The Cambodia Herald -- Cambodia has accelerated its agricultural growth dramatically over the last several years, but agricultural sector in this developing country still depends on its neighboring countries. What are the reasons behind this dependence?
During these past years, many businessmen, both foreign and local, are investing a large amount of money into agriculture, such as rubber, cassava, corn, beans, durians and the like.
Agriculture is expected by many to be a lucrative business in the near future. Therefore, it is natural that many businessmen start obtaining land for farming as much as possible, with some possessing hundreds of hectares and others even thousands. However, this is solely based on their expectation while the truth is yet to be revealed.
This new orientation towards agriculture has been most felt in the last 3 years. Before, Khmer businessmen preferred to invest into real estate than agriculture despite the fact that our country heavily relies on this sector to promote our economy.
As plantations have been on the rise, many related problems also emerge. The two main problems are as the following.
1) Lack of irrigation system
This first problem has always been there even before agriculture was eyed on by businessmen. The government also acknowledges this concern and promptly increases effort in repairing the existing irrigation systems and building new ones. Nonetheless, Cambodia needs even more of them to meet the demand.
Cambodian agriculture will never catch up with its neighboring countries if it has to depend on climate and its technology is still weak. Nowadays most farming in Cambodia is in form of subsistence agriculture while commercial and industrial agriculture are still far beyond reaching.
2) Narrow market
There has been a growing amount of agricultural products in Cambodia recently, but most of them are raw materials which need to be exported to its neighboring countries to obtain end products.
Cambodia still lacks the ability to manufacture its agricultural raw materials, forcing them to sell their products to their neighboring countries. This poses a grave concern for Cambodia as it means our agriculture needs to rely on our neighbors. If Thailand and Vietnam cut down their purchase from Cambodia, the prize will plummet.
Rice, cashew and rubber have to be exported to Vietnam and Thailand first to be manufactured and obtain finish products before exporting to other countries across the globe. Sometimes they are even imported back to Cambodia.
Another problem we are facing now is exporting rice to Europe. Some Thai businessmen purchase rice from Cambodia, but the information attached to the products say it is made in Thailand.
To sum up, promoting agriculture is indeed crucial to Cambodia’s economy, but we have to also pay attention to enhancing our capability in manufacturing and exporting the products on our own. In contrast, if our agriculture still has to rely on our neighboring countries, Cambodia will not be able to develop at its fullest potential. - See more at: http://www.thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/detail/1?page=11&token=NjBhMmRmZDM0Yjg#sthash.O5cAoZVT.dpuf
During these past years, many businessmen, both foreign and local, are investing a large amount of money into agriculture, such as rubber, cassava, corn, beans, durians and the like.
Agriculture is expected by many to be a lucrative business in the near future. Therefore, it is natural that many businessmen start obtaining land for farming as much as possible, with some possessing hundreds of hectares and others even thousands. However, this is solely based on their expectation while the truth is yet to be revealed.
This new orientation towards agriculture has been most felt in the last 3 years. Before, Khmer businessmen preferred to invest into real estate than agriculture despite the fact that our country heavily relies on this sector to promote our economy.
As plantations have been on the rise, many related problems also emerge. The two main problems are as the following.
1) Lack of irrigation system
This first problem has always been there even before agriculture was eyed on by businessmen. The government also acknowledges this concern and promptly increases effort in repairing the existing irrigation systems and building new ones. Nonetheless, Cambodia needs even more of them to meet the demand.
Cambodian agriculture will never catch up with its neighboring countries if it has to depend on climate and its technology is still weak. Nowadays most farming in Cambodia is in form of subsistence agriculture while commercial and industrial agriculture are still far beyond reaching.
2) Narrow market
There has been a growing amount of agricultural products in Cambodia recently, but most of them are raw materials which need to be exported to its neighboring countries to obtain end products.
Cambodia still lacks the ability to manufacture its agricultural raw materials, forcing them to sell their products to their neighboring countries. This poses a grave concern for Cambodia as it means our agriculture needs to rely on our neighbors. If Thailand and Vietnam cut down their purchase from Cambodia, the prize will plummet.
Rice, cashew and rubber have to be exported to Vietnam and Thailand first to be manufactured and obtain finish products before exporting to other countries across the globe. Sometimes they are even imported back to Cambodia.
Another problem we are facing now is exporting rice to Europe. Some Thai businessmen purchase rice from Cambodia, but the information attached to the products say it is made in Thailand.
To sum up, promoting agriculture is indeed crucial to Cambodia’s economy, but we have to also pay attention to enhancing our capability in manufacturing and exporting the products on our own. In contrast, if our agriculture still has to rely on our neighboring countries, Cambodia will not be able to develop at its fullest potential. - See more at: http://www.thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/detail/1?page=11&token=NjBhMmRmZDM0Yjg#sthash.O5cAoZVT.dpuf
