Speech
Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen Prime Minister of the Kingdom of
Cambodia at the Closing of the 2014-2015 Stocktaking and 2015-2016 Directions Setting
Conference of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Excellencies,
ladies and gentlemen, Distinguished National and International Guests,
Farmer
representatives, Professors, students, all participants!
Today,
it is my great pleasure to preside over the “2014-2015 Stocktaking and
2015-2016 Direction Setting Conference” organized by Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries”. At the outset, I wish to extend my warm welcome to
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished National and International
Guests, Professors, Students and farmer representatives, participating in this
meaningful conference.
Taking
this opportunity, I would like to express my high appreciation to the
management and all levels of civil servants of the Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries, relevant ministries/institutions, sub-national
authorities, who were striving to carry out your duties with great sense of
responsibility and made a lot of achievements in agriculture sector in 2014.
The two-day stocktaking conference did not only provide a chance to discuss,
share ideas and provide new inputs on the works, use opportunities to learn
experiences and raise challenges, but also had given an opportunity to review
and evaluate the achievements that we made in previous year as well as set
prioritized activities toward rapid and sustainable development of agriculture
sector.
In
fact, the tasks that we are undertaking will contribute to vision of Royal
Government of Cambodia in integrating into ASEAN Economic Community in 2015
which focuses on four priority sectors: (1). human resource development to
improve the competitiveness of our labor forces in a more open regional labor
market, (2). further investment in transport infrastructures, (3). Further development
and enhance of value added in the agriculture sector and (4). Further strengthening
the governance and institution capacity aimed to enhance the efficiency of
public services and improve investment climate.
At
the same time, this conference has also highlighted the achievements which are
critical indicators for evaluating the performance of the agriculture sector
that is specified as one of priority areas in the Rectangular Strategy- Phase
III and National Strategic Development Plan 2014-2018. The agriculture sector
has been considered to play important role in fostering growth, reducing
poverty and contributing to socio-economic development. In short, agriculture
is still largely contributed to Cambodia’s economy and will continue to play a
fundamental role as important driving force of economic growth and social
development over the next decade in spite of Cambodia’s economic
diversification. In this spirit, Cambodia must further pay high attention to this
sector without any doubt.
It
is worth to note that under the Win-Win strategies during the 1990s, Cambodia
can achieve not only national unity, national sovereignty, territory integrity
and full of peace, but also high and sustainable economic growth average
economic growth rate of 7.7% per annum. Following the growth of 7.2% in 2014,
Cambodia’s economy is projected to grow not less than 7% in 2015 and in the
medium term. However, we must be vigilant to ensure that our agriculture sector
is still robust and resilient to external shock by making its growth of between
3% and 5% per annum.
In
this context, a number of policy measures have to put in place in order to
improve productivity, diversification and commercialization. In particular, the
implementation of “Policy to Promote Paddy Production and Rice Export” has
remarkably developed rice sector.
According
to the report raised by H.E. Mr.Ouk Rabun, Minister of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries, even though our country experienced the natural
disasters such as prolonged flood and drought occurred in early season and in
the middle of the season of 2014, the agriculture sector still grew remarkably.
The total rice production reached 9.32 million tons with paddy surplus of 4.7 million
tons, equivalent to 3 million tons of milled rice. This is a great success for
Cambodia.
This
evidence reflected the great effort of Royal Government to promote agricultural
production, restoration of land affected by natural disaster, improve physical
infrastructure and irrigation system, ownership of farmers over their farming,
organize agricultural community, improve farming and adopt high yielding seeds
and so on. With the great efforts we have achieved the desired result by
raising the quality of Cambodian rice over the last couple years, especially Phkar
Romdoul milled rice has been recognized by international market and
received an award as the World’s Best Rice three years in a row between 2012
and 2014.
Taking
this opportunity, I would like to highly appreciate the Cambodian Agricultural
Research and Development Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries for just releasing two new rice varieties named Phkar Romdoul Praing
and Kha 14 for farmers to grow it in addition to the Damnoeb Sbai Mongkul,
which was issued in 2014. Recently, I have noticed that the Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries has worked very hard in order to increase agricultural
production for all types of crops, especially, the cultivation strategic crops,
such as rubber and other agro-industrial crops, namely maize, cassava, pepper,
soy bean, green bean, peanut, sugar cane and so on. As a result, the production
of the main crops has been remarkably increased.
