Worried

Popping up on the mid term horizon is the never ending quest by Italian farmers to shoulder out cheap imports. Even though they are not in direct competition, there might be something to say for displacing non-risotto rice growers forcing them to solely focus on that market. Anyhow, full grades to the Italians for persistence. 
The Phnom Penh Post (Mar. 30):

'The European Commission has found sufficient evidence to launch an investigation into whether Cambodian rice exported to the EU puts an unfair burden on European rice farmers, potentially imperiling the Kingdom’s tariff-free exports to the bloc.The investigation was launched on March 16 in response to a request from Italy, which called for “safeguard measures” – most commonly import restrictions or tariffs – to be imposed on rice from both Cambodia and Myanmar, according to a notification of the investigation published in the EU’s official journal....Cambodian rice sector representatives said yesterday that the investigation was worrisome, and questioned the legitimacy of Italy’s complaint.“Our rice species are different from Italy’s rice, so what they raise up, it is not possible to hurt their local producers,” said Hun Lak, vice president of the Cambodia Rice Federation....The share of the EU rice market captured by Cambodian rice has grown from 13 percent five years ago to 21 percent last year, according to the EU. Meanwhile, the share of the rice market controlled by European producers has fallen from 52 percent to 30 percent over the same period.Italian rice farmers have complained about Cambodian rice imports since at least 2014, but this is the first time a formal investigation has been launched by the commission.EU regulations stipulate the investigation must be completed within a year of its March 16 starting date'.

Note that despite all assurances the EU representatives are not well known for voting with know-how, it's more about voting with their feet.

Cash
It's not the only problem on the horizon. The Phnom Penh Post (Mar. 29) reports on the lack of data adding up:

'The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is forecasting that 44 percent of Cambodia’s total rice exports will be smuggled out of the country through informal channels this year, a persistent problem that weighs down profits and threatens to cripple the industry.The FAO’s forecast, released earlier this month, predicted that Cambodia’s rice exports in 2018 would reach 1.35 million tonnes, a 5 percent increase over last year. But only 750,000 tonnes of that would  be formal exports, according to Shirley Mustafa, an economist at the FAO'.

It continues (Apr. 6):

'Cambodia’s rice exports declined in the first quarter of the year, down 3 percent compared to the first three months of last year, a slide that rice exporters and industry representatives blamed on smuggling operations operating with impunity.According to Agriculture Ministry data released yesterday, Cambodia exported 161,115 tonnes of rice in the first quarter of this year, down from 166,678 tonnes last year.
That’s despite a bumper year for the rice crop, as an improved harvest and strong international market have drawn higher prices from brokers and middlemen coming to buy rice and transport it illegally into Thailand and Vietnam....Smuggled rice is a regular problem for Cambodia’s rice sector. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation forecasted that 44 percent of Cambodia’s total rice exports this year would be smuggled out of the country, which, while problematic for the industry, would be an improvement over previous years.Song Saran, CEO of rice exporter Amru Rice, said that fluctuations in the rice market were normal, and said that farmers would benefit from the higher paddy rice prices. “It is a good option for farmers to sell their paddy rice, they don’t have to worry about the price since brokers from [neighbouring countries] also pay a good price,” he said. Dem Srey Lim, a rice farmer in Battambang’s Sangke district who owns 5 hectares of rice fields, said the price this year for paddy rice was good, up to 1,700 riel per kilogram, compared to just 1,200 riel per kilogram the year before. “Our paddy rice price is good, we are happy to sell all paddy rice,” she said, “We like to sell to Vietnamese brokers, as they pay us cash directly in the field. If we sold to a local broker, they are a week late to pay us.”'

Once again what's important is what returns farmers get. Only then look at the larger scale. And then discover that as a nation you are being outrun by the competition. Improve and improve. And only then complain.

On a side note Channelnewsasia (Mar. 6) looks at Cambodians floating rice:

'Grown in floods and thriving without pesticides, floating rice offers Cambodia a sustainable alternative for its eco-friendly food production amid threats from climate change.
...
In 1975, there were 410,000 hectares of the crops in Cambodia, according to research by the Australian National University’s Fenner School of Environment and Society. By 2015, the area had shrunk by 88.6 per cent to 46,759 hectares.
“While high-yield variety rice has a clear domestic and international market acceptability, the same cannot be said for floating rice,” said Dr Van Kien Nguyen and Assoc Prof Jamie Pittock in their research.
The crops, they added, are unpopular in urban markets and largely consumed by farmers, who believe in their health benefits'.

The Khmer Times (Mar. 12) comes up with  chainbloc technology to assist farmers.

