Agriculture and fishing

Cambodia’s need to secure China as a rice export destination is becoming increasingly urgent, with China’s multiple pending agreements with other countries in Southeast and South Asia, said industry insider David Van. ...

As about 100 fishermen in Koh Kong province on Wednesday resumed their monthslong campaign against a company they accuse of illegal sand dredging, an environmental NGO claimed the firm was now hiring locals as security guards in an attempt to divide the community. ...

Cambodia’s river guards have reported confiscating more than 35,000 metres of gill nets, 21 boats and an assortment of homemade grenades during patrols in Mekong Irrawaddy Dolphin Sanctuary in Kratie and Stung Treng provinces between May and July. ...

For Sam Phat and her family, the decision 10 years ago to plant rubber trees on their hectare of land was an easy one. Because of booming demand, mostly from China, rubber prices were high, and the startup cost of planting trees was low. ...

More than 150,000 hectares of rice fields have been affected by a drought in some areas of the country, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, warning that the lack of rain, combined with labor shortages, could prevent the government from meeting its rice production goal ...

Their boats began disappearing from the banks of the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers near Phnom Penh a few months ago, according to Cham fishing families still living in the area. By the weekend none were left, Cham fishermen told Khmer Times. ...

Police say they have asked Vietnam to identify the Vietnamese trawler involved in a fatal clash last week with Cambodian fishermen, reversing their position that the death of a local man was an accident. ...

Rising demand for Kampot Peppers is pushing a cultivation increase, but only a limited number of companies are benefiting. ...

More than 70 families in Siem Reap province have lodged complaints against a politician who they accuse of siphoning water from the Kulen Mountains to irrigate his pepper plantation. ...

Kampong Speu Palm Sugar Promotion Association (KSPSPA) is expecting to produce 300 tonnes for the upcoming season, which runs from December to May. ...

The government of China has put on hold a $300 million loan to a Cambodian rice project, aimed at developing storage and warehousing facilities in the country, as the government of Cambodia has not been able to meet the criteria set by the Chinese authorities, ...

Cambodian farmers want to grow more cashews in response to rising prices. But lack of information and resources is holding them back. ...

A project to build 10 warehouses to store rice paddy using Chinese funding has hit a roadblock, as the Cambodian government has been unable to meet criteria set by the Chinese for the project, according to an official associated with the project. ...

The Cambodian Rice Federation signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Commerce on Thursday to receive $450,000 in financial support from the government to increase Cambodia’s rice exports, according to a federation official. ...

Cambodian rice exporters are worried of losing market share in the European Union (EU) market if the EU-Vietnam Bilateral Free Trade Agreement (EU-V BFTA) is finalized, according to local sources. ...

As Vietnam and the European Union reach the final stages of negotiating a bilateral trade agreement, giving Cambodia’s neighbour zero-duty exports to the economic bloc, local rice millers and exporters have expressed concerns that the deal could hurt the Kingdom’s rice exports. ...

Dozens of drought-hit farmers from two districts in Banteay Meanchey province scuffled on Saturday night after one group blocked a canal leading from a shared reservoir, preventing water from flowing to  the other community. ...

Riding the wave of rising demand for beef in Asia, Cambodia’s long-awaited slaughterhouse could not come soon enough, with an emerging middle class in Cambodia also hungry for more premium meat from Down Under. ...

Thai farmers protected by armed Thai soldiers crossed the border in Banteay Meanchey province and spent Thursday plowing fields for rice cultivation, a military commander and district official said. ...

The first half of 2015 has seen a nearly 50 per cent increase in illegal fishing busts, though the vast majority resulted in no punishment for offenders, a new report from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries shows. ...

Environment Minister Say Sam Al was in Preah Vihear province on Sunday to help inaugurate Try Pheap’s newest project, a $52-million rubber plantation and additional facilities that the timber magnate has cleared thousands of hectares of protected forest to build. ...

This year is no different from last year and many of the previous years for the residents of Krong Stung Sen in Kampong Thom province. Rain has been scarce, and rice growers must pay to pump water from the state-owned ditches into their rice paddies. ...

Authorities in Banteay Meanchey province seized more than $10,000 worth of illegal fertilizer from a government official and his brother on Tuesday, while the accused claimed they were targeted because the official who led the sting had family ties to the fertilizer trade. ...

As el niño continues to buffet Cambodia, the next two weeks could be crucial in determining whether the Kingdom will suffer from a smaller-than-usual rice harvest and potential food shortages, experts said yesterday. According to Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries general director So Khan ...