CSAM

Policy Brief
Issue No.3, September 2014

Status and Prospect

of Agricultural Mechanization
in Cambodia
Chan Saruth, Department of Agricultural Engineering, Cambodia
Lor Lytour, Royal University of Agriculture, Cambodia
Chao Sinh, Department of Agricultural Engineering, Cambodia
 Status and Prospect of Agricultural Mechanization in Cambodia
CSAM Policy Brief, September 2014

Status and Prospect

of Agricultural Mechanization
in Cambodia
Chan Saruth* Lord Lytour** Chao Sinh*
Director Vice Dean Deputy Chief of Office
* Department of Agricultural Engineering, GDA/MAFF, No 63, Hanoi Blvd, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
** Graduate School, Royal University of Agriculture, Khan Dangkor, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Introduction

Cambodia is a country which occupies the southern part of Indochina and borders with Thailand
to the north and west, Lao PDR to the northeast, and Vietnam to the east and southeast and it has a
443-kilometer (275 mi) coastline along the Gulf of Thailand, see Figure 1. The country has a land
area of 181,035 square kilometers (69,898 sq mi) of which nearly 20 percent is under agriculture.
It lies entirely within the tropics, between latitudes 10° and 15°N, and longitudes 102° and 108°E.

Figure 1: Map of Cambodia

The country’s central plain, which comprises 75% of the total land area, is 10 to 30 meters above
sea level. The plain area is drained by the Mekong, Tonle Sap Lake, and Basac Rivers through the
Mekong Delta in Southern Vietnam. Other areas of the country are heavily forested, with
mountainous area forming the border with Thailand and encircling Cambodia’s central plains. To
the north, the sandstone Dangrek Range extends eastward along the Thai border, falling abruptly
southward to the plain. It mainly comprises of 25 provinces and the southwest provinces are the
granite Cardamom Mountains, with the highest peak at 1,813 meters. The lowland area around
Tonle Sap great lake has the largest potential for agricultural and fisheries production.

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 Status and Prospect of Agricultural Mechanization in Cambodia
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Agricultural Production in Cambodia

Cambodian farming systems are largely subsistence-oriented and are dependent on rain-fed
conditions, thereby excessively exposing producers to production uncertainties. Most agricultural
activities are based on low inputs and rain-fed production systems centered on paddy rice
production.

Cambodia grows a range of agricultural crops over a cultivated area of 4,505,267 ha out of its total
land area (181,035 km2) (Table 1). Paddy, which is the main crop, occupies about 68% of the
cultivated area, followed by subsidiary and industrial crops 21%, rubber plantation 7%, and
permanent crops 4%.

Table 1: The cultivated area in Cambodia in 2013

Crops Cultivated Remarks
area (ha)
Rice crop 3,052,420 Wet & dry seasons, receding, floating
Subsidiary and 941,028 Maize, cassava, sweet potatoes, vegetables, all kinds of bean,
industrial crops sesame, sugar cane, tobacco etc.
Permanent crops 183,048 Cashew, banana, oil palm, coconut, mangoes, coffee, durian,
pepper, orange, and other fruit etc.
Rubber plantation 328,771
Total 4,505,267

Source: MAFF, 2014

The share of agricultural sector in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the last four years
remained fairly constant (Figure 2). Its contribution was about 33% on average, while industry and
services were about 23% and 38% respectively. The increase or decrease of the contribution of
agriculture sector was dependent on the other two sectors.

Figure 2: Share of agricultural sector in GDP from 2010 to 2013, excluding tax (MAFF, 2014)

The growth rate for agricultural production was only about 3.6% in 2001 but almost quadrupled in
2005 (15.7%) (in the favor of climate conditions, especially good distribution of rain and less
damages caused by insects). The growth was reported at about 5.5% in 2006 and 5.7% in 2008.
However, the growth of this sector had declined from 4% in 2010 to about 3% in 2011 due to the
influence of serious floods and droughts occurred in some production areas. It is noted that worse

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 Status and Prospect of Agricultural Mechanization in Cambodia
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climate conditions occurred in 2000, 2002 and 2004 including floods, droughts as well as insect
outbreaks which resulted in negative growth of agriculture sector.