'Oxfam Cambodia and Amru Rice will launch next month a pilot programme based on blockchain and smart contract technology to improve living standards for local farmers.
The project, called BlocRice, is powered by cutting-edge technologies and aims to improve farmers’ livelihoods by increasing the transparency and traceability of international supply chains, according to Lim Solinn, Oxfam’s country director.
Smart contract technology lies at the core of the programme. According to Ms Solinn, smart contracts are digital three-way arrangements between producers, exporters and retailers. Their mission is to facilitate, verify or enforce the negotiation and performance of a contract'.

Ups
Nikkei Asian Review (Mar. 08) looks at the Thai rice market noting that it too has it's marketing problems:

'Thailand's production of premium rice has fallen this year for the first time since the country began growing the crop more extensively a decade ago in an effort to shift agriculture to more value-added export products.
...
Total output of premium Thai rice is expected to fall by 40% to around 4 million tons from 6.1 million tons (in paddy base) in 2017, according to the Thai Rice Exporters Association. The association normally makes a fairly precise projection of the annual output based on surveys of farmers and the rice industry each March.
...
The reduced outlook has pushed up the price to $1,150 a ton this week, a more than 50% increase from $750 a ton last year.
...
Charoen Laothamatas, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, said Thailand faces "fierce competition" at a time when the strong baht has pushed Thai offer prices to uncompetitive levels. Major competitors include India and Vietnam.
Charoen blamed the reduced output on excessive rains during the harvesting period that reduced yields.
He said offer prices for premium rice ranged between $1,150 and $1,200 a ton this week -- well above the $800 to $900 for comparable grades from Vietnam and Cambodia. The strong baht has made matters worse.
...
Thailand will remain in second place this year, exporting some 10 million tons against India's 12.5 million tons, according to the U.S. department of agriculture. Vietnam is expected to come third with 6.3 million tons'.

But then again there's this from the National News Bureau of Thailand (Mar. 31):

'According to the Thai Rice Exporters Association, Thailand sold 1.9 million tons of rice worth 30.318 billion baht to overseas buyers around the world between January and February. The value and the quantity of rice sold increased 16.1% and 10% respectively compared to the same period last year'.

And yes, Vietnam is also doing well, thank you. Xinhuanet (Apr. 2):

'Vietnam exported nearly 1.4 million tons of rice worth 668 million U.S. dollars in the first three months of this year, up 9.1 percent in volume, and up 23.8 percent in value against the same period last year, according to the Vietnam Food Association on Monday'.

Initiative
When your pleas get ignored there are avenues unknown on which to achieve your justice.

The Phnom Penh Post (Mar. 29) reports on farmers being displaced by a sugar growing behemoth:

'A group of some 70 people gathered on Wednesday outside Phnom Penh Sugar Company’s factory in Kampong Speu asking for compensation in a long-running land dispute.
At least some of those at the demonstration on Wednesday participated last year in protests against the NGO Equitable Cambodia, which had been working to settle the dispute on behalf of villagers – leading to allegations that they had been hired to smear the NGO by the company, which is owned by ruling party Senator Ly Yong Phat'.

However, Inclusivedevelopment.net (Apr. 2) shows a way out:

'Displaced farmers from Cambodia have filed a landmark class-action lawsuit against the Thai sugar giant Mitr Phol. The legal complaint was filed in a Thai civil court by two plaintiffs representing a class of approximately 3000 people who were violently displaced and dispossessed of their land and livelihoods in five remote villages in northwestern Cambodia to clear the way for a Mitr Pohl sugarcane plantation between 2008 and 2009. Mitr Phol, the world’s fourth-largest sugar producer, supplies global brands including Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nestle and Mars.
...
Following a two-year investigation of the case, the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand found Mitr Phol directly responsible for human rights violations committed in conjunction with its operations in Cambodia. The land grab led to the “collapse of the community,” former commission chairman Niran Phitakwatchara said at a press conference in 2015. The commission’s final report held that the company “must compensate and redress the damages caused to affected people.”
Mitr Phol told the commission that it would compensate affected people in accordance with international standards but has failed to do so.
...
In 2011, the displaced families lodged a complaint against Mitr Phol with Bonsucro, the sugar industry sustainability initiative. Instead of holding member company Mitr Phol accountable for violations of its code of conduct, Bonsucro instead presented the sugar producer with its annual sustainability award in 2015. Bonsucro has yet to address a complaint that was resubmitted to the group against Mitr Phol in 2016'.

The Bangkok Post (Apr. 2) picks up on this.

'Farmers from Cambodia have filed a lawsuit in a Thai civil court against Asia's largest sugar producer, accusing it of rights abuses after it allegedly kicked farmers off their land, a rights group said on Monday....Mitr Phol said after it withdrew from the project, it had recommended that the Cambodian government return land "to the affected communities".Seng Loth, a spokesman at Land Management Ministry, which was responsible for the government's involvement in the project, said when contacted by Reuters he was in a meeting and too busy to comment.Government spokesman Phay Siphan said he could not comment and referred queries to the Land Management Ministry'.

