Rice farming
in Cambodia can be a tough and uncertain business. Rainfall is highly erratic, both
drought and floods being regular occurrences, land is often infertile or
under-nourished and investment in new farming systems and technology is minimal.
Yet approximately 60% of the Cambodian population rely on agriculture (mainly
rice production) for their livelihoods and unsurprisingly the vast majority of
those are living on less than $1.25 a day. Despite government commitments to
expand rice production and increase the country’s export capacity, the reality for
the majority of farmers is stagnant growth and an uncertain future. Which is why, on a recent trip to
Cambodia, I was keen to find out why so many of the entrepreneurs we have
supported through lendwithcare.org are sticking to rice farming.