In 2013, the shares of agricultural sub-sectors contributed to the whole agriculture industry are
54% crop production, 26% fisheries, 14% livestock and 5% forestry and logging (Figure 3). Over
the last 5 years (2008-2013), rice has been a main and important food crop for generating rural
farmers’ incomes. The second important sub-sector is fisheries (25-27%) and the third is livestock
production (12.8-15.6%). However, the forestry contribution had started to slightly decrease in
2011.

Figure 3: Share of Agricultural Sub-sectors from 2008 to 2013 (MAFF, 2014)

Although there were increases in both productions and yields, the share of labor force in
agriculture had decreased from 66% in 2009 to 62% in 2011 (Figure 4). This decline was likely
caused by farmers’ migration to work in the cities, urban areas, or abroad such as Thailand,
Malaysia, and South Korea.

Figure 4: Share of labor force in Agriculture in 2009 and 2011 (MAFF 2014)

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 Status and Prospect of Agricultural Mechanization in Cambodia
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Rice Production

Rice remains the main crop for rural livelihoods in Cambodia. The cultivated area, the harvested
area, and production of rice for the last 10 years have been gradually increasing (Figure 5). The
achievement thanked for the support from the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC), concerned
public institutions, and local authorities, especially the RGC’s policy on the promotion of paddy
production and rice export, which saw the progress of management and cropping techniques.
Farmers have been better educated and guided, and they have adopted the new knowledge and
techniques regarding production and post-harvest management.

Figure 5: Trend of rice cultivated and harvested areas from 2004 to 2013 (MAFF, 2014)

In 2013, majority of farmers had adopted the introduced techniques for medium rice varieties
(Figure 6). Their total cultivated areas accounted for 48% compared to only 26% for early
varieties, 22% late varieties, 2% upland rice and 2% floating rice.

Figure 6: Rice cultivation by type in 2013 (MAFF, 2014)

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 Status and Prospect of Agricultural Mechanization in Cambodia
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The statistic of rice production in Cambodia from 2004 to 2013 is shown in Table 2. Overall, the
increase in production correlated with the expansion of cultivated areas and increased yields.

In 2013, rice production was favorable with good climatic conditions, except droughts and floods
occurred in some producing areas that affected the production. The total rice cultivated areas
reached more than 3 million hectares of which 2.97 million hectares were harvested with the
average yield of 3.163 t/ha, and 0.38 million hectares were damaged by floods, droughts and
insects, including 0.13 million ha were completely damaged. However, about 50,000 ha were
recovered. The total rice production obtained was 9.39 million tons with the surplus of around
3.09 million tons milled rice (about 4.83 million tons paddy).

Table 2: Rice production in Cambodia from 2004 to 2013

Year Cultivated Harvested Yield Production Rice Surplus Paddy
areas (ha) areas (ha) (t/ha) (t) (t) Surplus (t)
2004 2,374,175 2,109,050 1.977 4,170,284 416,118 650,184
2005 2,443,530 2,414,455 2.479 5,986,179 1,319,571 2,061,830
2006 2,541,433 2,516,415 2.489 6,264,123 1,433,880 2,240,438
2007 2,585,905 2,566,952 2.621 6,727,127 1,649,640 2,577,562
2008 2,615,741 2,613,363 2.746 7,175,473 2,025,033 3,164,114
2009 2,719,080 2,674,603 2.836 7,585,870 2,244,598 3,507,185
2010 2,795,892 2,777,323 2.970 8,249,452 2,516,752 3,932,425
2011 2,968,529 2,766,617 3.173 8,779,365 2,780,328 4,344,263
2012 3,007,545 2,980,297 3.117 9,290,940 3,031,017 4,735,964
2013 3,052,420 2,968,967 3.163 9,389,961 3,090,452 4,828,832

Source: MAFF, 2014

The RGC defined the year 2015 as the target year to promote rice production and to reach the
paddy surplus of more than 4 million tons, and the target had already reached in 2013 with the
paddy surplus of 4.8 million tons. This is considered as a great result for Cambodia in rice
production. It was also celebrated with the global recognition of the Pkar Romdoul variety as good
quality rice in 2012 and 2013.

