Friday, 8 August 2008

Rice Needed To Lift Cambodia Out Of Poverty

PHNOM PENH, Aug 8 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Hun Sen said that global inflation may prove a boon for Cambodian agriculture, predicting the kingdom's rice paddies would yield the "white gold" needed to lift the nation out of poverty.

Cambodia exported 2.5 million tonne of rice last year, Hun Sen said, adding that new irrigation methods will soon quadruple rice exports.

"Before Cambodia's gold was rubber trees, but now it is rice," Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying in a local daily Friday.

Hun Sen said better irrigation would allow 2-3 rice crops each year, with more intensive farming methods increasing yields to 3-4 tons per hectare.

In this respect, Cambodia will not only be able to meet its domestic demands, but also will be able to export more than Vietnam does, he claimed.

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