Rural Cambodian farmers have started to practice agroecology farming as part of a critical strategy for financial survival and climate resilience as modern agriculture farming input cost rises amid low harvests.
About 70 smallholder farmers, peasant, fisherfolk, and civil society representatives gathered last week at a forum on “Understanding Current Food System Crises, Their Implications on Local Food Systems, and the Responses of Local Communities and Peasant’s Movements”. It was co-organized by national and international non-profit organizations to analyze threats to local food security, amplifying smallholder voices, and explore a peasant-driven approach to rebuild ownership over local food systems and local economies.
Ros Sokunthy, co-director of Focus on the Global South, said that natural resource loss from large investment, land grabbing, logging and mining is damaging local food security. Relying heavily on chemical fertilizers and pesticides has affected human and animal health, degrading the soil quality and damaging the environment over time, she added.
She highlighted the heavy economic burden on rural populations, noting that unstable crop prices, a lack of technical support and worsening extreme weather, like flood and drought, are pushing small farmers into debt.
Farmer Hy Sokchan, who is the secretary of Anchanch Roung Samaythemy women agriculture cooperatives from Kampong Chhnang province, saw that smallholders are rapidly losing ownership over their food systems to large corporations that control supply chains and agricultural inputs.
To break free from this dependency and prevent chronic debt, she stressed that farmers must rebuild their own local resources.
“I haven’t seen any farmer who has made a profit or has improved their livelihood through [chemical] farming. A majority has fallen into debt because of these inputs [chemicals],” Sokchan, 45, said.
She recalled her parents having zero debt 30 years ago when they farmed once a year using traditional tools and managed to keep rice barns. But, farmers these days harvest three times a year with modern chemicals, yet end up with empty barns and heavy debt.
“Modern farming brings nothing except heavy debt and bad health,” she said.
If farmers cannot switch from modern chemical farming, their debt would only get worse, forcing many to give up farming altogether due to low yields. In addition, it discourages the next generation from farming, having seen their parents struggle without success.
To resolve this, Sokchan’s community has been working for more than a year now to regain control of food supply by sharing knowledge about eco-friendly or agroecology farming by growing crops without chemicals and using local materials instead of commercial supplies.
Women in the community lead local farming groups and run savings funds so families can lend money to each other for farm investments. They also store their own seeds, make their own natural fertilizers and remedies, and host an annual “Seed Festival” with neighboring communities to share, restore, and save local crop varieties for the future.
Switching to natural farming brings immediate relief by freeing smallholders from debt traps and forced sales.
“Previously, no matter how cheap the price of crops was, they were forced to sell. If they don’t sell, they won’t have money to repay [debts],” Sokchan said. “Now, if they don’t manage to sell their crops, such as vegetables, they will consume it or feed their pets.”
She noted that while wholesale crop prices remain unstable and do not offer a premium for chemical-free produce, lower input costs shield farmers against financial distress.
However, she is concerned about a surge in “sudden, unexplained illnesses in her community”, which she suspects is linked to weather conditions or environmental pollution.
Meanwhile, she contends that her community has not completely eliminated chemical use. But its use has dropped by half to 50%. Even with a partial transition, residents face far less anxiety over debt.
A farmer uses a tractor to plow his rice field in Kandal province on June 3, 2026. (Cambodia/Pring Samraeng)
An example to others
Om Samol, 42, a representative of the land-related impact in Pailin province, explained that modern farming systems trap smallholders because commercial seeds cannot be saved for the next season, forcing farmers into continuous reliance on company products.
“Loss of food sovereignty happens when farmers can no longer use their own seeds and are forced to buy commercial seeds and fertilizers,” she said. “These company inputs are very expensive, but when we sell our crops, market prices are extremely low.”
She added that companies and local authorities push farmers to buy expensive chemical supplies. Together with weather changes from forest loss, expensive legal battles over land rights, and a lack of state healthcare support for chemical-related illnesses, smallholders are left vulnerable to severe financial distress.
A farmer who practices agroecology farming, Nim Chheang, 72, said he decided to switch from modern farming to agroecology after seeing environmental damage in declining fish stock and flooded forest alongside severe debt among farmers in his community.
The representative of the Rangpen Bei Tor fishery community in Pursat shared that relying on chemical seeds, fertilizers and pesticides destroys the four basic elements of nature including water, soil, fire, air and biodiversity. It also harms their health and pushes farmers into deep debt, forcing them to sell their land and migrate for work.
Chheang turned his three-hectare farm into a mixed natural farmland, combining organic rice crop, vegetables, and livestock in order to resolve the problem. He made this into an example for his community, generating jobs, and promoting sustainable farming, starting by improving the health and finances of his own family of eight.
He noted that his farm inspired two neighboring families to switch to eco-friendly farming after they lost money, sold their homes and land, and fell into debt due to modern farming techniques.
Chheang noted that convincing the younger generation to drop modern chemical practices is an uphill battle because modern machinery and instant chemical inputs offer quick convenience. However, he stressed that this convenience comes at the cost of low-nutrient food and degraded health.
“Switching back to natural farming is extremely difficult and takes a long time,” Chheang said. “We must show farmers real examples proving that agroecology improves their health, finances, and environment […] Farmers don’t need to reject all modern technology, but they must discard practices that destroy the core elements of nature.”
Spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Khim Finan could not be reached for comment.
Approximately 70 participants, including farmers, peasants, fishers, and representatives of national and international civil society organizations, attended a discussion forum in Phnom Penh on August 21, 2026. (CamboJA/Phon Sothyroth)
‘Hungry for profit’
GRAIN Asia program senior researcher Afsar Jafri drew on key lessons from his home country India to highlight the urgency of resisting corporate farming models.
In India, where nearly 70% of the 1.4 billion residents rely on agriculture, 800 million smallholders who mostly are older generation (mostly women) produce two-thirds of the food consumed. “Most of the food which we all eat comes from small farmers, not from big corporations,” Jafri said.
But, despite their vital role, smallholders face constant displacement as corporations seize resources, water, seeds and forests as they are “hungry for profit”.
He added that the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), among other frameworks, is a law originating in Europe that privatizes seeds and grants total legal rights to corporate breeders while criminalizing traditional practices.
“UPOV basically does not allow farmers to save seeds, to exchange seeds, to share seeds, and reuse seeds,” Jafri warned. “If you do that, you will be taken to court and sentenced to prison.”
To break free from corporate dependencies, he urged the adoption of agroecology farming and food sovereignty which are the “most effective paths forward for smallholders”.
Unlike corporate agriculture, which relies on single-crop monocultures and genetically modified organisms (GMOs), agroecology encourages growing diverse crops. “This method respects mother earth, which is very important because in GMOs and corporate agriculture, mother earth has no meaning at all.”
Moreover, he added, agroecology explicitly recognizes women as legitimate farmers and protects their land rights, while building direct, transparent relationships between growers and local consumers.
In contrast, corporate farming reduces smallholders to mere buyers dependent on expensive inputs. “In agroecology, farmers have an identity. In corporate agriculture, farmers don’t have an identity. They are simply a user for the corporations.”
