Surging fuel prices in conflict-affected eastern Myanmar have driven up the cost of mechanized rice harvesting, forcing smallholder farmers in Karenni (Kayah) State's Nan Meh Khon Township to slash crop acreage and forgo essential fertilizers. Farmers currently harvesting paddy planted in April report that fees for hiring harvesting machines have escalated to between 270,000 and 300,000 Myanmar Kyat (MMK) per acre. "When fuel prices go up, harvesting fees follow," said one local farmer, whose nephew recently paid 300,000 MMK to harvest his field. "I cultivated four acres last year, but because of rising costs, I could only manage one acre this year." Paddy cultivation in Nan Meh Khon serves as a vital source of local food security and income.