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Legume seed systems in many developing countries are characterized by low availability of certified seeds because the private sector is often absent, and the public sector has limited capacity to produce such seeds. Farmer seed enterprises (FSEs) are therefore increasingly promoted as alternative suppliers of certified and in some instances, quality declared and truthfully labelled seeds. In this study, we assess the commercial viability of FSEs that produce chickpea and green gram certified seeds by comparing average seed production cost, inclusive of opportunity costs and expected profits, with consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) price. The cost of seed production data come from a survey of 63 FSEs and the data on WTP are from the Becker, DeGroot, Marschak (BDM) bidding experiments conducted with 512 farmers from the Central Dry Zone of Myanmar. We find that the post-harvest storage cost during the 7–8 months between harvest and the next planting season contributes significantly to the total cost of producing seeds. Forty-seven percent of chickpea farmers and 53% of green gram farmers were willing to pay equal to or higher than the average minimum cost of producing certified seeds. which is as an upper bound estimate of potential market share for FSEs’ certified seeds. This potential customer base of FSEs can be further increased by reducing the cost, especially post-harvest and labor costs. What role government, private companies, and NGOs could play in reducing the cost and increasing the demand for certified seed are important policy research questions discussed in the paper.

Agrifood sector mechanization service providers (MSP) and mechanization equipment retailers (MER) have increasingly become the providers of mechanical technologies for smallholders in developing countries, including Myanmar. Evidence remains scarce on the effects of COVID-19 on these MSPs and MERs. This study provides insights into the effects of COVID-19 restrictions on MSPs and MERs in Myanmar, using unbalanced panel data from five rounds of phone surveys. Direct responses to COVID-19 involving movement restrictions, market disruptions, and growing financial challenges had significant negative effects on revenue prospects, service delivery, and sales of machines and equipment. Negative revenue prospects during a particular period can further hurt revenue prospects in subsequent periods. This is consistent with the hypotheses that MSPs who had incurred high sunk costs in machines can engage in more desperate and, thus, potentially suboptimal business practices to recover the sunk cost. Overall, policies to minimize movement restrictions and various financial struggles and mitigate any pessimism at the beginning of the production season are all important to make sure MSPs and MERs continue to function effectively under COVID-19.

Introduction: The effect of COVID-19-related changes (such as disturbance of face-to-face human association, breakdown of propensities, vulnerability almost long-term, money related frailty, and depression) on people's mental well-being. The enormous utilize of the Web can be a double-edged sword: on the one hand, get to to innovation has cultivated people's well-being and has encouraged the get to to social back; on the other hand, it may have turned into tricky utilize, particularly with respect to compulsive utilize and cognitive distraction. Methods: A sample of 311 was calculated by using the Raosoft software. Descriptive analysis, univariate analysis and multivariate analysis were carried out. Binary logistic regression and multiple logistic regression were used for analysis to access the associated factors with internet addiction. Results: The majority of respondents 323(61.5%) belonged to the normal level of internet addiction, which was followed by Moderate level of internet addiction by 113(21.5%) respondents. 8(1.5%) respondents were severely addicted to internet. Conclusion: During COVID 19 pandemic, the prevalence of psychological problems such as Internet Addiction increased especially among young adults. Therefore, national policy should be refined to reduce the stressful lifestyle in order to reduce the impact of internet addiction especially for young adults in India.

Introduction: Globally, the needs for more focused research to understand the effects of COVID-19 vaccines among the population to verify the previous research and generate more reliable data. Therefore, this cross-sectional study was aimed to identify the factors associated with the effects of COVID-19 vaccination among adults in Malaysia. Methods: Malaysian people aged 18 and up were enrolled in a cross-sectional online survey. For data collection, a Google form was used to design an online questionnaire which was distributed through social media and in person by the author. Results: A total of 446 responses were analyzed. 58% participants received Pfizer BioNTech Covid 19 vaccine followed by Sinovac (21%) and AstraZeneca (16%). The most reported effect was local reaction pain, swelling and redness at the site of injection with 54.3% of participants. It was seen more in Pfizer BioNTech (56.8%) and AstraZeneca (57.1%) recipients in comparison to Sinovac recipients (42.9%), but this difference was not significant (x2=3.453; p-value=0.315). Tiredness/fatigue was the next most reported effect 51.3% by participants. The other more frequently reported effects were body pain (43.3%), muscle pain (41%), fever (41%) and headache (33%) respectively, which are significantly associated with the type of vaccine.

