General Information
· Main climate: Tropical Wet and Dry, Tropical Wet
· Total land area of 17 652 000 ha
· Internal renewable water resources: 88.1 km3
· Incoming water flow 410 km3
· GNP per capita, 1998: PPP$ 1 246.
· Main food consumption: Rice, Meat, Maize, Fruit, Roots and Tubers
· Rice supply, 1999: 247.6 kg paddy/capita/year
Basic Statistics
|
1985 |
1990 |
1995 |
2000 |
RICE |
|
|
|
|
Harvested area (T ha) |
1345 |
1740 |
1782 |
1873 |
Yield (kg/ha) |
1347 |
1436 |
1862 |
2008 |
Production (T t) |
1812 |
2500 |
3318 |
3762 |
Imports (T t) |
55 |
25.8 |
81 |
NA |
Exports (t) |
3935 |
0 |
0 |
NA |
OTHERS |
|
|
|
|
Population (M) |
7.38 |
8.65 |
9.98 |
NA |
Agr population (M) |
5.52 |
6.38 |
7.18 |
NA |
Irrigated agr area (T ha) |
180 |
240 |
270 |
NA |
Fertilizers cons (t) |
0 |
7800 |
9800 |
NA |
Agr tractors in use (units) |
1233 |
1200 |
1190 |
NA |
Producing Zones and Cropping Seasons
The following table shows the rice-harvested areas in different producing zones.
Production zone |
Harvested area (% total harvested area) |
Prey Vieng |
12.54 |
Takeo |
11.50 |
Kompong Cham |
10.17 |
Siem Reap |
9.36 |
Svay Rieng |
7.89 |
Battambang |
7.81 |
Kampot |
6.78 |
Kompong Thom |
6.00 |
Banreay Mean Chey |
5.24 |
Kandal |
4.90 |
Komp Channang |
4.41 |
Kompong Speu |
4.22 |
Pursat |
3.77 |
Kratie |
1.35 |
Ratana Kiri |
1.01 |
Prey Vihear |
0.95 |
Stung Treng |
0.77 |
Kompong Som |
0.56 |
Modul Kiri |
0.39 |
Koh Kong |
0.37 |
Rice can be planted throughout the year, but there are two main cropping seasons: the wet and dry season.
|
Planting |
Harvesting |
Main season |
6-7 |
11-1 |
Dry season |
11-1 |
4-5 |
Production Practices
Following figure shows the harvested area from different rice ecologies during the last five years.
Dry season irrigated rice and/or receding rice have increasingly replaced the area under deepwater. Approximately 40 percent of rice production areas in the wet season are occupied by medium varieties. A large number of farmers still plant several rice varieties in the same field in different small plots as a strategy to reduce risks and to distribute labour requirement in rice production. Wherever and whenever possible, other crops, especially vegetable ones, are planted after the harvest of the wet season rice crops. Only a very limited area is under rice-rice cropping system. Medium varieties, that are sensitive to photoperiod, flower between mid-October and mid-November in rainfed lowland ecosystems. There are many commercially important varieties in this group, especially aromatic and grain premium varieties. The late-duration varieties are of long duration and strongly photoperiod-sensitive and they flower only after mid-November. Dry season rice is mainly cultivated in the province of Takeo, Prey Veng, Kandal and Kampong Cham. At present, about 70 to 80 percent of the dry season cultivated areas are under high yielding varieties like IR 66, Kru and IR Kesar. More than 4,000 traditional rice varieties have been collected since 1990 by the CIAP. Since 1989, the Cambodian Varietal Recommendation Committee (CVRC) has released 34 varieties.
