Abstract
The Mekong and Tonle Sap regions are the rice bowls of Cambodia. In particular, rice production in the two regions is significant for the national economy and rural livelihood. This study quantifies rice production, cultivated areas damaged, and production lost between 1998 and 2018. We also investigate the future trend of rice production in the Mekong and Tonle Sap regions. The study reveals (1) a dramatic increase in rice production from 1998 to 2018 and the highest rice production found in the present, starting from 2010. While the average rice in the Tonle Sap region was higher for the wet season, it was more significant in the Mekong region for the dry season. (2) Flood and drought were the two leading causes of damaged cultivated areas. Comparatively, cultivated areas damaged in the Tonle Sap region contributed a higher proportion because flood seriously affected this region in both years of 2000 and 2011. A similar pattern in the Mekong and the Tonle Sap regions happened in cultivated areas damaged for dry and wet seasons. (3) A prediction by 2030 suggests that rice production in the Tonle Sap region would be between 3.20 and 4.00 tons per hectare in the wet season and between 4.50 and 5.44 tons per hectare in the dry season. In the Mekong region, rice production would be between 3.20 and 4.24 tons per hectare in the wet season and between 4.50 and 5.66 tons per hectare in the dry season. Currently, rice farmers are challenged with the long-term use of conventional farming techniques, lack knowledge of the rice crop water requirements, and high use of fertilizers. An irrigation system including supplementary one would be essential to ensure water in both wet and dry seasons.
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Notes
- 1.
Upland rice is grown mainly in the north and northeast parts of Cambodia, while deep-water rice is cultivated more on the edges of lakes, where the water is deeper than in the higher fields
- 2.
Mekong River drains an area of 795,000 square kilometers representing a very small percentage of the territory of China, about 4% of Myanmar, 97% of the Lao PDR, 36% of Thailand, 86% of Cambodia and 20% of Vietnam.
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Acknowledgments
This research was funded by Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) Cycle 7, which is administered by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has joined with several other U.S. Government agencies to support PEER under USAID Agreement AID-OAA-A-11-00012. The authors greatly appreciate the valuable comments and suggestions in preparing this paper for publication from editors [Krishna Vadrevu (US), Thuy Le Toan (France), Shibendu Ray (India), and Chris Justice (US)]. Thanks to Kelly Robbins [NASEM Senior Program Officer], Marcia McNutt [President of the National Academy of Sciences], Robert J. Hijmans [University of California, Davis] and Aniruddha Ghosh [University of California, Davis] for their support and guidance to conduct the research.
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Sok, S., Cheb, H., Chhinh, N., Nguonphan, P. (2022). Productivity, Damages, and Losses of Rice in Cambodia: Past, Present and Future Trends in the Mekong and Tonle Sap Regions. In: Vadrevu, K.P., Le Toan, T., Ray, S.S., Justice, C. (eds) Remote Sensing of Agriculture and Land Cover/Land Use Changes in South and Southeast Asian Countries. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92365-5_16
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