Economy of the province of Battambang

Economy

In 2006, the economy of the province of Battambang made remarkable progress, especially in people’s living conditions and in infrastructure.

1. Economic performance
In the field of agriculture, the 2006 monsoon season saw good rainfall in early and mid-season, thus enabling the production of rice and subsidiary crops to exceed the earmarked plan by as much as 102.53 percent. The late season saw some drought, which destroyed some 246 hectares of rice crops.

1) The last rainy season saw, in particular, the cultivation of 244,014 hectares of rice, or 102.53% of the intended 238,000-hectare plan, and the destruction of 246 hectares, which was, in comparison, less than in the previous year.

In 2006, rice fields increased by 8,000 hectares in comparison to 2005 because farmers had more land, which came from the clearing of abandoned land and the land that had just been cleared of mines. By estimation, the average rice yielded 2.2 tons per hectare, with the total output standing at 536,830.80 tons. 2,000 hectares are planned for the upcoming dry season in 2007.

The total 244,014 hectares included 17,117 ha of floating rice, 112,834 ha of long-term rice (of which 8,042 ha was transplanted), 72,375 ha of medium-term rice (of which 8,934 ha was transplanted), 39,357 ha of short-term rice (of which 3,186 ha was transplanted), 3,511 ha of IR rice variety (of which 34 ha was transplanted), 3,479 ha of seasoning rice, and 2,331 ha of prodding rice.

2) In addition to rice, subsidiary crops were also planted on 98,342 hectares, or 138% of the 70,890-hectare plan. They included 42,018 ha of corn (98.38% of the planned amount) with red corn on 40,565 ha (100.78% of the planned amount), 18,020 ha of cassava (677.44% of the planned amount), 242 ha of sweat potatoes (32.70% of the planned amount) 1,273 ha of vegetables, (48.59% of the planned amount), of which 436 ha was chilly (87.20% of the planned amount), and 36,789 ha of beans (166.02% of the planned amount), including 36,760 ha of green beans(166.64 % of the planned amount).

3) There was a total of 50,178 ha of industrial crops (73.67% of the planned amount), including 4,589 ha of ground nut (72.38% of the planned amount), 38,917 ha of soybean (78.81% of the planned amount), 236 ha of jute (62.11% of the planned amount), 363 ha of sugarcane (71.18% of the planned amount), 190 ha of pineapple (95% of the planned amount), 5,830 ha of sesame (51.59% of the planned amount), 66 ha of saffron, 53 ha of oil palm, 3 ha of grapefruit, and 183 ha of rubber trees.

Based on the assessment of rice food balance during the second phase of 2007, by deducting from the amount reserved for consumption, seeds, animal food, and waste during harvest, there were about 300,000 tons left for sale.

Besides farming, livestock breeding, rice seed production, the production of animal fodder, etc… have also been practiced in order to contribute to improving farmers’ living standard in the province and to carrying out the strategies set down by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery, which are intended to help farmers shift from the culture of growing long-term rice varieties to using medium- and short-term varieties and practicing nature-based intensive rice farming. The agriculture department and the officials of the agronomy and agricultural land improvement office have reached out to help promote the practice of nature-based intensive rice farming among farmers by playing videos and CDs, and handing out leaflets and manuals about intensive rice farming, all of which were provided by Dr. Chan Sarun, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and fishery.

In addition, the agriculture department provided quality rice seed varieties like the Romduol and Senpidor strains for farmers to grow on their rice fields as a demonstration. In all, the rice strains were tested on 25 plots in their fields and each farmer received between 3 and 6 kilograms. The provincial investment project PIF has practiced intensive rice farming in particular on 27 experimental plots, which each yielded 18 kilograms of rice seeds.

Since last July, the provincial agriculture department has done experimental intensive rive farming with farmers in select communes and villages. In Battambang district, the practice was done in the communes of Wat Kor and O Mal on 0.58 ha; in four communes in Thmar Kol district: Ta Pon, Chrey, Boeung Preang and O Taki on 1.48 ha; in two communes of Banon district: Bai Donroam and Ta Kream on 0.32 ha; in two communes of Bo Vel district: Bovel and Khnach Romeas on 6 experimental plots of 2.56 ha; in three communes of Mong Russey district: Kea, Chrey and Maung on 29 experimental plots of 18 ha; in three communes of Sangke district: Ta Pon, Raing Kesey and Ro Kar on 4 experimental plots of 0.88 ha; and in two communes of Ek Phnom district: Peam Ek and Prek Norin on 2 experimental plots of 0.22 ha. In all, 52 experimental plots have been in practice in 20 communes of 7 districts with a total area of 2,304 (Die Zahl stimmt nicht, oder??) ha .

In order to make the dissemination campaign for the intensive rice farming techniques more effective, the practice is being carried out on the experimental plots of 2.5 hectares in the four centers to produce seeds using the Sen Pidor and Roduol strains for demonstration to local farmers and to other related stations.

Local people mainly practice family livestock breeding, while few operate animal breeding farms. Every year before the cultivation period, the veterinary office launches vaccination drives for the animals. As a result, few fatalities from contagious diseases have been recorded among animals, particularly in the districts, and in the province in general. Even though thousands of poultry died this year in some districts, bird flu is not the cause of those deaths. There has been an increase over past year in the number of cattle, pigs, and poultry.

The province has 12 fishing lots, of which 3 are on a family basis while the other 9 will have their contracts terminated in 2009. Commercial fishing totaled 7,010 tons, an increase of 1,810 tons, while family fishing totaled 1,800 tons, down by 1,800 tons. 990 tons of rice field fish were caught by local families. The province has 37 fishing communities, each with over 300 members.

During this monsoon season, some commercial fish species, such as snakeheads and snakehead murrels, were on the rise. This increase in stock is attributed to the fact that the Ministry of Agriculture imposed bans on catching young snakeheads and snakehead murrels from the wild to be raised by families. Last December, tiny fish, mainly intended for the production of fish paste, were seen along Sangke river. The makeup was 90% white fish and thousands of tons of river spats.

There has been an increase of fish stock over last year because the measures to crack down on illegal fishing during the close season were successful.