Mechanized farming on the rise
The use of agricultural machinery in Cambodia has risen noticeably compared with last year, said the Agriculture Ministry. A ministry report released last week showed that the use of agriculture machinery rose to about 91 percent in 2016, compared with 83 percent in 2015, while the use of cattle in farming was 8.8 percent last year. Ouk Makara, director of the Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute, said the increasing use of tractors and other agricultural machinery was a good sign because it cut costs and saved time. Thus, farmers could use their time to grow another crop or do something else besides growing rice. “It is good for agriculture when it is dominated by machinery other than cattle since Cambodia is short of labor in the agriculture sector as lots of rural people migrate to work in a neighboring country or find another job besides farming,” Mr. Makara said. “I think that labor is more expensive than using machinery for farming – especially harvesting rice paddy since the cost of using labor is $150 for a hectare of rice paddy while it is only $100 for a hectare of rice paddy using machinery.”