The annual rice production for both wet and dry seasons during the last 10 year period, 2004-2013,
is shown in Figure 7. The trend was considerably increasing. The gradual increase was in part
resulted from an attempt to recover damaged areas, and the efforts made by the farmers with better
and know-how knowledge on planting, farm management, changing of farming techniques,
especially the application of new and high-yield seed varieties.

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 Status and Prospect of Agricultural Mechanization in Cambodia
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Figure 7: The production of wet and dry season rice from 2004 to 2013 (MAFF, 2014)

In 2013, the wet season rice production contributed more than 84% of the total rice production.
Cambodia was affected by floods and droughts, which spread out in 19 provinces of the country.
These floods and droughts decreased the harvested areas but the rice production remained
considerably increasing. As shown in the Table 3, the total cultivated area of wet season rice
reached about 2.6 million ha with an average yield of about 3 t/ha, and the total production was
about 7.4 million tons. The cultivated areas of the dry season rice 2013-2014 were 0.5 million ha
with an average yield of 4.4 t/ha and the total production was 2.12 million tons.

Table 3: Total rice production in 2013

Items Unit Wet Season Dry Season Total
Planned Area ha 2,399,837 383,630 2,783,467
Cultivated Area ha 2,567,723 484,697 3,052,420
Damaged Area ha 128,360 1,581 129,941
Recovered Area ha 46,157 330 46,487
Harvested Area ha 2,485,521 483,446 2,968,967
Average Yield t/ha 2.925 4.383 3.163
Production t/ha 7,371,251 2,118,710 9,389,961

Source: MAFF, 2014

Status of Farm Mechanization

In Cambodia, the characteristics of the use of agricultural machinery depend mainly on farm size,
crop types and terrain.

Power tillers are used throughout the country by farmers with small land holding size. Large
tractors are preferred by owners of larger land size, and rubber, cassava and sugar cane plantations,
and other concessional lands granted by the government.

The northwestern region (Pailin, Battambang, Banteay Meanchey) is characterized by large land
size per household. There, large tractors and combine harvesters are used.

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 Status and Prospect of Agricultural Mechanization in Cambodia
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In northwestern region as well as upland region, large tractors with power more than 50 HP are
preferred, of which the majority are MTZ tractors from Belarus; Kubota and Yanmar assembled in
Thailand; Mahindra and John Deere from India; and Foton from China. Power tillers are imported
from Thailand, China, or Japanese brand assembled in Thailand; their powers range from 12 to 15
HP.

In provinces around Tonle Sap Lake, low-lift engine pump is used to irrigate rice fields. Power
tiller is used to drive this pump. In southern provinces such as Takeo, Kandal and Prey Veng,
where ground water is sufficient for irrigation in dry season, centrifugal pump is used.

The number of farm machinery has been increasing widely since 1990s especially in land
preparation, irrigation, threshing and recently harvesting. The numbers of tractors increased
repeatedly at the rate of 145% during the last 10 years (3,857 units in 2004 and 9,467units in 2013)
(Figure 8). The provinces around Tonle Sap Lake and dry season rice areas in the south have
higher growing rate. The number of power tillers significantly increased at the rate of 648%
during the last 10 years (20,279 units in 2004 and 151,701units in 2013).

Similarly, the increased rate of threshers in the same period was 182%. Water pumps were also
widely used in irrigated areas around Tonle Sap Lake and dry season rice in the south (140%
increases). For the last 4 years, combine harvesters were introduced with a growth rate of 384%
(947units in 2010 and 4,580units in 2013).

