YANGON, May 16 (Xinhua) -- The Myanmar government has returned some 120 acres (48.6 hectares) more of farmland, confiscated by the Ministry of Defense, to 53 farmers in Myittha, Mandalay region, Myanmar News Agency reported Wednesday.

A ceremony to return the lands was held on Tuesday in Myittha, attended by Second Vice President U Henry Van Thio, who is also chairman of the Central Committee for Scrutinizing Confiscated Farmlands.

U Henry Van Thio urged the institutions concerned to continue to release the farmland they have confiscated as part of efforts for the development of the agricultural sector, on which more than 70 percent of the rural population depends for their livelihood.

He also urged the farmers not only to grow crops for domestic food sufficiency but also to plant marketable crops for export after their confiscated lands are returned.

Myanmar government has been taking measures to return seized land to farmers, the original owners, considering that the farmland is their lives.

As of March this year, hundreds of hectares of confiscated lands in Yangon, Mandalay and Ayeyawaddy regions as well as in Shan and Kayin states and Nay Pyi Taw Council area were handed back to their original owners.

During the tenure of the former government, private companies and government departments were allowed to confiscate land, including farmland, in accordance with the 2012 Farmland Law under the pretext of urbanization and industrialization, which brought about land dispute between the government, landowners and investors.

More than one month after taking office in April 2016, the new government voiced commitment to the speedy resolution of farmland confiscation issue and the prompt return of land to their lawful owners.