December 31, 2020
Tractors are used for pumping water from a drying reservoir in Kampong Cham province’s Batheay district on December 29, 2020. (Michael Dickison/VOD)

Signs of Drought Arrive Months Early in a Kampong Cham Commune

For farmers in the area, there’s little hope for this year’s dry-season rice harvest. They irrigate in desperation, but they can already see there won’t be enough water. They are bracing to write off their crops, fall deeper into debt, and maybe lose their land, several said this week.