Food stalls, Battambong, Cambodia © Thnam Kanha Net

Cambodia's tortured recent history is responsible for a legacy of structural obstacles to poverty reduction plans. For example, the Khmer Rouge abolished the concept of private ownership in favour of communal farming which has evolved into a profile of very small farms; about 70% of the country's workforce is engaged in hand-to-mouth subsistence farming. Cambodia's rice yields are the lowest in the region. With minimal investment in inputs and irrigation and with little opportunity to supplement their incomes, most of these households experience seasonal food deficits. The Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), Dr.Peter Piot, has said that there is a "chronic and persistent food insecurity problem in Cambodia". Over 35% of children under age 5 are underweight.

Although a new law awards title to farmers who have been working on their land for more than 5 years, few have taken advantage due to the expense and bureaucracy involved. This has led to unscrupulous land grabbing by wealthy agricultural interests seeking land for cash crops such as sugar. The government is aware of the strategic need for investment in agriculture, land rights and alternative livelihoods but there is great uncertainty as to how the dramatic increase in the price of rice will impact on this vulnerable rural economy. One immediate painful consequence is the WFP announcement in 2008 of termination of its school feeding programmes for 450,000 Cambodian children.

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