This year Cambodia has now won third award (for 3 years consecutively) as the World Best Rice. When I read the news, I was wondering what is this mean to Cambodian farmers?? Majority of farmers, especially poor farmers and smallholders, still suffer from lack of irrigation system, high price of agricultural inputs, lack of technologies, lack of extension services, unstable market price, and others. All of these things continuously put pressure to the farmers while those who claim that we are the number one in the world, are actually those who have power to manipulate the market. Our neighboring countries are not awarded as the World Best Rice, but they are the world leading rice exporters. How this can happen?? Talk about irrigation system, agricultural inputs, technology, extension services, market price, ect., all of these have been strongly supported by the government. Some people may say that government subside in agricultural inputs, technology development or market price intervention are not good because it distort the market, basically go against the free market ideology. BUT such interventions have been used so far, successfully, anywhere in the world including the West, US, Japan and almost all advance countries. Stop too proud of your tinny status, and start solving the real problem we are facing today.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 02:00:25 +0000
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