Hundreds of locals and rice farmers in Takeo province blocked National Road 2 earlier this week with tractors and motorcycles, demanding government action on severe water shortages threatening their crops.
In response, Agriculture and Water Resources officials visited the farmers on Jan. 21, pledging water for 4,000 hectares of crops – double the initially commitment of 2,000 hectares.
The roadblock protest by Takeo farmers follows a similar one in Battambang last week, where paddy farmers blocked traffic to demand the government secure buyers for their harvested dry-season rice, deemed low-value for export by the Agriculture Ministry.
Officials blamed the water shortage in Takeo on over-cultivation of dry-season rice, a variety the government says is over-farmed nationwide, stressing strain on public canals under repair. While farmers welcomed recent aid, they pushed back, saying constant water shortages limit their ability to grow high-value rice and force them to rely on paddy fields due to a lack of alternative income.
Tai Samnang, a farmer in Chompey commune of Takeo, said his six hectares of rice are not completely lost yet but need timely irrigation to survive. He added that many of his neighbors’ crops in Bati district are already damaged by the shortage.
“If the ministries don’t help, my rice will be ruined. The price of rice has dropped, fertilizers are costly, and farming isn’t worth the effort,” Samnang said. “We rely on agriculture, so we need more help. If the ministry assists, we’ll be happy.”
Samnang also blamed the water scarcity partly on construction and water diversion for the development of Techo Takhmao International Airport.
In late 2023, many canals were dug for the airport, forcing farmers to accept compensation for their land, which they felt was insufficient.
Aside from concerns over diversion projects, Cambodian farmers have dealt with several droughts in the past 20 years. The 2023-2024 dry season, from November to April, left at least 1.1 million hectares of rice crops affected, with more than 30,500 hectares severely damaged, according to the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM).
CamboJA News repeatedly tried to contact Ministry of Agriculture spokespersons Khim Finan and Im Rachana for comment but received no response.
However, on his Facebook page, Finan said the water shortage in Bati district stems from over-irrigation of the Bati River and ongoing canal repairs.
In his post, Finan said the Water Resources Ministry will use fuel-powered pumps to draw water from the Bati River into the reservoir, aiming to replenish parched rice fields and ease farmers’ concerns. He added that local authorities and the ministry had warned only 2,000 hectares could be irrigated this season due to canal repairs, but farmers cultivated more than 4,000 hectares, triggering the shortage.
Phen Pros, a paddy farmer in Bati district who joined the roadblock, said he only heard rumors of a government advisory to limit dry-season rice production. Still, rice farming is his only income.
“I live near the lake, and farming is all I have,” he said. “If I don’t farm, there are no other jobs around, so I just keep farming.”
According to Pros, the irrigation shortage from the Bati River has persisted for more than a month.
NCDM VP Kim said after authorities mediated with the protesting farmers to reopen the highway, he visited irrigation systems and found one main canal dry, with no water for farmers.
The Bati River typically holds 7-8 million cubic meters of water, but due to the ongoing drought, it’s at about 40% of baseline levels, Kim said. Only around 1.5 million cubic meters are available for farmers.
Prime Minister Hun Manet recently emphasized prioritizing agriculture, boosting rice production and stabilizing market prices through building dams, canals and water storage – while maintaining that overfarming, particularly of drought-resilient varieties, is the root of the problem.
One farmer said that rice growers in Takeo are not heeding the Agriculture ministry’s advice to limit dry-season varieties, but that the lack of water has left them no choice.
“The main problem is the irrigation system and water supply. With enough water, we can grow any type of rice, not just water-efficient varieties,” the farmer said.
The irrigation systems in Bati district are set to be filled over the next seven days with water from the Bati River and possibly nearby sources, according to the NCDM.