52926 Volume 7, Number 8/9 August-September 2009 Cambodia's Poorest To Be Supported Through a New Food Security and Social Safety Net Program S tanding near his water-pump, which is busily pumping water into his 0.6 hectare rice field, Pau Vutha, a 32- year-old farmer in Preak Kampus village, Kandal province, says: "Our rice yield is dependent on seed, rain, fertilizer, and our labour." Vutha can get around 1.5 tons of paddy rice from his plot to feed his family of four. He uses traditional seed and cow manure, and adds some chemical fertilizers. Even though he knows that some farmers get yields of up to 4 tons per hectare because they use good-quality seed and fertilizers, he still prefers his traditional way. "I want to get more yield too, but I feel that our traditional way is a better one," he says. Another farmer, 30-year-old Chan Sothy see CAMBODIA page 3 Pau Vuth: Our rice yield is dependent on seed, rain, fertilizer, and our labour. World Bank Program Leaders Explain Plan to Help Poorest The World Bank has approved a new Cambodian Smallholders Agriculture and Social Protection Support Development Policy Operation (DPO), which aims to help protect the poorest and most vulnerable people affected by the global financial crisis. The World Bank Newsletter interviewed Mr. Steven Schonberger and Jamele Rigolini, Task Team Leaders for the program. Could you tell us why the World Bank is supporting this program? Initially the Global Food Crisis was the basis for this program, as although Cam- bodia is a rice exporter, the poor are highly vulnerable to high food prices and it was not clear that smallholder farmers had the needed support to take advantage of higher prices to produce more rice and improve their livelihoods. The Government of Cam- bodia requested World Bank support in fi- nancing and policy advice. It was clear that this World Bank program could help Cam- bodia not only in response to the Food Crisis, but also to lessen the impacts of the Global Financial Crisis which has drasti- cally reduced employment and growth in the non-agricultural sectors. Farmers harvesting their rice crop ... the poorest are vulnerable to high food prices. see WORLD page 2 2 The World Bank Newsletter August-September 2009 World Bank Holds Discussion on Reforms PHNOM PENH, August 29, 2009--World bodia, particularly in the areas of land re- tions of poor people in urban settlements. Bank Vice President for the East Asia and form, decentralization and deconcen- This included discussion of the report from Pacific Region, Mr. James W. Adams, was tration, public financial management, and the enhanced review of the Land Manage- in Phnom Penh on Thursday, August 27 private sector development. ment and Administration Project (LMAP), and Friday, August 28, 2009 for meetings Mr. Adams discussed with senior which was undertaken in response to ques- with senior government officials, develop- government officials the impact of the glo- tions raised about a possible link between ment partners, and representatives from bal economic crisis on the region in gen- the project and these disputes. NGOs, research institutes and the private eral and on Cambodia in particular, and The discussions on land reform were sector. measures to mitigate the impact of the cri- constructive and it was agreed to continue This was part of a regional visit that sis, especially on Cambodia's most vul- these discussions over the coming week takes in Cambodia, Timor-Leste and nerable people. to agree next steps. China. Mr. Adams visited Cambodia to A major focus of the visit was discuss and review the status of the Cambodia's urban land sector and the in- Subsequent to the visit of Mr. James World Bank's support program in Cam- creasing numbers of disputes and evic- Adams, the Royal Government of Cam- bodia decided to terminate the World Bank financing of the Land Manage- ment and Administration Project on September 4, 2009. Following the government's decision, Annette Dixon, World Bank Country Director for South- East Asia stated that "we remain com- mitted to working with Government and other development partners through the Technical Working Group on Land to support Cambodia's efforts to secure land tenure, reduce poverty, and im- prove economic opportunity for all of its people". For more details, please visit the World Bank's Cambodia World Bank Vice President James W. Adams, left, meets with Deputy Prime website at www.worldbank.org/kh. Minister Sar Kheng, right, Minister of Interior, during his visit to Phnom Penh. World Bank Program Leaders Explain Plan to Help Poorest continued from page 1 mented in Cambodia to help the poor How will this program benefit the poor How much money is available for this and the most vulnerable people, what is and most vulnerable? program, who are the donors, and for this program trying to do differently? The overwhelming majority of the poor how long? When the World Bank began its work are dependent on agriculture, despite This program is worth US$13 million, with Government on designing this sup- growth in other sectors, so helping them of which US$8 million is a grant from the port, discussions with farmers, NGOs, pri- to produce more will allow them to improve multi-donor Global Food Crisis Response vate sector and Government indicated that their own livelihoods while contributing Program Trust Fund (GFRP) and US$5 while many different and important actions to national economic growth ­ a win for million is a credit from IDA, the World were being taken to provide food and ag- everyone. However, not every poor farmer Bank's fund for low income countries.. ricultural assistance, these efforts were has the initiative or resources to increase The Australian Government, through constrained by the need for improved poli- production significantly, due to illness, lack of family members or loss of land. There- "Helping [the poor] to produce more will allow them fore it is essential to ensure that the