Rice in the Cambodian economy: past and present; Topography, climate, and rice production; Soils and rice; Rice-based farming systems; Rice ecosystems and varieties; Pest management in rice; Farm mechanization; Capture and culture ricefield fisheries in Cambodia; Constraints to rice production and strategies for improvement.

This report assesses the impact of the International Food Policy Research Institute’s (IFPRI) Global Research Program on Priorities for Public Investment in Agriculture and Rural Areas (“GRP-3”). Initiated in 1998, the stated objectives of the research program were (1) to increase public investment for rural areas and the agricultural sector given that there is an underspending in the sector and (2) to better target and improve efficiency of public resources to achieve these growth and poverty reduction goals, as well as other development goals. GRP-3 evolved out of research on the impacts of alternative types of public spending on income and poverty outcomes in India and China that was conducted by staff of IFPRI’s Environment and Production Technology Division (later the Development Strategy and Governance Division). Those studies indicated that public investments in infrastructure—in particular, investments in roads, agricultural research and development (R&D), and education—yielded sizeable marginal benefits in terms of poverty alleviation and income generation in rural areas. This line of research was later expanded to encompass a number of countries in Africa and, to a lesser extent, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. A second major (and ongoing) thrust of the program is to support African governments in establishing public investment priorities and strategies for promoting rural economic growth and poverty alleviation. Major activities undertaken include providing analytical and institutional support to the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and evaluations of individual publicly-funded programs in several African countries. GRP-3 has generated an impressive array of published outputs. The great bulk of these emerged from the research conducted in India and China. A much smaller number of published outputs have been generated by the (more recently conducted) research in Africa; however, a substantial number of papers, book manuscripts, and monographs are in various stages of the publication process. Other important program outputs include a variety of public expenditure databases suitable for assessing the nature and effects of individual countries’ spending priorities. GRP-3 research has had substantial influence on public expenditure priorities in India and China. Most notably, published research in India played a key role in the institution of the Rural Roads Program that directed huge sums toward construction of roads connecting large numbers of previously unserved villages. Quantitative assessment of the positive impacts from these road investments indicates that IFPRI research can reasonably take substantial credit for lifting tens of thousands of individuals out of poverty and increasing agricultural GDP by billions of rupees. Additionally, in both China and India, GRP-3 research has influenced recent policy conversations that have led to increased spending on agricultural R&D and education. Overall, the program has substantially met its stated objectives in Asia. GRP-3 research in Africa has yet to fully meet the program’s objectives, in large part because the policymaking process in the countries where IFPRI has been active are still not far enough advanced for the research outputs to have translated into actual policies. Still, some important outcomes have emerged: The work IFPRI has conducted in support of CAADP has successfully shepherded 19 countries through the Compact process. However, the Compacts are intermediate products; it remains to be seen the extent to which governments follow through on the plans contained within them. IFPRI’s compilations of disparate public expenditure data in a large number of countries represent a useful local public good for use by research and practitioner communities outside of IFPRI. In addition, IFPRI’s role in guiding the formation and operation of a regional strategic assessment and knowledge support system (ReSAKSS) has boosted, if not created, institutional capacity for future monitoring and evaluation activities. Research on the impact of public investments in the agricultural sector has been useful to the donor community by providing empirical backstopping for ongoing policy dialogues with governments. However, the difficult—and often contentious—political environment in which those dialogues occur has meant that policy outcomes are still materializing (and far from certain).

This report is a contribution to an assessment of the current status of agriculture in Cambodia, focusing on the linkages between agriculture and water, mainly in the form of irrigation. It seeks to view current government policies on agriculture and irrigation in the context of experiences on the ground, as communicated through the many field studies that cover varied aspects of performance in the agriculture sector and irrigation schemes. In an effort to identify future research areas, this review examines the status quo, and connects or disconnects with stated policy through a broad lens to capture strengths and challenges across crop production, irrigation management and post-harvest contexts. It places irrigation under scrutiny in terms of its value as a major area of government expenditure in recent years, and asks whether it presents the best potential for future gains in productivity, when compared with the prospects offered by investments in other aspects of agriculture. The fieldwork and review of current literature that form the basis of this report were undertaken at the request of, and partly funded by, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). It is also intended to contribute knowledge to the CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems (AAS) led by WorldFish, who co-funded the activities.

