Agriculture and fishing

The Ministry of Economy and Finance secured a $36.3 million concessionary loan from the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) program aimed at accelerating the production of small-scale agricultural products including rice, vegetables, potatoes, silk and livestock, according to a ministry release yesterday. ...

Cambodian farmers continue to expand cassava cultivation despite falling commercial prices for the crop and low international trade volumes, new data from the Ministry of Agriculture show. ...

The Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has agreed to help Cambodia plant new high-yielding rice varieties that are also able to survive extreme climatic events. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen called for a Green Belt to be established at the country’s main tourist areas to supply holiday-makers with locally produced vegetables and meat, instead of importing them from neighboring countries. ...

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry will reinstate sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) inspections on imported goods close to 10 years after having made the commitment to the World Trade Organization (WTO). ...

Cambodians spent over $100 million on imported meat last year, further widening the gap of domestic supply as local producers failed to capture the lucrative protein market, a government official said yesterday. ...

Cambodia’s lagging agriculture and nascent manufacturing sectors need to diversify as the threat of regional competition heats up, a World Bank economist warned yesterday, while enumerating the challenges the Kingdom faces after having officially graduated into a lower-middle income country last year. ...

More than 300 ethnic villagers at two separate locations in Preah Vihear province conducted traditional ceremonies yesterday beseeching the spirits for an end to their ongoing land dispute with the Chinese-owned Rui Feng sugar company. ...

The price of fresh cashews has jumped by about 30 percent over the price last year due to shortages of the nut and the fact that the harvest will not get into full swing until early next month. ...

A government task force charged with eliminating illegal fishing on the Tonle Sap lake has destroyed more than 100 km of nets and other equipment seized in Kompong Chhnang and Kompong Thom provinces this month, officials said on Monday.   ...

With the Kingdom’s main rice harvesting season wrapping up, just a fraction of a government emergency loan package that aimed at giving millers the liquidity they needed to purchase rice paddy duringthe harvest cycle has been disbursed, leaving the government and private sector divided on ...

SM Waypoint claims its unmanned aerial vehicles can help local farm and plantation owners increase their yields. ...

The government is seeking intrepid smallholder farmers to pilot a project that would transform 6,000 hectares of cropland in two provinces into a patchwork of small rubber plantations.The Ministry of Agriculture is eyeing 5,000 hectares of land in Ratanakkiri and 1,000 hectares in Battambang for ...

About 100 villagers involved in a long-running land dispute with Koh Kong Sugar Industry Company attempted to march to the home of Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday, culminating in a physical altercation with authorities.The mostly female group of protesters was stopped at 10:40am by Daun ...

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is pushing mango farmers to increase their knowledge of growing the fruit before exporting to South Korea in an effort to boost production.Hean Vanhorn, deputy director general at the ministry, said at a workshop in Kampong Speu province ...

More than 400 fishing families from four communities in Kampot province protested on Friday, demanding fisheries authorities and naval police prevent illegal fishing by Vietnamese fishermen in Cambodian waters. ...

Orange farmer Say Samoeurth has been battling an invisible foe. He rarely sees his adversary, a tiny insect known as the Asian citrus psyllid, but wherever it goes this winged pest leaves behind a trail of destruction. ...

This year’s prahok season has left a bad taste in the mouths of those involved in making the pungent dish that is a staple in Cambodian cuisine. There are concerns that the vagaries in the mudfish catch, due to climate change and illegal exports to Vietnam, ...

The price per kilogram of cassava exports from Cambodia has fallen this year due to plunging market prices and a lack of processing centers in the country. The price of dried cassava in northeastern Rattanakiri province is down to 410 riel (about $0.10) per kilogram and ...

The Ministry of Agriculture is calling on rice millers to apply for a second round of quality checks for exports to China after only 28 local rice mills, out of 60 which applied for inspection in the first round, passed last year. ...

The Ministry of Interior sent a 72-person force to Kampong Chhnang yesterday to fight illegal fishing, while crackdowns also continued in Banteay Meanchey. ...

Villagers in Kampot’s Chhouk district have demanded that a private firm they accuse of failing to develop its economic land concession (ELC) have its permit to use the land revoked. ...

About 500 people representing thousands of families from four provinces who are affected by the development of sugarcane plantations requested intervention from Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday. ...

Interior Minister Sar Kheng has ordered government officials and department heads to crack down on anyone committing fishing crimes, telling a committee meeting that lax efforts to “educate” repeat offenders continued to fail and exacerbate the problem.According to Deputy National Police Chief Kirth Chantharith, Mr. ...