Due to the ban on repairing 10,000 acres of a prawn farm in Mayanswebar prawn breeding zone in Kyauktan Township, Yangon Region, 47 entrepreneurs that run the farm are facing difficulties so they have submitted a letter to the region chief minister calling for the lifting of the bann, said one breeder Min Maung Maung.

The ban, in effect since January 5 last year,  came after the authorities announced the establishment of a mangrove forest.

"As they announced the establishment of mangrove forests, we have not been allowed to repair our farm since then. We have a lot of difficulties. We lost 70 percent of our productivity last year," Min Maung Maung.

The request letter for lifting the ban was sent to the State Counsellor's Office in June last year. The second letter was then sent to the Yangon Region chief minister this year.

Mayanswebar seawater prawn farm is run by 47 businesspeople. The farm naturally raises prawns coming from the sea without the necessity to feed and use chemicals.

"The soil in this region is mixed with silt, precipitation occurs. Ditches here dry up every year. When the summer comes, we have to drain them for proper drainage. This work is essential for us," said Win Kyaing, general secretary of Myanmar Fisheries Federation.

He added that the breeders have been facing difficulties after the ban on repairs.

He also commented that the region government should allow repairing the existing old farms instead of granting permission to establish new farms.