Ayeyarwady Region
Myanmar's rice bowl in the Irrawaddy Delta, devastated by 2008 cyclone and struggling under post-coup crisis.
Ayeyarwady Region is Myanmar's rice bowl—the Irrawaddy Delta whose fertile alluvial soils produce the country's largest agricultural output. The region's flat, water-rich landscape enables intensive rice cultivation that feeds Myanmar and historically supported exports.
Rice farming dominates the economy. The delta's network of waterways enables irrigation and transport; fishing adds protein production. Cyclone Nargis (2008) devastated the region, killing over 130,000 people and destroying agricultural infrastructure. Recovery was incomplete when the 2021 coup struck.
Following the coup, Ayeyarwady saw moderate resistance activity. PDF units formed in some areas; agricultural communities sought to avoid conflict while navigating between military and opposition pressures. The region's flat terrain disadvantaged guerrilla tactics compared to mountainous states.
The biological pattern is agricultural vulnerability: Ayeyarwady's rice production faces both natural disasters and political disruption, with limited capacity for the armed resistance that protects other regions.