Cambodia's massive rural workforce and tracts of underused farming land, means the Kingdom is ripe for an agricultural renaissance. But farmers are deserting their fields in droves for the bright lights of the city.
The World Bank has been one of Cambodia's most important development partners, working in areas including healthcare, land rights, and provides valuable analysis and advice. Paavo Eliste, Senior Economist for Social, Environmental and Rural Sustainable Development of the World Bank Cambodia, met Economics Today's An Sithav to discuss the current state of Cambodia's agriculture and what can be done to develop it.
Cambodia hopes agriculture can provide a sustainable source of growth following the drama of the Great Recession. Big business is already off to a good start, but agribusiness small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face a hard slog.
Cambodia's great potential in oil palm cultivation is finally being realized. So far only Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand have significant plantations, leaving the way open for other tropical countries to begin production of palm oil, much in demand for a variety of consumer goods and foodstuffs.
A lynchpin of the Cambodian economy before the global economic crisis, the garment industry has since faltered, with experts taking differing views on the sector's long term prospects. The 'How Competitive is the Cambodian Garment Industry?' seminar held Aug 5 sought to compare Cambodia's garment industry with its Bangladeshi and Kenyan counterparts.
More competition in the Cambodian printing industry has seen a dramatic improvement in the quality of printing available to advertisers, magazines and newspapers. But better technology and lower profits may soon see many smaller firms go to the wall.
Healthcare has been one of the hardest services to deliver in Cambodia. Now plans are afoot to overhaul the ailing healthcare system. Health services in Cambodia are starkly divided into public and private providers. Given Cambodia's stubborn poverty and least developed country status, the public sector unsurprisingly dominates, especially in rural areas.
Cambodia's first car plant is 90 percent complete with vehicle-assembly equipment due to be installed in late August. The Hyundai plant in Koh Kong province, which covers 16 ha, will assemble cars and vans for sale in Cambodia. The first vehicles should roll off the assembly line in September.
Despite efforts to tackle the scourge of human trafficking, poverty, low levels of education and patchy legal enforcement remain challenges in Cambodia. The NGO Joint Statistics Database Report on Trafficking and Rape in Cambodia 2009 documents the problem. The report found 109 sex trafficking victims, compared to 73 in 2008, reflecting an increase of 49 percent. Most of the victims were women.
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