Bias

During the past weeks we have seen the first tentative steps against Monsanto / Bayer and the way they conduct their business. 
Skeptical whether there will be more follow-up on this, but especially the way Monsanto has been undercutting science and governance shows that more caution needs to be regarded with the introduction of new agrochemical products, be they chemicals themselves or seeds with chemistry in-built.

Hybrid rice is just another product in the industry's palette to conjure up exceptional profits to shareholders; the question is yet to be answered why we need this technology. But by essentially buying policies and policy organisations the answer is circumvented. Hybrid rice growing can have a niche and possibly in the future there might be more than a niche available. But currently, hybrid rice technology is being pushed to the detriment of any other possible solution to markets.

Just another wake-up call on this,  grain.org  (Aug. 8) focused on the push by IRRI on Golden Rice hybrids:

'Aside from its low content, the beta-carotene in Golden Rice also shows degradation. A study in 2017 shows that Golden Rice retains 60% of its original beta-carotene levels after 3 weeks of storage and just 13% after 10 weeks. A researcher notes that after 75 days, one has to eat as much as 32 kgs of cooked Golden Rice just to get the same amount of beta-carotene in a single carrot.
Meanwhile, a study in India showed that when bred with the local Swarna variety, the Golden Rice shows phenotyphic abnormalities, stunted growth and low yield, virtually adulterating the metabolic and genetic traits of the variety. This shows the genetic instability of the GM rice which will definitely cause further problems at the farmers’ fields and in rice production in general.
Despite these issues, regulatory bodies in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have given their approval to grant safety stamps and trade liability clearance for Golden Rice. These rubber stamps of Golden Rice is now being used by the proponents to circumvent public opposition and hasten release of Golden Rice in target countries including conduct of clinical feeding trials among women and children in Philippines and Bangladesh.
“We deem these approvals as a result of bias to corporate lobbying, a travesty of justice and blatant violation of our sovereign rights,” said Panerio. “Golden Rice is bound to fail, and it does not make sense to hastily approve it for field trials or direct use when it inherent issues remain unresolved.”

For those wishing to read more on the court case outcome against Monsanto, I'd direct you to the Guardian (Aug. 11). 
Additional info why this case may well prove to be a watershed case, the Guardian (Aug. 17) notes how glyphosate seems ever present in British breakfast cereals:

'“It is very troubling that cereals children like to eat contain glyphosate,” said Alexis Temkin, an EWG [Environmental Working Group - GB] toxicologist and author of the report. “Parents shouldn’t worry about whether feeding their children heathy oat foods will also expose them to a chemical linked to cancer. The government must take steps to protect our most vulnerable populations.”
The findings follow a landmark decision in a San Francisco court last week to order that Monsanto pay $289m in damages to Dewayne Johnson, a 46-year-old former groundskeeper. A jury deemed that Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller caused Johnson’s cancer and that it had failed to warn him about the health risks of exposure.
Monsanto, which said it will appeal against the verdict, has said glyphosate has been used safely for decades. In 2015, the EPA said that glyphosate has a low toxicity for people but could cause problems for some pets if they consume the chemical.
However, the World Health Organization has called glyphosate a “probable carcinogen” and authorities in California list it as a chemical “known to the state to cause cancer”.
In April, internal emails obtained from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) showed that scientists have found glyphosate on a wide range of commonly consumed food, to the point that they were finding it difficult to identify a food without the chemical on it. The FDA has yet to release any official results from this process.
There was no indication that the claims related to products sold outside the US.
US farmers spray about 200m pounds of Roundup each year on their crops, including corn, soybeans, wheat and oats. It can also be used on produce such as spinach and almonds'.

Bangkok Post (Aug. 13) throws a local view on the case and it's local implications, if any:

'Two court cases last week in California are set to affect and perhaps change the future of Thai farming. The legal decisions are stark. Courts and a jury ruled that two of the most popular chemical products used in Thai agriculture pose huge risks to humans even in tiny quantities. One causes irreparable damage in babies' brains. The other is carcinogenic. It is exactly what Thai campaigners have been saying in an effort to eliminate the two products.
The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to remove chlorpyrifos from sale in the United States within 60 days. This is a pesticide, used worldwide except in a few dozen countries where it is banned. There is no doubt about its effectiveness as an insecticide; chlorpyrifos is one of the best ever. Also, said the majority of the US judges, it is not doubted that exposure to the tiniest remnants of chlorpyrifos in their diet harms the brains of babies.
The second case involved paraquat, also known as glyphosate.
...
The Department of Agriculture, unfortunately, has not just allowed continuing use of these popular weed-killer and pesticide products; it has strongly lobbied to keep them legal. As recently as two months ago, the Office of the Prime Minister chose to ignore a petition signed by 686 activist networks demanding a ban. Until today, paraquat and chlorpyrifos remain the two most-used chemical farming products of their type'.