Figure 8: The number of agricultural machinery in Cambodia from 2004 to 2013 (DAEng, 2014)

For rice cultivation, the operations such as transplanting, fertilizing, etc. are still done manually
because they are complicated to be mechanized and because of their availability in local market
and prices are still issues. Recently, government agencies have introduced direct seeding machines in
order to improve the efficiency of sowing. Rice transplanter has also introduced recently. However,
its adoption is still not clear since majority of rice fields are rain-fed ones which are difficult to
manage water, and the land is not leveled. The current status of farm mechanization level for rice

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 Status and Prospect of Agricultural Mechanization in Cambodia
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cultivation is presented in Table 4. Manual works account for 48.6%, agricultural machinery
44.6%, and animal power 6.8% respectively.

Table 4: Mechanization level of rice cultivation

Items Manual (%) Animal Power (%) Agri. Machinery (%)
Land preparation 0 27 73
Broadcasting and transplanting 99.9 0 0.01
Weeding 90 0 10
Fertilizing 100 0 0
Spraying 70 0 30
Harvesting 30 0 70
Threshing 1 1 98
Transportation 0 40 60
Drying 95 0 5
Milling 0 0 100
Average 48.6 6.8 44.6

Source: DAEng, 2014

Manufacturing, Marketing and After-Sale Service

Although the use of agricultural machinery increased in Cambodia, but it doesn’t have large and
medium scale agricultural machinery manufacturers. Only one private company, Mekong
Agricultural Tractor., Ltd, has joint venture with Minsk Motor Work, Belarusian Tractor
Company, to build a tractor assembly plant in Cambodia since 2013.

In addition, most of agricultural machineries are imported from abroad and only simple
agricultural machineries and equipment are produced by local manufacturers.

In general, the manufacturers located in urban areas or provincial towns where their products are
commonly used such as Battambang and Banteay Meanchey in the north-western part; Kampong
Cham, Kampong Thom and provinces around Tole Sap lake region; Prey Veng and Svay Rieng in
the east; Takeo and Kampot in the south; and the capital Phnom Penh. They are small-scale or
family-owned with a few workers, and operate seasonally and on the demand of local market.
They mainly produce threshers, water pumps, assembled trucks for transportation, trailers,
implements and spare parts. However, they also produce other machinery and equipment for
transportation, small enterprises, and handicraft to diversify their businesses, and to ensure full
year operation and to reduce bankruptcy.

As a common practice, the importers provide marketing support and technical training to their
distributors. They promote their products on TV, radios, posters, booklets, etc. and provide
technical training courses to the staff of distributors.

The distributors provide after-sale services to their customers/farmers. Their staff pay regular visit
to farmers, especially for the first 6 months, and guide them on how to properly operate and
maintain their machines. To keep their sales competitive, besides 6-12 months warranty, some
distributors offer more benefits such as free delivery; year-end gifts and low interest loan (lower
than bank, 1% per month).

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 Status and Prospect of Agricultural Mechanization in Cambodia
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The major machinery imported over the last 10 years are equipment, power tillers, rice mills,
water pumps, combine harvesters, tractors, dryers, and threshers (Figure 9). They were either
brand-new or second-hand. Overall, the number of units imported per category per year fluctuated.
There was no observed pattern of increase or decline. Threshers have the lowest number of units
imported, that might be caused by the wide availability of the local-made. Small dryers with
capacity less than 6-10 tons per day have also lower number compared to other machines since
most of farmers favor to sell their paddy at paddy fields after harvesting to the middleman or rice
milling owners. Most of the rice milling owners have their own dryers with capacity more than
30-50 tons per day and they prefer to buy wet paddy from the fields in order to get better quality
of rice after milling.

Figure 9: Number of imported agricultural machinery and equipment 2004-2013 (General Department of Customs
and Excise, 2014)

The repair and maintenance are one of the major constraints in promotion of farm machinery. A
study by Sinh (2006) in Kampong Thom, Kampong Cham and Prey Veng found that the cost for
repair and maintenance accounts for 28% and 20% for power tillers and for tractors respectively in
the annual variable cost expensed by the surveyed farmers. Furthermore, according to the report,
only 18% and 26% of power tiller and tractor users interviewed knew how to properly maintain
and repair their machines.

