[PHNOM PENH POST]
CAMBODIA’S average rice yields sit below most regional neighbours,
though experts say improved farming methods would assist with boosting
harvests of the staple crop.
The Centre for Study and
Development in Agriculture introduced the System of Rice Intensification
(SRI) growing methods to Cambodia in 2000 with the aim of increasing
productivity of farmland, though some say take-up across the Kingdom has
been slow.
With some 60 to 65 percent of the Kingdom’s
population directly dependant on growing rice to generate income,
increasing harvests translates directly to income growth for the
majority of the domestic population, according to CEDAC President Yaing
Sang Koma.
SRI farming involves measures such as transplanting
seedlings from the nursery at a younger age than practised in
conventional farming, and planting the seedlings further apart in a more
disciplined pattern. Proponents of the SRI system say it decreases the
need for costly inputs, while making land more productive.
“SRI increases productivity of land and labour by using less seeds and fertilizer,” said Yaing Sang Koma.
Improved
farming methods would increase domestic yields and incomes, he said,
adding Cambodia generally lags behind neighbours in production.
The
average Cambodian yield per hectare sat at about 2.75 tonnes, below
that of regional countries such as Laos and Thailand, according to a
2010 report from the United States Department of Agriculture.
But farmers in Prey Veng province say the introduction of improved farming techniques has helped boost yields.
Kruol
village Chief Heoung Chab said SRI has resulted in increased
productivity for farmers since its introduction last year. “Before we
used to yield two tonnes [per hectare], but now we are yielding four
tonnes,” he said.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries first set up a national SRI secretariat to promote the
techniques in 2004, though efforts to spread SRI methods in Cambodia are
often donor-driven.
Oxfam Cambodia has provided US$180,000 over
three years to local NGO Partnership for Development in Kampuchea to
introduce the SRI method to Prey Veng and Svay Rieng provinces. Oxfam
officials say they have trained 58 of Kruol village’s 358 families in
SRI-style farming, but aims to double the number this year.
Kruol village farmer Chea Yos said he was initially skeptical about the methods after receiving SRI training.
“I
went to the training and I did a small experiment and after, I looked
at one rice seedling and counted forty-one sprouts; normally, two or
three seedlings only have about ten sprouts total.”
Although some
100,000 Cambodian farmers currently use the method, officials said
promoting a wider take-up of SRI farming was a challenge.
Oxfam
Regional Communication Officer Soleak Seang says that it can be
difficult to change peoples’ growing methods, as some farmers have used
the same practices their entire lives. “It takes time to spread the word
around the communities.”
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