Abstract
AbstractTakeo is one of the main rice-producing provinces in Cambodia and increasingly engages in cross-border trade with Vietnam. The aim of this study was to examine the production and marketing of rice in Takeo Province with a view to identifying ways to increase the benefits accruing to rice growers. Rice production in Takeo provides a subsistence base for farm households, an adequate return to household labour and, for those who have access to irrigation in the dry season, an important commercial activity. The returns to farmers could be improved by providing better information about and regulation of the key inputs—seeds, fertilisers, and pesticides. The rice market in Takeo is well structured with a network of collectors, traders, and exporters. Farmers can readily sell their paddy at a competitive market price. The marketed surplus is traded and milled efficiently in the domestic market, but the milling sector does not have the physical capacity or capital to handle the dry-season paddy surplus, which is exported directly to Vietnam. Thus the export of paddy remains crucial for the commercial rice industry in Takeo. If Vietnam’s rice policy changed to protect its own farmers, the rice sector in Takeo would be vulnerable. Nevertheless, while Cambodia continues to develop its rice processing and export capacity, the cross-border trade in paddy provides a viable source of income for a sub-sector of rice farmers in Takeo.
Highlights
Though the rice sector has demonstrated rapid growth in Cambodia in the past decade, many studies show that there are significant issues in production and post-harvest operations to do with the cost of production, rice quality, storage capacity, the structure and performance of the milling sector, and the management of cross-border trade with Thailand and Vietnam (ACI and CamConsult 2006; ADBI 2008; Gergely et al 2010; RGC 2010; Sok et al 2011)
The DS market chain led to Vietnam, with paddy being transported by barge or road transport to the border at Phnom Den for milling within Vietnam
Usually located near a river port or the border, collecting paddy from regional traders for Vietnamese buyers. They were well connected with the traders from Vietnam and knew which varieties to buy in what quantities
Summary
Though the rice sector has demonstrated rapid growth in Cambodia in the past decade, many studies show that there are significant issues in production and post-harvest operations to do with the cost of production, rice quality, storage capacity, the structure and performance of the milling sector, and the management of cross-border trade with Thailand and Vietnam (ACI and CamConsult 2006; ADBI 2008; Gergely et al 2010; RGC 2010; Sok et al 2011). Understanding the rice value chain may help to increase the benefits that accrue to smallholder producers. Of the main rice-producing provinces in Cambodia and increasingly engages in cross-border trade with Vietnam. The aim of this case study was to examine the production and marketing of rice in Takeo Province with a view to identifying ways to increase the benefits accruing to rice growers. The specific objectives were to (1) map the rice value chain (from producers downstream); (2) analyse costs and margins along the value chain; (3) examine relationships, governance, and flows of information along the value chain; and (4) identify policy options to improve the value chain. To map the rice value chain in Takeo Province, both qualitative and quantitative approaches were adopted, drawing on primary and secondary data (M4P 2008). For the value chain actors, information was collected in two more districts—Angkor Borei and Kiri Vong—and in Takeo town
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