The overall number of repair workshops of agricultural machinery, tools and equipment
nationwide was available only over 3 years (2008-2010). It increased from 1,939 places in 2008 to
2,190 in 2010. However, the trend in some places was decreasing. For instance, Phnom Penh saw
the number declined. This may be due to urbanization of the suburban areas which lead to the
decrease in agricultural land and increased job opportunities in industry and service sectors. The
number of the repair workshops in each province seems to correlate with the number of machinery
in that respective province.

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 Status and Prospect of Agricultural Mechanization in Cambodia
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The repair workshops are often operated by local manufacturers, and the suppliers of machinery
and spare parts. Since they are normally small-scale and family-owned, they diversify their
businesses to reduce risk of bankruptcy and ensure whole year operation.

Strategic Plan of Agricultural Mechanization in Cambodia

“The Strategic Plan for Agricultural Engineering in Cambodia” for five years (2011 to 2016) was
finalized by DAEng and the General Directorate of Agriculture (GDA) in 2011. Strategies
formulated in the document envision that by 2015 at least mechanization level 46% of rice field
operations from land preparation up to milling will be reached. Enabling access to the various
farm mechanization options, development of technical ability and knowledge on farm machinery
and implements, and improved agro-processing through mechanization will serve as the key
drivers in this transformation.

a. Enabling Access to Mechanization

There are 6 areas of intervention in this objective.

Field Mechanization Options for Cambodia: Mechanization options for different ecosystem zones
of Cambodia are recommended as shown in Table 5 and Table 6.

Table 5: Mechanization options for the four ecosystem zones in Cambodia

Ecosystem Hand Animal Four-wheel tractor Power tiller
zone tools traction
Coastal Use Use Limited Use-Stability problems Limited to land preparation and
need to be assessed transport
Mekong-plain Use Use Use for land preparation and Use for land preparation, pumping
transport and transport
Plateau- Use Use Limited Use-Stability problems Limited to land preparation and
mountainous need to be assessed transport
Tonle Sap Use Use Use for land preparation and Limited to land preparation and
transport transport

Source: DAEng, 2011

Table 6: Implement required for field operations

Operation Hand tool options Animal drawn options Tractor drawn options
Soil loosening depth Hoe or pick Moldboard plow Moldboard or disc plow,
heavy disc harrow
Creating a fine tilth Hoe Tooth harrow Tooth harrow, disc harrow or
rotary tiller
Creating ridges Hoe/shovel Moldboard plow, moldboard Moldboard or disc ridger
ridger or disc ridger
Crop establishment Hoe Planter or moldboard plow Planter or broadcaster
(planting)
Fertilizer application - Planter Planter or broadcaster
Pest control Knapsack sprayer - Boom sprayer
Weed control Hoe, knapsack Moldboard plow, cultivator Boom sprayer, mechanical
sprayer weeder

Source: DAEng, 2011

Improving Supply Chain: The strategy aims to increase mechanization level in rice production by
promoting the use of farm machinery which is cheaper, efficient, versatile and user-friendly in

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 Status and Prospect of Agricultural Mechanization in Cambodia
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small farms; encourage local and foreign investments in manufacturing and assembling of
machinery and implements, manufacturing of post-harvest processing machines and storage
facilities, import and distribution of spare parts and establishment of community workshops for
repair and maintenance of agricultural machinery; and encourage public investment in irrigation
system to increase irrigated area.

Financing: DAEng and the public sector are to facilitate the access to credit by making available
the economic feasibility and the profitability of the various mechanization options to farmers,
entrepreneurs and the private sector. They also encourage bank and micro finance institutions to
provide low interest rate and long-term repayment of loans to potential farmers or cooperatives
who want to use machinery.

Support Services: Mechanization services will be increased through entrepreneurial farmers. At

the beginning, government would help these farmers to establish the required services and step by
step empower them to provide the services by themselves. It is also essential to involve the private
sector in providing services to support mechanization.

DAEng plans to establish the Center for Agricultural Machinery Testing (CAMT).

Enabling Designs: DAEng and the public sector are to promote research collaboration in the
design of new machines and to improve the design of existing machines to fit local conditions.