A rapid review of previous outbreaks shows that a quarantine policy had greater effects on one’s psychological state including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), confusion and anger caused by various stressors. This study aimed to assess the levels of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and its associations with suicidal behavior among Malaysian adults following Movement Control Order (MCO) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia. This cross-sectional study was distributed using an online standardized questionnaire composed of three parts, the socio-demographic characteristics, PTSD assessment using PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 and the suicidal behavior assessment using Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R). Almost half of the respondents had high PTSD symptoms (41.7 %) and low PTSD was 58.3 % among Malaysian adults. Furthermore, 69.6 % of participants had no suicidal behavior but, 30.4 % from the participants has suicidal behavior. This study found single status with highest PTSD (83.3 %) and marital status had significant correlation with PTSD which p-value was < 0.05. Malay was high percentage in high PTSD (74.6 %) and significant correlation between race and PTSD (p < 0.05). Employment status also had significant correlation with PTSD with p-value was 0.002 and students was counted highest PTSD (65.7 %). This study identified some socio-demographic factors and suicidal behavior associated with PTSD among Malaysian adults, which may lay ground for further interventions.

This working paper synthesizes findings from four large household and community surveys in Myanmar, each covering a major agro-ecological zone, to evaluate inter-regional variations in the composition of agriculture, livelihoods, and the rural economy, and prospects for production and income growth.

Mechanization service providers (MSP) in Myanmar were originally surveyed by telephone over three rounds in May, June, and July 2020 to determine how their businesses were being affected by COVID-19 related restrictions. Most of the MSPs interviewed were engaged in providing farmers with tractor-related services. The results of those surveys were published in Myanmar Strategy Support Program Policy Notes 07, 12, and 17, respectively. To trace the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their economic activities, a fourth round of the survey of MSPs was done in early-November 2020, administered mostly to those engaged in harvesting activities. This note reports on the results of the fourth survey, as well as some trends seen between the earlier survey rounds and this last one.

Background COVID-19 pandemic reached a public health emergency status of international concern. The impacts and events associated with this were associated with adverse psychological impacts among the general public globally. This cross sectional study aimed to determine the prevalence of psychological distress and to identify predictors associated with psychological distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic among the population in Myanmar. Design and methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted from March to April 2020 among adults, 18 years old and above, who reside in Myanmar through a structured questionnaire distributed in social media platforms. Univariate and bivariate analyses were used to estimate the prevalence of COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI) symptoms and to test the associations between CPDI and the exposure variables. Logistic Regression Analysis was done to identify significant predictors of distress. The statistical analysis used was Chi-square test and Multiple Logistic Regression Analysis. Results There were 530 participants in this study.37.4% of them did not have psychological distress, 55.6% experienced mild to moderate psychological distress, and 7% experienced severe psychological distress due to COVID-19 pandemic. Simple and Multiple Logistic Regression Analyses were performed to determine the factors associated with psychological distress due to COVID-19. Conclusions It was shown that the self-employed group and age group older than 45 years old had more psychological distress than others. However, Buddhists and people from the capital city had less distress than other religions and districts. This study recommends the government to develop better strategies for self-employed groups, elders, and the poor for a support, relief, and resettlement of their ruined status.

The past decade has seen a resurgence of interest in the role of mechanization in agricultural development. This literature has given rise to debates over the design of institutions and policies to facilitate accelerated mechanization, the role of outsourcing services in overcoming problems of access to machinery, and questions regarding the future of smallholder agriculture. We contribute to these debates using two pairs of complementary demand side (farm household) and supply side (agricultural machinery retailer) surveys, implemented in Myanmar in 2016 and 2017 across two major agro-ecological zones. Our analysis provides evidence that extremely rapid agricultural mechanization took place during the period of political and economic reforms from 2011 to 2020. In both zones surveyed, use of machinery for land preparation, harvesting, and threshing was close to scale-neutral due to a dynamic outsourcing services market. Rather than representing a single transformational change, mechanization’s broad appeal to farm households results from an accumulation of incremental, overlapping, complementary advantages. These include labor savings, reduced drudgery, convenience, increased speed and timeliness of operations, improved ability to manage weather-related risks, and reduced loss of grain during harvesting. We provide examples of policies on trade, finance, and land tenure that contributed to this transformation with practical implications for ongoing policy debates on mechanization in other countries, and suggest some generalizable lessons.

Since December 2019, SARS-CoV-2 has spread to more than 200 countries and has become a global pandemic. There have been more than 49 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 as of 1st of November, 2020 with over 1.2 million case fatalities all over the world. The current review paper gives an update on the epidemiology, investigations modalities and treatment options including the various current treatment protocols, vaccines in development and experimental drugs in research.

