His Excellency Chhay Than, Senior Minister, Ministry of Planning hands over the printed copy of CAS 2020 to Her Excellency Hang Lina, Director General of the National Institute of Statistics at the launching event of the report in Phnom Penh.

Phnom Penh, 22 September 2022 – On the 22^nd of September 2022, the National Institute of Statistics (NIS) of the Ministry of Planning (MoP), in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), and with technical support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), under the scope of the 50x2030 Initiative to Close the Agricultural Data Gap organized the Cambodia Agriculture Survey 2020 (CAS 2020) Report Release Workshop. The CAS 2020 is the follow up to the Cambodia Inter-Censual Agricultural survey 2019 (CIAS 2019). The 50x2030 is a multi-donor initiative implemented through a unique partnership between the World Bank, FAO and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), with the aim to build national statistical capacity and to establish an efficient and durable national agricultural data collection system.

The CAS 2020 collected information on crop cultivation, livestock and poultry raising, aquaculture and capture fishing, experience food insecurity, COVID-19 impact on agriculture, and more. The survey relied upon the 2019 CIAS sampling frame to collect data from approximately 15,000 household and juridical (non-household) agricultural holdings. Data collection was conducted between December 2020 and January 2021 by a total of 429 staff from the Provincial Departments of Planning and Provincial Departments of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

The CAS 2020 estimated that there was a total of 2,038,000 household agricultural holdings in Cambodia, or approximately 57 percent of all households in the country (3,553,021 households as per the General Population Census of Cambodia 2019). Crop activity was reported on 94 percent of all household agricultural holdings in Cambodia while 82 percent of all household agricultural holdings reported raising livestock, poultry, or insects. An estimated 27 percent of household agricultural holdings were involved in capture fishing activity and 6 percent involved in aquaculture. The survey assessed that agricultural income contributed a smaller proportion of total household income than the previous year to 34 percent of the agricultural households. Household agricultural holders were also asked to estimate the share of their total household income that was accounted for by their agricultural income: an estimated 31 percent of holders reported that about half of their total household income was accounted for by agricultural income, 16 percent reported that most or almost all of their total household income was accounted for by agricultural income, and only 4 percent reported that all of their total household income was accounted for by agricultural income.

Data related to experiences with food insecurity was collected in CAS 2020. In total it is estimated that 24.7 percent of agricultural households were experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity of which 3.6 percent were severe. The percent of households with moderate or severe food insecurity was higher among female-led households with 28.7 percent compared to 23.1 percent of male-led households.

Potential insights into the impact of the COVID-19

CAS 2020 data was collected at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey, in conjunction with its past CIAS 2019 and its future CAS editions in 2021 and 2022, will be used to provide a full assessment of the pandemic’s impact on the agricultural sector and its ability to recover from it. The survey will also continue to provide value data when tracking the effects of future economic shocks, for instance, the effects of the inflation crisis currently being experienced.

Ms Rebekah Bell, FAO Representative in Cambodia emphasized that, “The unprecedented rise in prices of food, feed, fuel, fertilizer and low finances (5F) are worsening the lives of Cambodians. Increased prices and reduced access to food is affecting the quality of and affordability of a healthy diet. The CAS 2020 helps to close the agricultural data gap and will contribute to effective planning, financing, and implementing of agricultural development strategies in reaction to these changes.”

High quality data, freely accessible

The 50x2030 Initiative aims to fill the agricultural data gap in 50 low and lower-middle income countries by the year 2030, and to inform their agriculture-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Cambodia was the first country to join the Initiative in Asia. One of the cornerstones of the 50x2030 initiative is to provide data free of charge so that research institutions, policy makers and development partners can use up to date and high-quality data to make accurate and informed decisions.

The CAS 2020 data is to be freely available to access via two portals. The first is to view and download the tabulated data through Cambodia’s National Indicator Reporting Platform (CAMSTAT – accessible at http://camstat.nis.gov.kh/) and the second is to view and download the full anonymized microdata and associated metadata via Cambodia’s microdata catalogue (NADA – accessible at http://nada.nis.gov.kh/index.php/home).

Promoting the use of data for better national policy making, programme (re)designing and investment decisions

The 50x2030 Initiative is also fostering applied use of the data for decision-making purposes. Sara Savastano, Director of IFAD’s Research and Impact Assessment Division, which includes strategic oversight of the50x2030Data Use Componentexplains “it is important to generate practical research that covers and informs national policymaking, program design and investment decisions. The project is committed to supporting evidence-based decision making. With these research grants, we encourage Cambodian researchers, students and academics to play a value-added role towards achieving the objectives for the agriculture sector under Cambodia’s Vision 2030.”

As the CAS develops over the coming years, uses for the data will expand and can be used in junction with other research, for example, the Cambodian Agriculture Census 2023. Mr Mak Mony, Director of Department, Planning and Statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries commented on how these different data sets can combine to enhance planning and policy at both the national and sub-national levels “Agriculture faces challenges and uncertainty due to events such as climate change and global market movements. The Cambodian government is committed to supporting the modernization of the agricultural sector to reduce the impact of such events. The information products generated from the combination of data sources available is vital to achieving these aims.”

For more information, please contact:

1. H.E. Nor Vanndy, Director of Economic Statistics Department, NIS.

Tel: 095 855 285, Email: [email protected]

1. Mr. Mak Mony, Director of the Department of Planning and Statistics, MAFF.

Tel: 077 512 871, Email: [email protected]

1. Ms. Tet Chann, Communication Officer, FAO Representation in Cambodia.

Tel: 011 276 775, Email: [email protected]