Alternative Energy for Farm Production: DAEng and the public sector are to facilitate the
development of technologies using locally available or alternative energy sources such as solar
dryer, solar pump and bio-fuel.

b. Skill Development
There are two main areas of intervention—technical skills and knowledge creation.
Technical skills: The plan is to provide technical skill training to operators, manufacturers through
vocational training courses and educational degrees in agricultural mechanization. In addition,
Cambodia Agricultural Mechanization Board (CAMB) would be formulated to implement
mechanization strategies and policies by establishing linkages with manufacturing, financial,
human resources, technologies and extension institutions; and constantly monitor the progress of
agricultural mechanization.

Knowledge creation: This focuses on extension program on farm machinery using different
approaches such as demonstrations, machinery shows, media, publications and face to face contact
with stakeholders. Graduates from vocational training and agricultural mechanization related
programs would be engaged and work as extension agents.

c. Commercialization of Agriculture through Mechanized Farming

The plan intervenes in this objective in 2 main areas—pre- and post-production.

Pre-harvest technologies: Dissemination and promotion of existing pre-harvest technologies along

with adaptation and generation of other improved technologies will be strengthened together with
human and physical capacity-building. The plan also proposes to develop land leveling projects
for high potential crops in order to improve on-farm water management and to ease the use of
larger and higher-capacity machinery. The introduction of land consolidation for group farming
will be also included in the projects.

Post-harvest technologies: The main objective of post-production is to minimize its losses at

village level through introduction of more efficient technologies for handling, drying, storing and

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 Status and Prospect of Agricultural Mechanization in Cambodia
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milling rice.

d. Better Policy, Legal and Regulatory Environment

There are 4 main areas of intervention in this objective including the cross-cutting areas of gender
mainstreaming and environmental protection.

Formulation of Farm Machinery Laws and Regulations: The law, sub-decree and other
regulations and guidelines on the promotion of agricultural machinery will be prepared and
adopted. The documents will be enacted with a view to encouraging and supporting farmers,
agricultural and operation organizations to use advanced and applicable agricultural machinery,
promoting the mechanization of agriculture and developing modern agriculture.

Cooperation between the Public, Private Sector and Farmers: There is a need to establish a
network of agricultural machinery stakeholders to share experiences and to open platform for
collective actions. This network can also press the government and policy makers to adopt
favorable policy for appropriate agricultural mechanization.

Gender Mainstreaming: A shift from traditional labor-intensive production and post-harvest

operations to labor-saving technologies and mechanization is appearing in Cambodia. Existing
technologies are more suited to the physical characteristics of male workers, suggesting that
women workers lacking appropriate technologies to relieve them from drudgery work.
Introduction of labor-saving technologies and women-friendly machinery and tools are essential in
addressing gender issues, especially in response to the current situations of rising labor scarcity
and the increasing women’s work in agriculture due to the propensity of more men migrating to
urban areas or neighboring countries.

Environmental Protection and Climate Change: The strategic plan will review and consider two
kinds of climate change adaptation strategy: autonomous adaptation options and planned
adaptation options. The former ones include storing seed and fodder for the next season, selecting
different crops and machinery, and diversifying livelihoods. The latter ones, planned by
government and NGOs, include digging wells and providing pump sets and better crop seeds and
farm machinery.

The plan will also adopt existing regulatory framework of environmental aspects in order to
protect and promote environmental quality and public health.

In addition to the strategic plan, DAEng has decided to add another aspect of “empowerment of
rural youth”. Around 80% of Cambodian population is living in rural areas, of which youth makes
up the majority and is the main source of income for smallholding families. Therefore, rural youth
represents the driving force for rural development and likely for agricultural mechanization.

Constraints of Farm Mechanization in Cambodia

The agricultural mechanization in Cambodia has grown significantly in the last few years. There
are a number of reasons behind this growth, including migration of labor force from rural areas to
urban areas or abroad, climate change and the price increase of agricultural products. However,
there are still some constraints of the promotion of agricultural mechanization which require
attention, support and incentive from the government as well as other stakeholders in order to
sustainably develop the agricultural mechanization sub-sector.