Introduction: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. The most recent estimate indicated that there are more than 1.6 million new cases of breast cancer worldwide yearly.Objectives: To assess the level of awareness on breast cancer screening practice among women in Muar.Methods: This is a quantitative cross-sectional survey done on 383 respondents in Muar where participants’ age ranged from 18-80 years. The study used a two-step sampling method namely cluster and simple random sampling. Descriptive analysis was used to describe participant s’ socio-demographic characteristics while chi square was used to present the results.Results: Conventional method of breast cancer awareness campaign currently available is probably unsatisfactory. In our survey, only 52.38% of vulnerable aged women among our study subjects in Muar have any knowledge or awareness on breast cancer screening practices. Factors influencing knowledge and awareness of breast cancer screening practices were greatly influenced by level of education and level of household monthly income. Only 50 to 60% of respondents in group 1 (18-25 years), group 2 (26-31 years), group 3 (32- 37 years) performs Breast Self-Examination (BSE). The practice of clinical breast examina t ion among women in group 4 (38-43 years) group 5 (44-50 years) and group 6 (>50 years) only ranged between as low as 30% to a maximum of 50% while annual mammogram screening was only 20% in group 5 and 30% in group 6.Conclusion: The results of the study proved poor knowledge and practices of breast screening practices among vulnerable women in Muar district. Compliance to clinical breast examina t ion and mammogram is even lower.International Journal of Human and Health Sciences Supplementary Issue: 2019 Page: 43

Background: Zika virus is an arbovirus which transmitted mainly through the mosquito bite, specifically the Aedes sp. Its history can be traced to 1947 when it was first isolated in 1947 from a monkey in Zika forest of Uganda.Aim: Our objective is to assess the factors that affecting the Zika virus transmission among the population in Bandar Maharani, Johor, Malaysia.Methodology: A descriptive, cross-sectional study design based on simple random sampling, respondents of aged 18 to 65 years old. Data was collected using an adopted questionnaire from WHO that covered 4 parts i.e. sociodemographic data, knowledge regarding Zika virus, attitudes towards Zika virus and Practices of Zika virus prevention. The collected data was then analyzed by using PASW statistics student version 18 and Microsoft Excel.Results: The study shows that the knowledge of the participants was only moderate. The attitude was neutral and the practice for prevention was also moderate. It was found that Radio/TV was the most common (77.3%) and most trusted source of information (65.4%). There was significant association between knowledge and attitude (p=0.000); knowledge and practice (p=0.000) and attitude and practice (p=0.000). Knowledge was associated with level of education (p=0.001), race (p=0.000), religion (p=0.028) and current work of the respondents (p=0.000). Attitude was related with religion (p=0.030) and income (p=0.027). Practice of prevention was associated with level of education (p=0.004), race (p=0.000), religion (p=0.004) and current work (p=0.044).Significance of study: To determine the correlation of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice of the public towards Zika virus will provide a direction for developing a strategy to prevent Zika virus from becoming a public health burden to the community in Malaysia.

Myanmar has experienced rapid economic growth since the civilian government came into power in 2011. Structural transformation of the economy, similar to that already experienced by other countries in the region, appears to be underway, with labor moving from agriculture to more productive urban-based industrial and service sectors. As this trend continues, it is likely that the share of agriculture in GDP will shrink in relative terms, even while continuing to grow in absolute value. The immediate consequences of this shift are labor shortages and rising agricultural wages, causing farmers to seek to substitute machines for manual labor to keep agriculture productive and profitable. Given the likelihood that structural transformation is already underway, we set out to understand current levels and rates of mechanization, and its characteristics and drivers. In order to do so, a representative farm survey was conducted in May 2016 in four townships close to Yangon city where paddy and pulses are widely cultivated; two in Yangon region (Kayan, Twantay) and two in Ayeyarwady region (Maubin, Nyuangdon).

Recent evidence suggests that the mechanization of agriculture is proceeding rapidly in areas of Myanmar close to the country’s major city, Yangon, as farmers - driven by the need to remain profitable in the face of labor shortages and rising wage rates - adopt a variety of labor saving technologies (Win and Thinzar 2016). In this brief, we present findings from the first survey in Myanmar to analyze the supply side of agricultural mechanization. We find evidence of rapid growth in the number, geographical distribution, and sales of agricultural machinery supply businesses. The range and value of machinery sold accelerated rapidly, especially post-2011 as the country opened economically. New hire-purchase financing arrangements for machinery played a key role in facilitating this growth.