Page 1 - Agriculture in Cambodia

Agriculture in Cambodi

Agriculture, accounting for 90 percent of GDP in 1985 and employing approximately 80 percent of the work
force, is the traditional mainstay of the Cambodian economy. Rice, the staple food, continued to be the
principal commodity in this sector. Rice production, a vital economic indicator in Cambodia's agrarian
society, frequently fell far short of targets, causing severe food shortages in 1979, 1981, 1984, and 1987.
The plan's 1987 target for the total area to be devoted to rice cultivation was 1.77 million hectares, but the
actual area under cultivation in 1987 amounted to only 1.15 million hectares. After 1979 and through the
late 1980s, the agricultural sector performed poorly. Adverse weather conditions, insufficient numbers of
farm implements and of draft animals, inexperienced and incompetent personnel, security problems, and
government collectivization policies all contributed to low productivity.

Contents

• 1 Collectivization and solidarity groups
• 2 Rice production
• 3 Other crops
o 3.1 Livestock
o 3.2 Fisheries
• 4 References

Collectivization and solidarity groups