Possibly the importance of the article is undermined by equating paraquat with glyphosate.
Wrapped

Let's look at what's topical in Cambodia. 
Starting off with the not so good news in the Phnom Pemh Post (Aug. 7):

'While the Kingdom’s rice exports have been declining for the past five months, industry insiders predict that the year’s total will fall as much as 10 per cent compared to last year.

The claims come as data show that rice exports in the first seven of the year have decreased by more than six per cent compared to the same period last year.

Hun Lak, vice-president of the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) claimed that a slow start to the year could bring annual numbers down.

“We had a lot of orders in the beginning of the year, but we could not supply on time as we do not have enough paddy in stock,” he said, adding, “Most millers are constrained by limited storage capacities. It will be hard to surpass last year’s export figure.”

Policy initiatives required in strengthening the sector. The Khmer Times (Aug. 17):

'The Rural Development Bank (RDB), a state-own institution, plans to request an additional $50 million to beef up the government-led emergency fund for the agriculture sector, according to a bank representative.
Kao Thach, RDB’s CEO, told Khmer Times the bank will ask the government to increase the funding available to rice millers that need cash to buy paddy rice collected in the upcoming harvest season, which begins next month.
Mr Thach said that in 2016, the year the emergency fund was started, $27 million were disbursed. Last year, the fund was expanded to $50 million, but only $36 million were dispensed.
The loans are part of a lending mechanism initiated by the government in 2016 to help millers who are short on cash buy paddy rice from farmers and keep the price of the commodity stable'.

Khmer Times (Aug. 6) has an article on how China might ready the ship:

'Veng Sakhon, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, called upon the Chinese General Administration of Customs to send experts for the inspection of the second batch of rice millers and rice exporters to speed up the rice export process to China.
...
Mr Sakhon also asked China to increase the milled rice quota to 400,000 tons in 2019, from the 300,000 tons this year.
In the first six month of this year, Cambodia exported 271,537 tons of the commodity to global markets, a 5.9 percent decrease compared to the same period last year'.

Niche markets. The Khmer Times (Aug. 17):

'Amru Rice, a major rice miller and exporter, said international demand for its organic rice paper is strong, with the company exporting more than 50 tonnes of the product in the last 12 months.
Song Saran, CEO of Amru Rice, told Khmer Times his company started exporting the product in August last year, and only this year started selling it locally.
Rice paper is normally used in dishes to wrap fresh vegetables and cooked meat. A common dish that uses the product is spring rolls.
He said Amru Rice can only produce about 200 to 250 kilograms a day because of the strict requirements that must be met to send the product abroad.
“Almost 100 percent of our organic rice paper was sent to international markets, particularly the Netherlands, France and Denmark. We will soon export to Australia too'.

DampAccording to Vietnamnet (Aug. 8) Vietnam's rice exports are on the up:

'According to the Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development (MARD), in July 2018, Vietnam exported 382,000 tons of rice, worth $195 million, raising the total rice exports in the first seven months of the year to 3.9 million tons, worth $2 billion.
This represented a 12.2 percent increase in quantity and 29.2 percent in value compared with the same period of 2017'.

This seems to much the same for Thailand. The Bangkok Post (Aug. 9):

'Thai Rice Exporters Association has raised its export forecast to 11 million tonnes this year, citing continuously robust purchase demand, the weakening baht and natural disasters that will dampen rice supply.

The association's president, Pol Lt Charoen Laothammatas, said yesterday that the association is now confident that rice shipments will exceed the 9.5 million tonnes worth US$4.3 billion (142.8 billion baht) predicted in January, likely reaching 11 million tonnes worth $5.6 billion.

... 

While exports are expected to exceed previous forecasts, Mr Charoen said, weather conditions across Thailand may cause a drop in production output -- with the association predicting that the production of the hom mali fragrant jasmine variety will drop by 40% this year because of logistical problems caused by flooding'.

The junta run state news bureau chimes in. The National News Bureau of Thailand (Aug. 17):

'Department of Foreign Trade (DFT) Director-General Adul Chotinisakorn confirmed the Thai rice export to all world markets has amounted to 6.99 million tons during 1 January - 14 August 2018, accounting for a two-percent increase in volume year-on-year.
These export has generated 3.52 billion US dollars in revenue, marking the 19.15% increase year-on-year'.

Thai state policies likely to influence rice output? The Bangkok Post (Jul. 25):

'According to Nathporn Chatusripitak, an adviser to the Prime Minister's Office Minister, the measures will cover three projects: a loan scheme for farmers who agree to delay their paddy sales and a grant for harvesting and price-quality improvement costs; a loan scheme for agriculture co-operatives to gather rice and created added value; and the 3% interest rate subsidy programme for rice traders who agree to store stocks.
...
The loan scheme for farmers who agree to delay their paddy sales
...
The 3% interest rate subsidy programme for rice traders who agree to hold stocks for 60-180 days ...'.

On this basis, it doesn't seem likely that rice output will increase. Also doesn't seem likely that farmers will see higher prices. Question: where does the money go?

