Cambodia and China on Monday signed a long-awaited free trade deal, as industry observers said it could be a boon for agricultural investment and seen as a major policy achievement, while others spoke of the need for wider reforms to make Cambodian exports competitive.
Banana workers in Stung Treng said people were getting sick in droves at the plantation, blaming chemicals sprayed by drones flying overhead, as well as cramped living quarters and a lack of clean water.
Migrant workers in Battambang said they had no capital or land to start a farm and were heavily indebted. And with a glut of workers returning to the countryside, farm labor jobs were scarce and barely paid enough to live, they said.
Twenty villagers engaged in a dispute with a rubber plantation over more than 400 hectares of land in Tbong Khmum province were released from custody on Tuesday after they were arrested the day before for allegedly damaging the company’s land-clearing machinery, an official said.
Prime Minister Hun Sen has touted Cambodia’s “strong” agricultural sector as a solution to economic pressures during the global pandemic, though some observers doubt agriculture could make up for garment sector losses due to Covid-19 and the pending withdrawal of some E.U. trade perks.
The Agriculture Ministry has instructed local farmers and producers to rethink their mango supply chains, as coronavirus-related economic disruptions have sent the price of the fruit plummeting during peak season.
Climate change policies need to be as substantial as the threats that climate change poses to Cambodia’s farmers.
About 100 families were prevented from plowing their land with tractors in Kampong Chhnang province, with district authorities saying they feared the farmers were encroaching
Accounts from pig raisers in Kandal province and warnings from health experts suggest African swine fever outbreaks may have outpaced official reports, raising concerns about the speed of response.
About 150,000 hectares of rice fields in 10 provinces are suffering from drought, according to Agriculture Ministry figures, with farmers in some areas saying more than half their crops are dying.
Workers say debt and a lack of jobs in Cambodia are pushing them to consider crossing the closed border amid labor shortages in Thailand, despite the pandemic. Programs to get Cambodian workers back in Thailand are in the works, but concerns remain over conditions and safety.
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