· Irrigated varieties
Variety Name |
Released period |
Growth duration (days) |
Chul'sa |
1995-99 |
110 |
IR 66 |
1990-94 |
114 |
IR 72 |
1990-94 |
120 |
IR KESAR |
1990-94 |
118 |
Kru |
1990-94 |
115 |
Rohat |
1995-99 |
117 |
Rumpe |
1995-99 |
111 |
Santeheap 1 |
1990-94 |
144 |
Santeheap 2 |
1990-94 |
143 |
Santeheap 3 |
1990-94 |
147 |
· Rainfed lowland varieties
Variety Name |
Released period |
Growth duration (days) |
CAR 1 |
1995-99 |
1-35-150 |
CAR 2 |
1995-99 |
1-35-150 |
CAR 3 |
1995-99 |
1-35-150 |
CAR 4 |
1995-99 |
Photoperiod |
CAR 5 |
1995-99 |
Photoperiod |
CAR 6 |
1995-99 |
Photoperiod |
CAR11 |
1995-99 |
Photoperiod |
CAR12 |
1995-99 |
Photoperiod |
CAR13 |
1995-99 |
Photoperiod |
CAR7 |
1995-99 |
Photoperiod |
CAR8 |
1995-99 |
Photoperiod |
CAR9 |
1995-99 |
Photoperiod |
Phka Rumchang |
1995-99 |
Photoperiod |
Phka Rumchek |
1995-99 |
Photoperiod |
Phka Rumduol |
1995-99 |
Photoperiod |
Phka Sla |
NA |
NA |
Popoul |
1995-99 |
140 |
Riangchey |
1995-99 |
1-35-150 |
Sarika |
1995-99 |
139 |
· Deepwater varieties
Variety Name |
Released period |
Growth duration (days) |
DON |
1990-94 |
Photoperiod |
Khao Tah Petch |
NA |
NA |
KTP |
1990-94 |
Photoperiod |
Tewarda |
NA |
NA |
· Upland varieties
Variety Name |
Released period |
Growth duration (days) |
Rimke |
1990-94 |
101 |
Sita |
1990-94 |
103 |
Land preparation is done either with animal traction or small tractors. The most predominant method of crop establishment is transplanting. Cow manure is generally applied at a rate of up to 25 t/ha at the time of seedbed preparation and a small amount of inorganic fertilizer (urea) can be applied later to the nursery. Late-duration varieties are generally transplanted more sparsely than the early and medium ones. Application of farmyard manure, compost or chemical fertilizer to the transplanted main fields is common in rainfed lowland rice. Farmers use a variety of methods for threshing rice, including hand threshing, floor-threshing and mechanical. The following table shows the responses of rice to fertilizer application.
Other information |
Test range (kg/ha) |
Control rate (kg/ha) |
Control yield (t/ha) |
Rate at Maximum yield (kg/ha) |
Maximum yield (t/ha) |
Nitrogen (N), Irrigated Rice |
|||||
Reported in 94, Kbal Po, wet season, variety IR66, with 80 P + 70 K + 40 S kg/ha |
0-120 |
0 |
3.7 |
80 |
4.1 |
Nitrogen (N), Rainfed Lowland Rice |
|||||
Reported in 94, Toul Lapao, wet season, variety IR66, with 80 P + 70 K + 40 S kg/ha |
0-120 |
0 |
1 |
120 |
2 |
Reported in 94, Kap Srau, wet season, variety IR66, with 80 P + 70 K + 40 S kg/ha |
0-120 |
0 |
1.6 |
60 |
2.4 |
Reported in 94, Toul Koktrap, wet season, variety IR66, with 80 P + 70 K + 40 S kg/ha |
0-120 |
0 |
0.7 |
100 |
2.7 |
Phosphorus (P2O5),Rainfed Lowland Rice |
|||||
Reported in 94, Toul Koktrap, wet season, variety IR66, with 100 N + 40 S kg/ha |
0-100 |
0 |
0.2 |
100 |
2.8 |
Constraints and Issues of Sustainable Production
Drought stresses and floods in large rice areas under rainfed conditions. The drought stress is more frequent during July and August, while the floods are more frequent in September and October.
Low soil fertility in sandy and acidic soils.
Weeds, stem borers, brown plant hopper, gallmidge, and bacterial leaf blight.
Rural poverty.
Lack of draught animal, inputs and credits are major socio-economic constraints.
Weak research and extension services.
Rice yield in the country is still low, suggesting large potential for increasing rice production through yield improvement. In order to attain this, appropriate national rice research and development programmes needs to be established to provide support to the development and transfer of high yielding varieties and improved crop management systems. The transfer of the Rice Integrated Crop Management system RICECHECK as well as the provision of adequate support in-terms of credit and inputs supplies are essential for increasing rice production.
The following table shows the costs of rice production.
Other information |
Yield (t/ha) |
Cost ($/ha) |
Cost ($/t) |
Wet season, Upper Location, rainfed lowland, 1988 |
2.1 |
75 |
35.7 |
Wet season, Mid. Location, rainfed lowland, 1988 |
1.8 |
73 |
40.5 |
Wet season, Lower Location, rainfed lowland, 1988 |
2.4 |
75 |
31.2 |
Wet season Med Deep |
2.2 |
49 |
22.2 |
Wet season |
1.92 |
80 |
41.6 |
Dry season |
2.72 |
97 |
35.6 |
Modern variety |
2.5 |
297 |
119 |
Traditional variety |
1.5 |
281 |
187 |
Research and Development Institutions
Agronomy Department, 14 Pokambo, 855 Phnom Penh, Cambodia;, Tel (017) 200353.
Cambodia-IRRI Australia Project, P.O. Box 1, Phnom Penh, Phone: (23) 64115, Fax: (855-18) 810796, Email: IN%[email protected]
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery, Phnom Penh; Phone: (855)-12-807-456 Fax (855)-23-720-657, Chief ASEAN Unit