Benefits

Quite a bit of non-rice agricultural news. 

Starting with banana's where China seems to be interested in imports from Cambodia. As both Laos and Thailand have learnt from their mistakes,  big brother China is seeking greener pastures and more compliant policy makers. The Phnom Penh Post (Aug. 3):

'The Kingdom on Thursday signed a joint phytosanitary protocol for banana exports to China, with officials saying this was the first move in promoting the product on the world stage.

The agreement was signed by the Chinese ambassador to Cambodia Xiong Bo and Agriculture Minster Veng Sakhon, who said: “It [the agreement] will open the door for Cambodia to export more agriculture products to the world’s largest market.”

Cambodia saw its first banana export to China last year by Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) from its plantations in Ratanakkiri province'.

 The Khmer Times (Aug. 14) adds:

'Following the signing of a landmark agreement with China earlier this month [link], the Ministry of Agriculture is calling on farmers and companies that produce and export bananas to register with the government to gain access to expert advice.
Last week, Cambodia and China inked an agreement that allows the shipment of Cambodian bananas to the biggest market in the world.
In a press release issued yesterday, the ministry said owners of farms and export companies that register with the ministry will benefit from expert guidance to help them in the process of shipping bananas to China'.

Mangoes heading the same direction? The Khmer Times (Aug. 7):

'Despite the failure to export to China and South Korea local planters can expect a boost in the exportation of fresh mangoes to the European Union (EU) provided they have quality products, said an exporter yesterday.
The demand for local mangoes in the EU is increasing and that will also increase the rate of shipment, said Mong Reththy, president of the Mong Reththy Group, which owns the subsidary firm Kingdom Fruits International (KFI).
He said his company has seen an increase in orders, but with the limited supply of quality mangoes, they cannot meet the demand'.

Revised

Niche markets again. 

The Khmer Times (Aug. 1) on organic cassava:

'Ten agricultural communities in three provinces will now produce organic cassava that will be sold at a higher value than the market price, giving hundreds of farmers a chance to earn a better living.
The communities – located in Preah Vihear, Kratie and Kampong Thom – have entered contract farming schemes with Amru Rice.
Song Saran, Amru Rice’s CEO, said a total of 700 farmers, cultivating a combined 2,000 hectares of land, will now benefit from selling their produce at a price 20 percent higher than that of the market'.

 Phnom Penh Post (Jul. 25) with some news from the pepper front:

'The yield for Kampot pepper – the Kingdom’s only product with an official geographic indication (GI) – is expected to decline by nearly 30 percent this year due to climate factors, Kampot Pepper Promotion Association (KPPA) president Ngoun Lay said.

However, he said export supplies to international markets would remain steady.

Lay said the shortage was due to overly dry weather at the beginning of the year when the peppercorns were growing, and excessive rains during the months when the drying process was underway'.

Khmer Times (Aug. 2) views the GI process for palm sugar:

'The process of obtaining geographical indication (GI) status for Kampong Speu palm sugar in the European Union suffered a setback this week after a company asked for revisions to the wording of the product’s guidebook, according to a producers association.
Sam Saroeun, president of the Kampong Speu Palm Sugar Promotion Association, said a Swiss company asked for changes in the guidebook, but Cambodia did not immediately comply.
“We had a meeting recently at the Ministry of Commerce over the issue. A sugar company in Switzerland asked for revisions of some technical words in the guidebook, but we did not agree to follow their request immediately. Instead, we tried to explain the contested clauses to the EU,” Mr Saroeun said.
This will delay the process of registering the product for GI status, said Mr Saroeun.
Khmer Times could not reach the Intellectual Property Department for comment yesterday'.

Restricted
Not so nichy, the Khmer Times (Jul. 30) on rubber and Cambodia taking it's neighbours for a ride:

'Cambodia will not follow major rubber players in their move to cut production to boost prices, Pol Sopha, the director of the General Department of Rubber, said.
“We are a small supplier in the global market and despite the fall in prices, we will not cut production nor reduce cultivation of rubber,” Mr Sopha said.
Mr Sopha said oversupply of rubber in the global market has always affected local prices.
His remarks came after Thailand, one of the biggest rubber suppliers in the world, revealed plans to cut production to boost domestic prices'.

Phnom Penh Post (Jul. 23) reports on corn:

'Corn harvest season has begun in the Kingdom, but farmers in the northwest are facing a price decline, and hinting they may seek markets in neighbouring Thailand for their crops.

Prior to the harvest, provincial authorities reported corn prices at around 630 riel per kilogram ($0.16). However, late last week prices fell to 460 riel.

It is yet to be seen what restrictions Thai authorities will put on Cambodian farmers wanting to sell there'.

Khmer Times (Jul. 19) on cashews:

'Kong Pheach, director of the Agro-industry Department, told Khmer Times that this year cashews are fetching a higher price in the market, adding that plantations of the commodity have also expanded'.