We
are well aware that in the context of growing demand for foods and increasing
population in the world, agriculture sector will play critical role in
sustaining Cambodia’s economic growth. In this spirit, we have to take this
opportunity to develop agriculture sector for all sub-sectors, especially to
transform Cambodia to become the emerging exported agriculture country in the
world. To achieve this objective, we have to improve productivity, diversify
agricultural products and promote the commercialization of agricultural products,
which is key priority for further developing our agriculture sector. In the
spirit and as a contribution to what we have been doing to promote the development
of agriculture sector, I wish to share with the management and every civil
servants of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries a number of
recommendations as follows:
First,
our farmers have recently changed their traditional farming practices by
intensifying agricultural production through the use of machinery and new
technique that is required a lot of investment and labor hiring, but its yields
remain relatively low, despite its production has been gradually increased.
Therefore, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and all farmers nationwide
have to find out new ways to increase more yields and reduce production cost as
much as possible. By doing so, we are able to increase production yield, in
particular paddy rice, so that it can increase farmers’ income as well.
Second, on
the implementation of the Policy on Promotion of Paddy Production and Export of
Milled Rice, I have noticed that although we achieved more than 4 million tons
of paddy rice or equivalent to more than three million tons of milled rice, we
were able to export milled rice even less than 400 thousand tons in 2014.
However, if we compare the first two months of milled rice export between 2014
and 2015, the milled rice exports increase by more than 50% in 2015.
Therefore,
we have to further make the great efforts to implement this policy, aimed to
achieve a target of milled rice export of at least one million ton as we have
exported our milled rice to the foreign market of more than 60 countries. Thus,
I strongly believe that all ministries/organization and all relevant actors,
including private sector and development partners, in particular Cambodian farmers
nationwide have actively contributed in implementing this ambitious mission. At
the same time, we have to diversify seasonal crops and industrial crop with
more focus on quality and sustainable quantity of the crops to improve daily
livelihood of our people and proactively respond to foreign market requirement.
Third, we
have to strengthen the competitive advantage in agriculture sector in order to
penetrate in new regional and global market through strictly adhering to the
principle of good agriculture practices, ensuring quality and safety standard
of agriculture products as well as organic products and through linking it with
quality control measures and certification. In this regard, we have to put measures
in place to strengthen sanitary and phytosanitary mechanism at key
international checkpoints in order to prevent infected disease on animal, crops
and other pesticide as well as import of low quality products as we have a free
flow of goods in ASEAN economic community at the end of 2015.
Fourth,
taking this opportunity, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries for working closely with the
People Republic of China in implementing the agreement on sanitary and
phytosanitary for milled rice, cassava and maize. Next, we have to promote all
types of agricultural products that Cambodia has more potential for exporting
those products.
Fifth, we
shall strengthen the mechanism for organizing, forming and managing all forms
of farmer cooperatives to be consistent with the law on agricultural
cooperative, particularly, transforming those cooperatives to small farmer
alliance who can produce high quality and reliable quantity products, enabling
us to participate in regional and global supply chain of agriculture products, especially
participate directly in promoting agriculture production in foreign market.
Sixth, we
shall explore and strengthen practical measures and mechanism on contract
farming to transform this mechanism to become policy tool for linking farmers
with markets or product processing, in particular in the context of
agricultural production system small scale.
Seven, on
Rubber sector, I have given my strong focus and observed that over the last
couple years, the trend of rubber price has decreased significantly. The price
of rubber reached its peak of 5,700 USD/ton in February 2011 and now dropped to
1,500 USD/ton. As a consequence, it has negatively impacted on rubber farmers’
livelihood and income of the rubber plantation companies as well. In this
sense, we shall closely cooperate with and participate actively in the
Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries established by the Government
of the 11 countries including Cambodia to explore measures for Rubber price to
increase with sustainability. In this regards, Cambodia will be the director of
Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries for two years from 2015-2016
and Cambodia will be the host in organizing the Meetings, Congresses and Rubber
Conferences of the Association, this is the privilege for Cambodia to
successfully accomplish this
role
and mission and to raise up Cambodia’s reputation. At the same time, we shall
review the responsibility and measures of the International Council of
Trilateral Rubber, which was established by Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia
since 12 December 2001 which have invited Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam
to solve Rubber Price issue, the encouragement of domestic Rubber consumption
and the establishment of regional rubber market to strengthen the power in
negotiation with Rubber purchasers.
