Food & Climate
Rice noodles in Myanmar, a staple food throughout and deeply rooted in the country’s culinary culture, have faced two major challenges threatening their production in recent years: climate change and political instability.
Served in a variety of dishes from morning till night, they take on different forms and occupy different places in the kitchen.
In the national dish, the fish-based soup mohinga, the noodles are thick and round, while in the Shan dish, they are thin and stringy.
Besides serving as a staple food in Myanmar, rice noodle dishes remain affordable and a familiar comfort for many, according to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which seen by Food & Climate.
The organization documented the story of rice noodles in Myanmar through a woman named Maw Maw, who runs a modest food stall selling her famous rice noodle salads on the grounds of a primary school located between the towns of Pointpyo and Salin in the Magway region of Myanmar. Students and teachers frequent the stall daily for a nutritious meal.
This independent noodle stand is just one of two projects Maw runs.
Rice noodles in Myanmar and rice farming
Maw Maw considered rice noodles in Myanmar a natural next step after growing rice, a way to supplement her income and provide some stability to her earnings at a time when climate change is causing crop yields to fluctuate.
She explained, “Some years we get a good harvest. But the next year, we get nothing. I was constantly worried about how we would survive.” In recent years, floods have washed away her crops, and drought has scorched the soil, causing her to lose her rice, bean, and sesame crops.
Things became even more complicated after the political crisis erupted in 2021 (the military overthrew and arrested the president). Political instability and armed conflict spread throughout the country, destabilizing the economy and pushing rural communities to the brink of collapse.
Prices for fertilizer, fuel, and seeds skyrocketed, while farmers faced dwindling market access and few alternative livelihood options. Even when they managed to harvest crops, low market prices meant that farming alone could no longer sustain their livelihoods.
For these reasons, Maw could no longer rely on her precarious seasonal income. What she desperately needed was money to invest herself.
An Opportunity
In 2024, Maw Maw overcame her hesitation and decided to join a women’s savings and loan group in her community, supported by the FAO.
However, in rural Myanmar, access to loans is difficult for many households, especially women, as it requires formal documentation or collateral. As a result, people often resort to informal sources, such as friends, relatives, or lenders, which can involve high or unpredictable interest rates.
To address this gap, the organization helped establish women’s savings and loan groups, where members pool small, regular savings and receive low-interest loans.
“I was curious, but unsure if I could save regularly given my limited income,” said Maw. “But the group’s management explained how the system worked.”
Shortly after joining the savings group, she received a small loan to invest in higher-quality seeds and tools, which improved her harvest.
Maw later found more than just financial support in the group, which had become a space where women could meet to share ideas, discuss challenges, and support one another. This sense of connection became a lifeline for the women amidst economic hardship, fear, and displacement.
Through these bonds, Maw and the other women in the savings group decided to launch a small rice noodle production project. There was high demand for rice noodles in their community, but they were difficult to obtain, forcing people to travel long distances to secure them. The women, who already owned rice fields, decided to produce rice noodles to meet this local demand.
Through its Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme, the organization provided a noodle-making machine and practical training in production techniques, food safety, and hygiene.
The women also enhanced their financial skills, learning about saving and lending, bookkeeping, accounting, and small business planning.