UKKHO, 2 December 2013 (IRIN) - Bamboo has a dark history in Chin State, on the borders of India and Bangladesh in Myanmar’s northwest. Roughly every 50 years the bamboo forests flower and produce masses of fruit. The abundant food supply draws in rats to eat the fruit, but they stay to cause widespread crop damage and even consume stored food. Starting in late 2006, Chin had a serious rat infestation. Most of the rats have moved on now, but the fallout of poor harvests, fluctuating crop market prices and rising interest rates on loans are still felt, say aid workers. In the small village of Ye Laung Pan – home to 280 people and an hour and a half off-road motorbike...
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