YANGON, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Over 1,500 tons of rice donated by China and South Korea under the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) program were handed over to Mandalay region government on Wednesday for communities affected by the earthquake in March this year, an official from the Rice Division under the Department of Agriculture told Xinhua on Thursday.
Myanmar received a total of over 3,500 tons of rice from South Korea and China for disaster-hit communities under the APTERR program 2024, he said.
In response to the quake disaster, out of over 3,500 tons of rice, 1,575 tons were allocated to Mandalay region, 1,610 tons to Nay Pyi Taw, 140 tons to Sagaing region, and 270 tons to Shan state, he added.
The handover process has been completed in Mandalay and Sagaing. Once all handovers are complete, the rice will be distributed to affected areas, he said.
Since 2017, Myanmar's Department of Agriculture, under the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Irrigation, has actively participated in the APTERR program for rice storage and distribution, he said.
Between 2017 and 2024, Myanmar received over 12,000 tons of rice through the program and distributed it to disaster-hit areas, he added. ■
