Cambodia Rice: Draft law on farmer’s co-ops near completion

Cambodia Rice: Draft law on farmer’s co-ops near completion

Cambodia's first draft law for the regulation of agriculture cooperatives is near completion, and is expected to reach the National Assembly this year, officials said.

The draft law aims to formalise the Kingdom’s more than 250 cooperatives and provide a framework for those created in the future, officials said.

“This law is important because it is based on the international system that governs cooperatives,” Khem Chenda, director of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ administration department, said.

“Many countries use it to make it easier for farmers to do business,” he said, adding the Food and Agriculture Organisation consulted on the draft law.
Cooperatives allow farmers greater bargaining power with customers and suppliers, and they distribute loans to members who would otherwise seek out microfinance instutions. Cooperatives presently are governed by royal decree.

While Khem Chenda declined to offer much of the draft law’s specifics, as it was not finished, he did say cooperatives would need to register with the Ministry of Agriculture. However, they would not be required to pay taxes or administration fees.

The draft law will be sent to the Council of Ministers before reaching the National Assembly later in the year, he said.

Cambodian Center for Study and Development in Agriculture president Yang Saing Koma emphasised that the law should ensure the continued autonomy of the Kingdom’s cooperatives.

“They have to avoid taking over those cooperatives,” he said.

Source: Phnom Penh Post

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Cambodia Rice: Cambodian rice output grows in 2011 despite floods

Cambodia Rice: Cambodian rice output grows in 2011 despite floods

Cambodia's total paddy rice output reached 8.4 million tonnes in 2011, up from 8.25 million tonnes last year, according an initial assessment by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Provincial MAFF officials from across the Kingdom met in Phnom Penh on Saturday, when data was collected for an early tally of the country’s rice crop.

Ngin Chhay, director of MAFF’s rice department, said the first-phase results showed an average of 2.97 tonnes to 3.1 tonnes of paddy rice per hectare, planted on 2.7 million hectares, for a total of 8.4 million tonnes.

Cambodia harvested 8.25 million tonnes of paddy in 2010, Prime Minister Hun Sen said during the 16th Government-Private Sector Forum held on November 23 in Phnom Penh.

“After the dry-season paddy rice has been harvested, we will have the final results. But in general, first report and last report are very close,” he said.

The ministry will deliver those results in April, he added. Cambodia will hold about 4 million tonnes of surplus paddy, with another 2.57 million tonnes for export, according to Ngin Chhay.

CEDAC president Dr Yang Saing Koma agreed with the ministry’s projections, saying the crops that lay outside flood-affected areas saw higher yields.

At the same time, other farmers would scramble to recover from the damage done by the floods, which would help to boost dry-season output, he said.

However, Yang Saing Koma estimated that Cambodia had been lucky because of the heavy rains seen this year, and said the country would need to focus on water management in order for the dry season harvest to reach its full potential.

“Climate is the most crucial factor for the agricultural sector in Cambodia. The best path to developing Cambodia’s agriculture is through good water management,” he said, adding that seed selection was also crucial.

Source: Phnom Penh Post

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Cambodia Rice: The minister of MAFF was advisory to people to farm the dry season field correctly

Cambodia Rice: The minister of MAFF was advisory to people to farm the dry season field correctly

On March, 31th, the minister of MAFF monitored the showing dry season field in Siemreap province. In that chance, he advised farmers about the way to farm the dry season field to be better than keeping the land free.

In monitoring chance of farming the showing dry season field over 10 ha along the Romdeng dike which was donated by ECOSORN project in Choub village, Khna Por commune, Sotnikom district, Siemreap province, Mr.Chann Sarun advised to all people that farmers have to focus on a correct dry season field farming in order to get high yield. He spoke that in dry season field farming, people have to use purification seed, to prepare the land to be flat and should farm from 2 to 4 times. Besides, people ought to focus on plucking weeds out and watering on clump of rice plants for to pre-solving when it’s drought.


When monitoring the dry season field, minister observed that when clumps of rice plants were spreading, water lacking at the end of season happened. By seeing this situation, minister was monitory the general department of agriculture (department of agricultural machine) to send 4 pumps for intervention pumping from Romdeng irrigation system to field in order to save rice which is lacking water in urgent.

In that area, people do not have a habit to farm the dry season field by keeping blank land. With a purpose for people to have possibilities to farm many times and improve their livelihood, Mr. Chann Sarun built an idea to encourage people to focus on the dry season farming according to policies of Samdach Decho Hun Sen which want to see all people to get a high living standard. Source: MAFF

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Cambodia Rice: Japan Offers Support for Farmers in three Tonle Sap provinces

Cambodia Rice: Japan Offers Support for Farmers in three Tonle Sap provinces

The Japan International Cooperation Agency pledged US$4.4 million on yesterday to help improve the productivity and income of farmers in areas along the Tonle Sap lake in Battambang, Pursat and Kampong Chhnang provinces.

Yasujiro Suzuki, chief representative of JICA Cambodia, said at signing ceremony that the JICA-sponsored project would help the Cambodian government reach its goal of boosting rice exports to 1 million tonnes by 2015.

San Vanty, undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said that the project – which will focus on agriculture production techniques, seed quality and irrigation – would target 30 communes in Battambang province, four in Pursat and two in Kampong Chhnang.

“In the near future, agricultural productivity and income of farmers in the target areas will be improved through collaboration and implementation of this project,” he said. The project is to commence in September and last for four and a half years.



Cheam Chan Sophorn, director of the Battambang provincial agriculture department, said he hoped that by the end of the JICA project, the province would be able to “double or triple the amount of rice for export to regional and international markets”.



Meanwhile, farmers living in the three target provinces said yesterday that they were concerned about this year’s ongoing drought.

“I am concerned about not having enough water to supply to my rice seedlings this year ... because of drought and a lack of irrigation systems,” said Kuch Veng, a farmer from Krakor district in Pursat province.

Tan Soksan, a farmer in Kampong Chhnang’s Rolea Phear district, agreed that it had been difficult to grow rice this year due to water shortages.

“I and other farmers in my village have serious concerns about the lack of rains,” he said, and some rice crops had died due to lack of water.

Lay Pisith, deputy director of the Pursat provincial agriculture department, said that officials in Krakor and Bakan districts have been forced to manually pump water into their ricefields in order to counter the effects of the drought.

Ngan Nany, director of the agriculture department in Kampong Chhnang province, said yesterday that recent rains had helped to improve the situation. “We hope that the rice seedlings of our farmers will not have any more problems,” he said. Source: MAFF

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