Saing Koma, president of Agriculture in an interview with the Post. Sorn Sarath
PHNOM PENH, agriculture is the engine driving the economy one of the country's top 4. Climate Change make the agricultural sector severely affected as irrigation systems in agricultural dependence is low compared to neighboring countries.
The government is pushing to agriculture, growing vegetables that can make farmers earn faster and to prevent the influx from abroad spent hundreds of millions of dollars.
Saing Koma, welcomed the move but urged the government rushed solve irrigation problems.
The government plans to spend $ 20 million to support agriculture vegetables in order to prevent imports from neighboring countries. Perception about the project?
This project should have been implemented a long time ago, but it is not yet too late, and we welcome this project and want see this project succeed because vegetable matter, it has become a major topic for our Cambodian society because we need eat more vegetables, and it is important for our health, but the vegetables we are currently circulating on the market, we Most are imported from abroad, and most of these vegetables are used agricultural poison.
This project is very important First, we can replace imports reduce the budget runs out hundreds of millions of dollars per year in We will also create jobs for agriculture, growing vegetables can create tens of thousands of jobs. Our farmers will be able to high-income The vegetable growing vegetables because if we compare the field it has a higher income and can earn money faster than the means that they can earn.
Why are farmers less a revival in planting vegetables?
In my experience working with farmers Khmer nearly 20 years, observed that he had a difficult 1st related to the change only his own behavior and the behavior a second thought regarding the strengthening of the third related to technical abilities related to the employment relationship 4th and marketing related to access to capital to develop the sector.
What is important is that we support farmers into a system, we need highly qualified human resources to work with farmers. I think that if we have a career of about 10 000 farmers grow vegetables, and we support their technical and market transportation stocks recycle capital to prepare our water system is able to have a decent amount of vegetables to supply the market and can compete with us do not need to intervene on the export and import.
So I think that the government plays an important role in investment in this investment is referring to human resource training and dispatch He went to work with farmers. I think that we need between 100 and 200 people to work directly with farmers across the country.
If we think the overall current nationwide demand for up to 500 tonnes of vegetables a day, and if we think is worth it there may be up to 20 to 30 thousand dollars a day, and this number increased from 1 year to 1 year. So it is hundreds of millions of dollars from US $ 200 to 300 million per year in the vegetable trade in the market, we do not Think small sales in the villages.
$ 20 million will be enough for the project?
20 million more if we know how to manage it properly, it can help a lot.
'For me, if I had the $ 20 million I can do the job and be able to make tens of thousands of family farmers become vegetable growers supply the market.
I confirm this, we need skilled personnel between 100 to 200 people if we only spend $ 5 000 a year, then 1 year $ 1 million remaining $ 19 million.
Visible to the general situation of the current irrigation system?
The government uses data irrigation system was built. For example, he built a dam, which he thinks can irrigate 2 billion to 3 billion hectares, so he combined area of more than 2 million hectares. But he did not think that among all the systems are perfectly systems that process and that process build, and how much damage and can not use water. The World Bank, as well as my own is what the real process that could irrigate both wet and dry, and if We think it's less than 10 percent. Government can be a different corner, but the corner because he did not look real practical. We know more than 2 000 irrigation projects, big or small, will process more than 20 percent.
Does the government need to do on this issue?
Regarding irrigation There are three points that we need to re-think when we do a construction project the participation of citizens. The second time we give him our users need to have a support mechanism to strengthen his ability as a government policy aimed practical help and provide political, but not implemented. Third, we must work together and work, irrigation, agricultural labor market media.
The government is focusing on smaller systems must not focus only big project, so we want the government to have a budget for one year irrigation community to make a smaller government can fund for farmers dug a pond to store water, and I Pond project is very important for farmers. If we still have this kind of irrigation system is agriculture, we would be very hard to compete with, especially large countries our neighbors.
Do you think the government has to think about this issue?
I think he thought, but I did not, because he likes to do big irrigation project because a lot of money, it was not small.
Expectations from the agricultural sector in the next year the point?
In the field of rice as well as other sectors such as rubber, I do not expect that it can be better than this year due to the current low price so The investment in the expansion of this sector, such as a less momentum due to the weather, but I expect a special planting fruits and vegetables will grow more than for 2016 due to increased demand for vegetables and another due In general, such programs push government help boost people's awareness to want to have so many local vegetables It can boost agricultural vegetation recovery. If we want the country to move forward, we need to start from the agricultural sector, but we must not rely on agriculture for a lifetime .
By my estimation there will be only 25 percent of farmers will become agricultural producers do business career to the next day while others will come to live in the city, and some will make the workforce in this sector, then 10 years is Only 25 per cent so we help farmers, 25 per cent (half a million people across the country) to become a solid manufacturing strength .
ASEAN integration will come to Cambodia's agricultural sector faces?
It has a profit there is a loss, but I see more profitable if we strengthen our ability to compete because Cambodia between our two largest markets between Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City, and the two cities have a large population of our Khmer So I see a bigger opportunity.
But that time, Thailand, Vietnam also has products into the Kingdom!
We are also very special as I expected, the largest market in Vietnam because Vietnam People 1st will hit 100 million People soon 2nd Vietnam about 10 years, is 50 percent of the Vietnamese people quit farming and the people who live 3rd in Vietnam has more agricultural land to small area of farming in Vietnam is probably 4 million hectares, 4 million hectares of land can not feed 100 million people, so it's going to create space. Now turning to organic so if we increase the production capacity of more organic and sold to Vietnam, we will be able to have big chance. LA
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