There seems to be some lack of clearance on another land grab affair.  Channelnewsasia (Mar. 10):

'Security forces in Cambodia have said they acted out of self-defence in clashes with civilians who were involved in a land dispute with a rubber plantation company in Cambodia’s Kratie province.The confrontation occurred on Thursday (Mar 8) between more than 100 security officers and about 200 villagers, according to local authorities.Initial reports from independent local media, based on eye-witness accounts, suggested several protesters had been killed and dozens injured. However, authorities have denied those reports, saying only two villagers had been injured, along with seven officials....The land dispute, involving hundreds of families, has been running since 2008 when the Memot company was granted 9,000 hectares of land as an economic land concession in Pi Tnou commune'.

Blooming

In other news from Cambodia's ag sector the Phnom Penh Post (Mar. 15) notes:

'A Chinese-based investment firm has announced plans to begin construction on the first of 10 cassava processing plants next month, with a total planned investment of $150 million, according to Agriculture Minister Veng Sokhon.

Hong Kong-based Green Leader Holding Group signed a memorandum of understanding with the government in January, and its first factory is planned to cover 20 hectares in Kratie province’s Snuol district'.

This is followed up, yet again by the Phnom Penh Post (Apr. 2):

'Hong Kong-based Green Leader Holding Group broke ground on a $20 million cassava processing factory in Kratie province’s Snuol district yesterday, part of the company’s plan to spend $150 million on 10 processing factories in the next 3 years'.

How did the pepper season fare? Phnom Penh Post (Mar. 20):

'Farmers of Kampot pepper have had a rough planting season due to climate change, but the decrease in production is unlikely to seriously affect the market, according to the head of the Kampot Pepper Promotion Association (KPPA).

KPPA President Ngoun Lay said he expected his members to harvest just 75 tonnes of pepper by the end of the growing season in June, which would mark a 26 percent decrease compared to last year’s production.

“The yield is less than last year, as in the beginning of season, the flowers of the pepper plant fell a lot because of climate change,” Lay said, adding that it wouldn’t be an immediate problem for farmers due to adequate reserves.

The KPPA is the governing body of farmers who label their pepper as Kampot pepper, which was given geographical indication (GI) status from the World Trade Organization in 2010.

The association’s membership swelled from 387 farmers and 21 distributors last year to 440 farmers and 29 distributors this year, according Lay.

Last year, the group’s members produced 102 tonnes of pepper but sold just 67 tonnes, and currently have about 60 tonnes in reserves, he said'.

The Phnom Penh Post (Mar. 26) also has an interview with Kampot Pepper Promotion Association (KPPA).

Secure
Heading now to the miscellaneous.

An article in the Mongabay (Mar. 8) concerning growing rubber in Southeast Asia and the use of carbon credits to keep land forested, i.e. not become rubber plantations:

'Warren-Thomas and researchers at other universities in the UK as well as U.S.-based Wildlife Conservation Society and the Forestry Administration of Cambodia investigated how profitable rubber plantations are and if carbon credits are priced competitively enough to discourage deforestation.
The team’s results indicate that they are not. In fact, they found carbon credit prices would need to be increased six- to ten-fold to match the revenue generated by rubber plantations'.

Monsanto is in the court (Guardian, Mar. 5) and is required to prove Round-up is safe. An interesting read. 

Did we also report (Reuters, Feb. 28) that Monsanto will be purchased by Bayer? So expect more opposition to chemical-free agriculture. 

A very interesting youtube vdo on Forest tea in northern Laos. Basically, communities are saving older tea trees when practicing swidden agriculture. A great find suggested by LaoFAB Facebook page (Mar. 30).

Outside the region, but still relevant. We may fume about the ignorance of authorities for all policies on agriculture but even In Australia things are not always hunky-dory.

The SMH (Apr. 2) has an article on how all seeds into the nation will be fumigated, thus rendering the Australia organic sector void of non-national organic seeds.

'Australia is almost totally reliant on imported vegetable seeds. However seeds treated with fungicide would not be considered organic, meaning the range of organic or pesticide-free vegetables grown in Australia would fall dramatically under the proposal....In a statement, the department said Australia’s biosecurity was paramount and the review aimed “to ensure ongoing protection for Australia’s vegetable industry from increasing biosecurity risks”.The review recognised the importance of ensuring Australian producers could access imported seeds, but also “that there is an increased risk of seed-borne pathogens ... and the importance of managing that risk.”“The proposed mandatory treatment ... will help manage the risk of these pathogens being introduced to Australia,” it said'.