COSTLY FUEL, FERTILISER STRAIN CAMBODIAN FARMERS’ LIVELIHOODS AS WEST ASIA CONFLICT DRAGS ON

By Vijian Paramasivam

PHNOM PENH, April 1 (Bernama) -- Millions of Cambodian farmers are facing hardship as rising fuel and fertiliser costs are fuelling their production costs since the West Asia conflict began.

Prices of diesel, widely used in agricultural machinery, have peaked since the war erupted on February 28, weighing heavily on the Kingdom’s 1.8 million farmers.

“The current rising prices of fuel is really affecting the farming communities, especially smallholders. They are not profitable and need the government's intervention to ensure farming is profitable. 

“When the price of fuel is rising, the prices of inputs, fertiliser, (and) services including transportation also rises, and smallholders are not profitable,” Cambodian Farmer Federation Association of Agricultural Producers Chief Executive Sok Sotha told Bernama.

According to the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce’s announcement this week, prices of regular gasoline, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas increased by 41.5 per cent, 94.8 per cent and 95 per cent respectively since the start of the Iran war. 

A litre of regular gasoline is priced at 5,450 riel or RM5.48 from today, up nine per cent compared to 5, 000 riel or RM5.04 priced three days ago, said the ministry.

The agriculture sector propels the export-dependent Kingdom, and any fuel crisis could temper its growth.

According to the Census of Agriculture Cambodia 2023, released in May last year, 54.2 per cent of Cambodian households, within its 17 million population, were engaged in agriculture. 

Farmers mostly planted rice, followed by cassava, the second most popular crop. Almost 80 per cent of farming households use inorganic fertilisers.

The global energy crisis is impacting countries in the Mekong belt, including Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, all of which heavily depend on agricultural exports and also rely extensively on imported oil from West Asia.

Cambodian smallholders have become vulnerable to soaring fuel and fertiliser prices, as was the case when the Ukraine-Russia war began in 2022.

Cambodia is in a precarious situation, with its borders along Thailand having been closed since last July after a protracted military confrontation over territorial claims between the two nations.  

Oil imports have halted, and hundreds of petrol kiosks have ceased operations due to fuel shortage. 

“Both fuel and fertiliser prices have almost doubled compared to before the global conflicts, especially the Middle East war. Most farmers use diesel for agricultural machines, and are followed by gasoline for non-agricultural activities.

“We wish for the international development partners and the private sector to work directly with farmers' organisations to strengthen collective businesses in the farming communities to be resilient to the challenges,” said Sotha.

As Cambodia’s farmers gear up to plant monsoon paddy starting in May, they face a daunting set of challenges. The scorching summer heat is forecast to cross 40 degrees Celsius in April. 

With Chol Chnam Thmey or the Khmer New Year celebrations in mid-April, many farmers could face mounting financial stress.

-- BERNAMA