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Lack of Policy and Regulations: National policy on agricultural mechanization has yet to be
formulated. MAFF is drafting a sub-decree on the management of farm machinery and equipment
in Cambodia. The draft has not been approved by the RGC and it would take some time to
materialize. The five-year strategic plan on agricultural mechanization is still inactive due to lack
of funding.

Limited Resources (human and financial): First, skilled workforce is still inadequate in agricultural
mechanization at both national and provincial levels. Structure of the Provincial Office of
Agricultural Engineering is still weak. There is no staff responsible for agricultural mechanization
below provincial level. Second, annual budget allocated by the government for the implementation
of agricultural mechanization activities fails to cover nationwide. External support for the
development and the promotion of farm mechanization are still inadequate.

Lack of Collaboration: The relationship between public and private sectors has yet been strong.
There are still lack of established communication and sharing of information. There is also a gap
in cooperation among DAEng, universities and the private sector dealing with farm machinery.
There are only two universities nationwide offering bachelor programs related to agricultural
mechanization, and their programs are still in developmental stage.

Prospect of Farm Mechanization in Cambodia

Farm mechanization in Cambodia is expected to growth for a number of reasons. Labor shortage
in agricultural production is expected to intensify under the pressure of increased job opportunities
and higher wage in industry and service sectors. Agriculture sector has the lowest wage compared
to manufacturing and service sectors (Figure 10). Therefore, the labor-intensive farm operations
such as harvesting and transplanting are set to be mechanized.

Remark: 1 US D = 4100 Riels in 2014

Figure 10: Monthly Wages by Sector (Cheng and Heng, 2013)

The government policy to promote paddy production and rice export also has good influence on
agricultural mechanization, especially modernization of rice mills. Some manufacturers and
suppliers for rice mill and dryer constructions are thriving and others are assessing the feasibility
in the country. Yanmar Green System which entered Cambodian market a few years back is

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 Status and Prospect of Agricultural Mechanization in Cambodia
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targeting rice exporting companies, while others such as Taiwa Seki and Otake are conducting
research to adjust their rice mills for Cambodian rice.

In addition, most of importers and distributors predict that agricultural mechanization (harvesters,
combine harvesters, tractors, power tillers, water pumps) will increase fast in the short future,
driven by the policy and rising prices of agricultural produces and products.

The use of locally made threshers is likely to decrease to minimum and eventually the machine
will be replaced by more efficient combine harvesters.

The farmers using power tillers are predicted to switch to small tractors as they tend to be more
efficient and cause less health problems. For instance, many operators of power tiller reported that
they felt their health deteriorating after 2 years of operations.

In the next 3-5 years, new types of machinery such as rice dryers, seeding machines, sprayers,
fertilizer application machines are expected to be seen in agricultural production in Cambodia.
Local productions of plow, harrow, shovel, other accessories and implements, and spare parts will
see a gradual increase, in part due to the expansion of agricultural lands, especially for cultivation
of rice, cassava, maize and rubber plantation.

The demand for mechanics and people with expertise in various sub-fields of agricultural
mechanization are expected to increase in correlation with the increased use of agricultural
machinery.

In order to keep being competitive in the market, local manufacturers have to maintain the quality
of their products, keep innovative, and introduce equipment or spare parts for possible emerging
machines. Testing and certification centers under DAEng would be needed to ensure quality
products. Related government institutions need to provide local manufacturers with innovative
technologies and create favorable environment, which includes low energy prices, soft loan and
other incentives.

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References

Cheng, S. & Heng, D. (2013). Presentation Slides at the Annual Symposium, DRFE phase II.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

DAEng (Department of Agricultural Engineering), (2013). Annual Report on the Achievements of

the DAEng. Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

DAEng, (2011). Strategic Plan for Agricultural Engineering in Cambodia. Phnom Penh,
Cambodia.

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), (2014). Annual Report for Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries and Direction 2014-2015. Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Saruth, C. (1995). Agricultural Mechanization in Cambodia: A Case Study in Takeo Province.

