§ 41. Lieut.-Colonel Corbettasked the Under-Secretary of State for Burma what steps are being taken to induce the Burmese to cultivate their ricefields; what was the total crop in 1939; and what is the expected crop in 1946.
§ Mr. A. HendersonAs regards the first part of the Question, I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the detailed statement which I made in the House on the 5th April, 1946, to which I have at present nothing to add. The 1939 acreage was about 12,500,000 acres, producing approximately seven million tons of paddy. It is hoped that the acreage now being sown will be 8,500,000 (an increase of two million acres on the 1945 figure) and that the crop (the bulk of which will not actually be harvested until the beginning of 1947) will amount to approximately 3,750,000 tons of paddy as against 2,500,000 in 1945.