most vulnerable poor are covered by safety-net to improve their own livelihoods while contributing programs. to national economic growth ­ a win for everyone." Steven Schonberger What are the expected outcomes from this program? AusAID, is contributing A$2.8 million for cies: better control of agricultural inputs Of course the overall objective is to analytical and capacity building support quality, more rapid legal registration for contribute to sustainable growth and pov- and the design and evaluation of pilot farmer groups, and expansion of the use erty reduction for the greatest number of activities to support the program. We have of the Identification of the Poor House- Cambodians. More directly, farmers will already begun this process with initial holds Targeting System (known as ID have more confidence that their fertilizers consultations with the stakeholders who Poor). The World Bank agreed to provide and other agricultural inputs will be of the guided the preparation of the DPO. a policy-based budget support operation, quality they are paying for, and they will and to follow up with a project to help have more information on their correct use. There are many programs being imple- implement these measures at the farm level. see WORLD page 3 August-September 2009 The World Bank Newsletter 3 Cambodia's Poorest To Be Supported ... World Bank Country Director Annette Dixon and Deputy Prime Minister Keat Chhon sign an agreement on smallholder agriculture and social safety nets. continued from page 1 for poor households and expand safety net an $8 million grant from the Global Food from Svay Rieng province, has to work as support, and hopefully will help Vutha and Crisis Response Program (GFRP) and a $5 a temporary construction worker in Phnom Sothy, and other small farmers like them. million credit from IDA, the World Bank's Penh. He said his yield is very low be- "Even though Cambodia is a rice ex- fund for low income countries. The GFRP, cause his land is not fertile. Each season porter, the poor are highly vulnerable to to which the Australian Government was he must use between 50 and 100 kg of high food prices and it was not clear that a significant contributor, is managed by chemical fertilizers on his half hectare of smallholder farmers had the needed sup- the World Bank and provides financial and land and gets around 15 bags (700 kg) of port for them to take advantage of higher technical support to countries affected by paddy (unhusked rice). prices to produce more," said Annette the global food crisis. "If we don't use fertilizers we don't Dixon, World Bank Country Director. "We The Australian Government, through get a good crop," he said. hope that this operation will reinforce the AusAID, is contributing A$2.8 million for Vutha and Sothy both know there are excellent work of other programs from Gov- analytical and capacity building support, many kinds of fertilizers on the market, but ernment, NGOs and donors supporting and the design and evaluation of pilot they are confused about which is the right agriculture and social protection in Cam- activities to support the program. one for their crops. They either buy what- bodia. It will also help the poor to improve "We support the Cambodian ever their neighbors buy, or depend on their agricultural production and access to Government's focus on strengthening the advice of the retailers at the market. markets, and to protect the most vulner- services for farmers - to increase produc- On August 4, 2009, the Ministry of able group through better policies." tivity and also to combat poverty. The Economy and Finance and the World Bank In particular, the program sets out to supply of better seeds and fertilizer and signed a US$13 million agreement to sup- ensure better oversight and regulation of ensuring social safety net help reaches port Cambodia's poorest and most vulner- agricultural inputs such as fertilizer and the poorest of the poor are welcome, con- able people by strengthening food secu- seeds to improve food productivity at the crete steps by the Royal Government, rity and social safety nets. small farm level. It will also accelerate the along with more support for farmer asso- Through this Smallholder Agriculture registration of farmers' groups so that in- ciations," said Margaret Adamson, Aus- and Social Protection Development Policy dividual farmers can better access credit tralian Ambassador to Cambodia. Operation the World Bank will support the and marketing opportunities for their crops. For more information contact: efforts of the Government of Cambodia to At the same time, the program will improve Chamroeun Mudita mitigate the combined impacts of the glo- targeting of Cambodia's social protection Rural Development Officer bal food price rises and economic crisis. systems to reach the neediest people. cmudita@worldbank.org The program aims to boost food security The US$13 million DPO is made up of World Bank Program Leaders Explain Plan to Help Poorest continued from page 2 For the agriculture component of the pro- labor-intensive crops such as veg- And more farmers will be in legally recog- gram, why is the focus on smallholders? etables, fruits and other crops which are nized groups and therefore more easily Smallholder farmers are the most effi- now the focus of much of Cambodia's able to access formal credit, market their cient producers of rice, a very labor-in- efforts to diversify and export its agri- production as a group at higher prices, tensive activity. This was confirmed cultural production. and access Government, NGO and donor through a study of "agrarian structure" Smallholder farmers account for over programs and participate in agricultural which the World Bank carried out with 80% of the farmers in Cambodia and 70% policy. the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and of rice production. The program focuses On the social protection side, the pro- Fisheries and in discussion with