Master Thesis. Bangkok: Asian Institute of Technology.

Saruth, C., Lytour, L. & Santy, S. (2014). Outlook and Development Directions of Agricultural
Mechanization in Cambodia. Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Sinh, C. (2006). Status and Prospects of Agricultural Mechanization in Cambodia: A Case Study
of Three Selected Provinces. Master Thesis. Bangkok: Asian Institute of Technology.

www.un-csam.org info@un-csam.org 15
About the Author

Dr. Chan Saruth is the Director of the Department of Agricultural Engineering,

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Cambodia. He obtained
Master of Engineering in Agriculture in 1995 from the Asian Institute of
Technology, Bangkok, Thailand; Master of Business Administration in 2003
from Norton University, Phnom Penh, Cambodia; and PhD in 2008 from
Build Bright University, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He has had 20 years of
professional experience serving as Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural
Engineering, Royal University of Agriculture, Cambodia; as Deputy Director
of the Department of Personnel and Human Resource Development, Ministry
of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Cambodia; and as Project Director of
Economic and Social Re-launch of Northwest Provinces (ECOSORN) funded
by Cambodian Government/EU. Since 2011, he has been leading the research
and development of farm mechanization in Cambodia in various disciplines.
Email: saruthchan@hotmail.com

Lor Lytour has worked as Vice Dean of the Graduate School, the Royal
University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia for 10 years. He obtained
Master of Engineering in Agriculture in 2003 from the Asian Institute of
Technology, Bangkok, Thailand. He is a member of the Institute of Standards of
Cambodia. He is having more than 10 years of professional experience in project
management, soil mechanics, and water management and irrigation techniques.
Email: lor_lytour@yahoo.com

Chao Sinh is working as Deputy Chief of Agricultural Post-harvest Technology

Office at the Department of Agricultural Engineering, Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries, Cambodia. He obtained Master of Engineering in
Agriculture in 2004 from the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand,
and Master of Food Studies in 2013 from the University of Queensland, Brisbane,
Australia. He has four year experience as planning officer at the Department of
Agro-Industry, and five-year experience as Assistant to the Project Director in an
integrated rural development project. He was the lead author of the strategic plan
for agricultural engineering in Cambodia.
Email: chaosinh@gmail.com
 CSAM, Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization, is a regional institution of
the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(UNESCAP), based in Beijing, China. CSAM started operations in 2004, built on the
achievements of the Regional Network for Agricultural Machinery (RNAM) established
in 1977 with support of UNDP, FAO and UNIDO, and the United Nations Asian and
Pacific Centre for Agricultural Engineering and Machinery (UNAPCAEM). CSAM
serves the 62 members and associate members of UNESCAP.

The vision of CSAM is to achieve production gains, improved rural livelihood and
poverty alleviation through sustainable agricultural mechanization for a more
resilient, inclusive and sustainable Asia and the Pacific.

CSAM's objectives are to enhance technical cooperation among the members and
associate members of UNESCAP as well as other interested member States of the
United Nations, through extensive exchange of information and sharing of knowledge,
and promotion of research and development and agro-business development in the
area of sustainable agricultural mechanization and technology transfer for the
attainment of the internationally agreed development goals including the Millennium
Development Goals in the Asia-Pacific region.

Disclaimer

The designations used and the presentation of the material in this publication do not
imply the express opinion on the part of the ESCAP Secretariat concerning the
delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The views expressed in this publication are
those of its authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of ESCAP and CSAM.

Any mention of firm names and commercial products do not imply the endorsement of
ESCAP/CSAM.
and sustainable Asia and the Pacific
Towards a more resilient, inclusive

This publication has been issued without formal editing.

CSAM
United Nations
Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization

A-7/F, China International Science and

Technology Convention Centre
No.12, Yumin Road, Chaoyang District
Beijing 100029, P.R.China

Tel: (86-10) 8225 3581

Fax: (86-10) 8225 3584
info@un-csam.org
www.un-csam.org