Historical Record

Food Insecurity Trend

As Cambodia rebounds from decades of conflict more land is being farmed, more food is being produced and fewer people are going hungry in the country. Between 1980 and 1996, farmers almost doubled the area on which they were growing crops. Because of gains in food production, Cambodians are eating substantially better, even though the population has continued to grow rapidly and food imports have declined.

Despite this recent progress, however, Cambodia remains a very poor country, and many of its people still suffer from food insecurity. Even though prevalence of undernourishment in Cambodia's population has been significantly reduced to 33 percent in 2002/2004, down from 60 percent in 1980 (FAOSTAT), Cambodians' average food intake is scarcely enough to meet the minimum daily requirement. Approximately 35 percent of the population (4.6 million people) live below the poverty line (CSES 2004)-the majority of whom can be classified as chronically food insecure. About 2.6 million living in extreme poverty are likely to face food deprivation. The country's poverty is reflected in the lack of diversity in people's diets.

Figure 2.15: Prevalence of Undernourished Population

Source: FAOSTAT

Threats to Food Security

Low Use of Fertilizers and Other Agricultural Inputs

Low productivity is partly due to the low level use of agricultural inputs including fertilizers (organic and inorganic) and high-yielding crop varieties and lack of quality inputs.

The use of agricultural inputs in Cambodia is the lowest among ASEAN countries. The rate of use of modern fertilizers and high-yield variety (HYV) seeds in Cambodia is the lowest in Southeast Asia. Lao PDR and Thailand apply three times more fertilizer per hectare, while Vietnam applies six times more. In 2005, paddy yield was 2.35 MT/ha, but the three-yield average for 2003-05 was lower, at 2.18 MT/ha. A large portion of the production gains in the last two decades has come from area expansion rather than yield improvements. Cultivated area has been estimated to expand at about one percentage point each year since the early 1980s (UNDP 2007).

Inadequate Irrigation Systems

Cambodian agricultural production, especially rice production, is predominated by rainfall. In 1992 6.6 percent of Cambodia's cropland was irrigated while in 2003 this figure had risen to just 7 percent. It should also be noted that for the same period there was little increase in cropland area (WB, 2007). Thus not only do the country's rural populace have to depend on natural sources for irrigation; to exacerbate the situation there has been little improvement in this state of affairs.

Land requirement

Permanent and arable land as a percentage of land area has remained nearly constant over a span of fifteen years increasing from 20.5 percent in 1990 to 21 percent in 2005 (WB, 2007).  The current use of small proportion of land, about 22 percent (2.5-3 million hectares) for agricultural production shows the inadequacy of the land management and distribution. It is estimated that 4-4.5 million hectares of total land is suitable for cultivation (CDR1, 2001). Agricultural land in Cambodia has been subject to the effects of a turbulent history. Land was under private control until 1975 when it was collectivized. It underwent controlled management in 1980, and was re-privatized in 1989. Large population movement and resettlement accompanied these transitions and largely because of these disruptions the land issue is still not fully settled. Today some farmers are still seeking land on which they can properly settle down, some are looking for more suitable locations and still others are waiting for the resolution of land conflicts.  Therefore the most important challenge today is how to get this land into production system.

Demographic Issues

There has been a visible population increase in recent years compared to the decades prior to the 1980s. This has resulted in existing resources becoming scarce (and therby driving prices up). Additionally, it is not only the increase in population per se; it is the population pyramid (a large number of children compared to earning members), which adversely affects household food security because of low per capita earnings. Additionally, due to the excessive deaths of men (through war etc.) the gender imbalance has resulted in a large number of female-headed households, which are presently ill endowed with the means of cultivation.
Ecological Strain and Degradation of Natural Resources
 The quality of the natural environment is depleting - water, fish, mangroves and forests all face an increased strain --making livelihood both more difficult and less sustainable. This is happening because of low supply elasticity (due to little technological change), inadequate management of natural resources, and use of unscientific practices. Although the village communities are not responsible for all the degradation - in fact much of the demand emerges from outside of the agrarian society -they nevertheless face the consequences (CDRI, 2002).

Farm Mechanization and Distribution of Gains

There has been some selective mechanization of agricultural with the beneficiaries mainly being large farmers. Cambodia has one of the lowest rate of tractors per 100 square kilometers of arable land - 7 in 2003 as compared to an average of 89 tractors / 100 sq.km for East Asia (WB, 2007). Small farmers have not necessarily gained as much since they cannot readily pay cash to hire machines and must resort to borrowing in order to have access to farm machinery.