As of the third week of August, the cultivation of rainy season rice in Cambodia has achieved more than 2.6 million hectares, or 101.90 percent of the yearly plan.

The figures were shared by H.E. Veng Sakhon, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in a Facebook post this morning.

The rice cultivation reached only 94.74 percent during the same period last year, H.E. Minister added.

H.E. Veng Sakhon continued that the “light rice” harvest during the early rainy season 2021 rose to 1,267,791 tonnes, a year-on-year increase of 789,151 tonnes, or some 4.2 tonnes per hectare on average.

But at the same time, about 67,942 hectares of rice fields in the provinces of Banteay Meanchey, Kandal, Pursat, and Siem Reap have been being affected by drought, or 2.56 percent of the total rice fields nationwide, he said.

For the growing of subsidiary crops (white corn, sweet potatoes, vegetables, chili, watermelon), he pointed out, 51,537 hectares or 95.66 percent of the yearly target have been achieved, while that of industrial crops (red corn, cassava, beans, peanuts, soybeans, sesame, sugarcane, etc. ) attained 93.46 percent or 766,375 hectares.