the Su- on measures to help them increase their gram intends to support Government's ac- preme National Economic Council, which yields towards the Government's na- tions aimed at expanding, harmonizing and clearly demonstrated that in all regions tional goal of an average of three tons improving governance and effectiveness studied, the smaller the farm, the more per hectare. of safety net interventions. productive it is for rice, but also for other see WORLD page 4 August-September 2009 The World Bank Newsletter 4 World Bank Program Leaders Explain Plan to Help Poorest continued from page 3 The trend, though, is for small farmers to migrate to the cities in search of work, isn't it? While many smallholders prefer to mi- grate to other work in manufacturing and services, there is still scope to increase the number of people employed in agri- culture as well as their incomes ­which is critical given the rapid increase in Cambodia's labor force from the post 1979 "baby boom" now coming of age. Could you be more specific on what poli- cies or regulations for smallholder agri- Children on a small farm in Kratie province. The project will provide social culture the program is intended to help? safety nets to ensure support for the most vulnerable. Government has committed to moni- toring the quality and prices of organic tural processingfrom Cambodian and for- criteria for identifying poor households; (ii) and inorganic fertilizers and other inputs. eign investors, but this requires confi- It separates the agent which carries out the Cambodia imports almost all commercial dence in the investment climate and the targeting from that which carries out the fertilizer. Field tests have shown wide opportunities to export without unneces- distribution of benefits, minimizing the pos- variations in quality and prices, and prob- sary interference. Other measures to pro- sibility of favoritism; (iii) Community in- lems with labeling, which is often only in vide incentives and reduce red tape for volvement in the identification process, as foreign languages. With support from the investing in agricultural processing are well as the feedback and complaint mecha- World Bank, Australia, Japan and others, being recognized, and work is planned nisms, allow for a transparent and partici- the Government will survey price and qual- with the International Finance Corpora- patory identification process. ity of fertilizers, require improved labeling tion of the World Bank (IFC), which is in Khmer language, and work with farmers implementing a supply-chain project with How does the program tie in with the to improve their knowledge of fertilizer and European Union funding. These are the Government's long-term strategies? agricultural input quality and use. key links holding Cambodia back, as the The program is intended to support the agricultural processors and exporters are efforts of Government, farmers and What do you see as the role of the pro- key suppliers of information on varieties, agribusiness, NGOs and development part- gram in relation to farmer groups? harvesting, access to credit and inputs. ners to strengthen the framework for agri- All stakeholders emphasized the im- cultural development and social protection portance of strengthening the develop- What areas in social protection is the described in the Royal Government's Rect- ment of farmer organizations, which the program supporting? angular Strategy Phase 2 and the Strategy Government has recognized by issuing a Government, NGOs and donors have for Agriculture and Water. commitment to accelerate registration. been working to develop a social protec- The World Bank has an important role There is a need to review the legal frame- tion strategy which identifies the most vul- in supporting the integration of reforms in work for these groups, as they often reg- nerable groups, existing support mecha- public finance, public administration, de- ister with different ministries for different nisms, gaps in coverage, and opportuni- centralization and natural resources man- purposes, which is time-consuming and ties to better meet the needs of vulnerable agement into the agricultural sector as confusing, and inconsistent with devel- groups. This should provide the poor with part of the development of a more sectoral, oping organizations that can represent more confidence that those who face con- rather than project-based approach. The members' needs straints due to physical, age or other limi- focus should be on building the integrity tations will not be allowed to fall into a of the overall public and private systems What other areas for smallholder agri- desperate state. This should also provide for supporting agriculture ­ something culture will the program support? the working poor with more willingness to which needs to move forward if agricul- A third area of support is for agricul- take risks in diversifying employment and ture is to achieve its potential as a con- tural marketing, While Cambodia is good production activities if, for example, cov- tributor to growth, employment and pov- at growing rice and other products, it has erage for health catastrophe is available. erty reduction. limited capacity to process these for the The program supports the work in ex- markets, so rice, cashews, cassava, etc. panding the ID Poor Targeting System to ensure that assistance goes to the poor For more information contact: flow into neighboring countries for pro- quickly and efficiently. The ID Poor sys- Chamroeun Mudita cessing and the potential employment and tem will improve governance as: (i) It is Rural Development Officer value added is lost to Cambodia. There is systematic with standard procedures and cmudita@worldbank.org plenty of interest in investing in agricul- The World Bank Cambodia Office 113, Norodom Blvd. Phnom Penh, Tel: (855 23) 217 301 Fax (855 23) 210 504 Khmer website: www.worldbank.org.kh and English website: www.worldbank.org/kh