need to offer higher wages and are unlikely to be able to source enough staff to adequately replace the lost workforce in time.

Generally at this time of the year, the ground is being prepared to hold seawater for evaporation during the last quarter, with salt harvested from January until the onset of the rainy season in April/May.

U Than, another farmer in area, needs at least 15 workers to work his 16 hectares and has already doubled wages to almost US$2 a day.

At the same time, he has to spend thousands of dollars to repair equipment and warehouses damaged by Nargis – all of which will affect the price of his salt.

"Before the cyclone, the price of salt in the market was 200 Kyat [about 17 US cents] per viss [1.6kg]. Now the price is double," he said.

Added to that is the knock-on effect of other food commodities for a population still reeling from the disaster.

Salt is the key ingredient in dried fish, fish paste and fish sauce, which are already becoming more expensive.

All three foodstuffs are staples and a particularly important source of protein for lower-income demographics, stated a report by Myanmar's Independent Mon News Agency [see: http://www.monnews-imna.com/index.php] at the end of October.

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