Agriculture and fishing
Cambodian Economy Hurt by Land Evictions
Kratie province – Cambodia’s transformation from war-torn basket-case to one of Asia’s most promising emerging economies is being overshadowed by a backwards lurch in human rights and land policies that critics say are entrenching poverty. Next week’s visit by Barack Obama, the fist by a U.S. ...
Govt okays 5-nation rice trade zone
The cabinet yesterday approved the Commerce Ministry’s plan to develop a rice trade partnership with Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam to stabilise international rice prices According to a source at the Commerce Ministry, the rice trade zone project will begin with Cambodia and will involve rice ...
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/320895/govt-okays-5-nation-rice-trade-zone
Kampot Residents Confront Eviction by Local Company
An agriculture and transportation company has allegedly threatened to demolish the homes of about 100 families on Wednesday if they refuse to move off an agricultural land concession in Kampot province’s Chhuk district, villagers said yesterday. “So Nguon company and [Decho Aphivat commune chief] Chum Soeun ...
AK Shots provoke complaints
Villagers in Ratanakirri province filed complaints to the provincial court and rights group Adhoc yesterday, claiming three security guards patrolling former state forest in O’Chum district threatened them and fired an AK-47 to scare them away. Kreung ethnic villager Travh Khambon, 37 of La’ak commune Kam ...
Insight: Land conflict, impunity dims Cambodia's awakening
Cambodia’s transformation from war-torn basket-case to one of Asia’s most promising emerging economies is being overshadowed by a backwards lurch in human rights and land policies that critics say are entrenching poverty. ...
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/12/us-cambodia-protests-idUSBRE8AB17J20121112
Hanging by a Thread
Cambodia’s tradition of silk production is one that dates back as far as the 13th century. A long-standing symbol of status for the rich and the country, ancient Angkorian silk producing Cambodia bore unique weaving and reeling techniques that have been passed down from generation ...
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/economics/320823/hanging-by-a-thread
Ratings Agency Retains Stable Growth Outlook for Cambodia
Rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) on Friday reaffirmed Cambodia’s long-term sovereign credit rating of “B” due to the country’s positive growth outlook, but again warned of risks related to the country’s narrow economic base. “Economic output growth is vulnerable due to the still large ...
Regional, Local Activists Plan Forums to Coincide With Summits
Activist groups are planning to hold two separate forums this week in Phnom Penh to call attention to human rights issues and other problems in Asean countries as a meeting of regional and world leaders begin in the city. The assembly will meet ahead of ...
Senator Offers Cash Compensation to Evictees
CPP Senator and business tycoon Ly Yong Phat last week continued to offer families in Koh Kong province cash compensation to get them to drop out of a lawsuit against two sugar cane plantations he once owned, according to villagers. But villager Phann Khly yesterday ...
Slight fall in food price index
Global food prices fell 1 per cent or two points in the October 2012 Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) Food Price Index released on October 7, 2012. The index averaged 213 points, compared to September’s revised level of 215 points. According to the FAO, the decrease ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012110959664/Business/slight-fall-in-food-price-index.html
Destroyed houses spark debate in Kampot
A company owned by a board member of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce has been accused of illegally destroying more than 80 houses in Kampot province’s Chhouk district, a claim vigorously denied by the firm and local authorities. Chan Pheng, a villager from Chi Bak village ...
Review of Land Concessions Foiled by Rain, Leeches
Six months after Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered a moratorium on the granting of economic land concessions (ELCs) and a legal review of the concessions that already exist, the Agriculture Ministry has yet to begin the review process due to rain, and the danger of ...
Anti-Eviction Protesters Appeal to Obama
As Barack Obama was declared president of the United States for a second term yesterday, about 50 anti-eviction protesters for the Boeng Kak and Borei Keila communities camped out in front of the U.S. Embassy and appealed for the president’s help in addressing land rights ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/anti-eviction-protesters-appeal-to-obama-5315/
Refined sugar for domestic market
Phnom Penh Sugar will begin producing white sugar this month for the Cambodian market to reduce the demand for imported sugar, according to a spokeswoman for the firm. Chheang Kemsoun, a representative of Phnom Penh Sugar, told the Post yesterday the company would produce white sugar ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012110759620/Business/refined-sugar-for-domestic-market.html
As Climate Changes, Farmers Need More Help
The government is not doing enough to help farmers weather the destructive effects of drought and flooding brought on by climate change, leaving NGOs to provide aid and emergency relief in cases of natural disaster, agriculture industry leaders said at a forum yesterday. ...
Cambodia’s Rubber exports + 12%, revenues off 27% in 1st 9 months of Y 2012
Cambodia Monday reported a 12% rise in rubber latex exports in the first nine months of this year; however, revenues from the exports went down by 27% due to declining rubber prices in the international market. ...
Protesters Want Obama’s Support Over Evictions
About 100 residents embroiled in land disputes in Phnom Penh submitted a petition to the U.S. Embassy yesterday requesting that President Barack Obama raise the issue of evictions and reform of the country’s land concession policy when he visits Cambodia later this month. The plea comes ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/protesters-want-obamas-support-in-evictions-5252/
Paddy Rice Price Fluctuates
The price of paddy rice in Cambodia’s northwestern provinces jumped to 1,500 riel from 1,350 riel per kilogram in mid-October on a lack of supply, but quickly fell to 1,360 riel. Meanwhile, the prices in the Cambodia-Vietnam border provinces rose from 1,300 riel to 1,390 ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012110659583/Business/paddy-rice-price-fluctuates.html
Concerns mount over dam
Sketchy details that fail to specify when construction of the Lower Sesan 2 hydro dam will begin, or name the Chinese company involved, have villagers fearing for their future, representatives and environmental groups say. Since the Council of Ministers announced on Friday it had signed off ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012110559575/National-news/concerns-mount-over-dam.html
Cop nabbed in timber bust
The Anti-Corruption Unit has arrested a military police officer accused of involvement in an illegal luxury timber racket in Pursat province’s Krakor district – an area where government investigators conceded that complicity by the powerful was rife. On Saturday, the anti-graft agency arrested military police officer ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012110559576/National-news/cop-nabbed-in-timber-bust.html
Ministry on trail of the apple snail
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, along with Prey Veng provincial agriculture experts and villagers in Svay Ourntor district, are taking measures to eradicate golden apple snails, which feed on rice seedlings, agriculture officials said. According to Prey Veng agriculture chief Ouk Samnang, only a ...
Farming implicated in climate change
Food production accounts for almost one third of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, according to a study published last week by the agricultural research organisation CGIAR. Food systems, from growing crops and raising livestock to storage and transportation, contribute 19 to 29 per cent of global ...
Cambodia Accuses Europe of Interference
In its first official response to a highly critical resolution on Cambodia from the European Parliament, the government has rejected all criticism and instead accused the Parliament in Brussels of playing politics and interfering in Phnom Penh’s affairs. In its resolution approved October 26, the European ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/cambodia-accuses-europe-of-interference-5183/
Trade with Thailand increases
Trade between Cambodia and Thailand increased by about 40 per cent to US$3 billion in the first nine months of this year in comparison with the same period last year, according to figures provided by the Royal Embassy of Thailand in Cambodia. According to Nat Vimonchandra, ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012110559559/Business/trade-with-thailand-increases.html