Eight,
we shall push for and encourage the investment of animal
domestication in family and farm context effectively focusing on animal
supplying and enough animal’s meat supply in domestic market and serves the
export. In this goal, we shall accomplish main tasks such as (1) Encourage
the vaccine production, animal food production by using existing raw material
in the country (2) increase capacity in protecting and preventing of
contagious disease of animals, contagious disease from animal to human and from
human to animal effectively through all the pictures (3) strengthening
the review of animal hygiene and the products made from animal, animal food,
and medicines (4) cooperatively restricting more action in animal
mobility and product made from illegal animal.
Ninth, we
shall continue to demarcate conservation zone and artisanal fishing zone by
cooperating with relevant ministries/institutions and sub-national authorities.
In that, we shall pay attention to encouraging development of aquaculture in
all sorts such as fresh water fish farming and sea water fish farming
especially fish farming in ponds and in rice field based actual condition.
Moreover, we shall encourage the establishment and the strengthening of Pond
Fish Habitat Community throughout the nation because this is the means with
less expense and can cause abundance of fish.
Tenth,Forestry
Administration and the Fisheries Administration shall cooperate with unified commander
city-province in preventing and eradicating crimes on forestry, wild life
animal, and fishery effectively with the high vigilante on conservation tasks
and develop with sustainability.
Eleventh: year
2014 has another reform on forestry tasks and fishery that is to include both elements
into components of unified commander city-province. Therefore, sub-national
authorities shall strengthen the responsibility on all issues that arise in the
authority area of their own by leading research, preventing and eradicating
crimes of all sorts including crimes on forestry, wildlife animals, and fishery
as mentioned in Sub-decree No.156 dated 31 March 2014 on organizing and functioning
of Unified Commander administration city-province-district-khan.
I
strongly believe that Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, officials of all
ranks of the Ministry of agriculture, forestry, and fishery, related
institutions, sub-national authorities will continue to implement with high
attention and with effectiveness on all tasks. The new achievements that resulted
from mentioned goals in congress with the recommendations that I further added
do contribute to the development of society-national economy with
sustainability that push the goal of poverty reduction down to 1% per year as
well as other goals that have been addressed in the goals of Cambodia Century
Development and deep reforms on Agriculture sector to be ready for integration
in a wider level in regional and world context.
Once
again, I would like to thank the management, all officials of Ministry of
agriculture, forestry, and fishery, Ministries-institutions, land authorities,
army, private sectors, development partners, as well as national community and
international for their efforts in actively participating with high responsibility
in supporting and developing agriculture sector in Cambodia to achieve more new
success. In this occasion, I would like to congratulate the Ministry of
agriculture, forestry, and fishery, in organizing farmer congress throughout
the country every year in the purpose of selecting outstanding farmers
nationwide to adjust their knowledge to align with the change of technology in
present condition by directing the vision to the competition both quantity and
quality. This activity has demonstrated clearly of competing action of all
farmers in the country and draw closer lines between technology and the farmers
who receive the knowledge of technology they to put into practice to increase
productivity of production and to gradually promote better living standard.
Before
ending, I strongly believe that Excellencies, ladies and Gentlemen and the
whole congress will try mentally and physically to proactively implement the
key points that has been raised here and then share the information, knowledge
and experience that gained from this conference with colleagues to better
adjust and achieve better performance and new achievement as addressed in the Rectangular
Strategy–Phase III of the Royal Government of Cambodia to support and
ensure
National
Economic Growth, equality, food security, poverty reduction and push the
economic development in countryside in an sustainable way.
Finally,
together with the closing of 2014-2015 stock-taking and 2015-2016 direction
setting conference of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries” and
in the occasion of the coming Khmer New Year, the year of Goat, 2559 BE I would
like to wish Excellencies, ladies and Gentlemen, professors, and students,
farmer representatives, all compatriots and participants the four gems of Buddhist
blessing: Longevity, Nobility, Healthiness, and Strength./.