It is now apparent, especially in the aftermath of the regional financial crisis of 1997, that globalization has been impacting upon the Southeast Asian economies and societies in new and harrowing ways, a theme of many recent studies. Inadvertently, these studies of globalization have also highlighted that the 1980s and 1990s debate on democratization in the region which focused on the emergence of the middle classes, the roles of new social movements, NGOs and the changing relations between state and civil society might have been overly one-dimensional. This volume revisits the theme of democratization via the lenses of globalization, understood economically, politically and culturally. Although globalization increasingly frames the processes of democracy and development, nonetheless, the governments and peoples of Southeast Asia have been able to determine the pace and character even the direction of these processes to a considerable extent. This collection of essays (by some distinguished senior scholars and other equally perceptive younger ones) focuses on this globalization democratization nexus and shows, empirically and analytically, how governance is being restructured and democracy sometimes deepened in this new global era. A historical review introduces the volume while an analytical assessment of the ten case-studies concludes it.

The recent escalation of world food prices – particularly for cereals - prompted mass public indignation and demonstrations in many countries, from the price of tortilla flour in Mexico to that of rice in the Philippines and pasta in Italy. The crisis has important implications for future government trade and food security policies, as countries re-evaluate their reliance on potentially more volatile world markets to augment domestic supplies of staple foods. This book examines how government policies caused and responded to soaring world prices in the particular case of rice, which is the world's most important source of calories for the poor. Comparable case studies of policy reactions in different countries, principally across Asia, but also including the USA, provide the understanding necessary to evaluate the impact of trade policy on the food security of poor farmers and consumers. They also provide important insights into the concerns of developing countries that are relevant for future international trade negotiations in key agricultural commodities. As a result, more appropriate policies can be put in place to ensure more stable food supplies in the future. Published with the Food and Agriculture (FAO) Organization of the United Nations

Cambodia has been identified as one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, given the predicted changes in temperature and precipitation, the share of labor in agriculture, and the country’s low adaptive capacity due to widespread poverty. In this study, we use climate data from four general circulation models (GCMs) to evaluate the impact of climate change on agriculture in Cambodia by 2050. We used the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer crop modeling software to evaluate crop yields, first for the 1950–2000 period (actual climate) and then for the climates given by the four GCMs for 2050. We evaluated crop yields for eight different crops at 2,162 points in Cambodia, using a grid of 10-kilometer squares, for 2000 and 2050. For each crop, we searched for the best cultivar (variety) in each square, rather than assuming the same cultivar to be used in all locations. We also searched for the best planting month in each square. We explored potential gains from changing fertilizer levels and from using irrigation to compensate for rainfall changes. This analysis indicates that when practiced together, using improved cultivars better suited for the changing climate conditions and adjusting planting dates can lessen the impact of climate change on yields, including for both wet- and dry-season rice. In addition, the analysis shows that losses in yield due to climate change can be compensated for—for many crops—by increasing the availability of nitrogen in the soil. To provide context to the modeling analysis, a survey of 45 communes was conducted using focus group discussions to solicit information on agricultural practices. Questions were asked about fertilizer, irrigation, seeds, tillage, and pest management, as well as about natural disasters and how farmers respond. Key results indicate that in response to extreme weather, only 7 to 16 percent of farmers report changing crop variety and only 20 percent of farmers report changing planting dates. Since the modeling results indicate that adaptation to climate change by changing crop variety and planting dates will be critical in order to avoid yield losses over the next 40 years, it is recommended that farmers expand their capacity to adapt in this way. In addition, every commune reported using some type of chemical fertilizer; however, in a typical commune, only 50 percent of the farmers were using any chemical fertilizer. This indicates that there is room to increase the use of chemical fertilizers. Finally, focus group participants were asked to name the top three natural disasters of concern. Drought was the most cited, reported in 44 of the 45 communes (98 percent), while flooding was cited in 67 percent of the communes surveyed. Despite this, in fully 58 percent of the communes, farmers reported taking no action in response to floods. In response to drought, farmers reported switching to other crops in 16 percent of the communes, and changed planting dates in 19 percent, while only 7 percent of the communes reported no adaptation in farming practices. These findings indicate the need for intervention to help farmers deal with floods in particular, and to determine whether strategies for adapting to drought are the best suited to mitigate crop loss.