• Society

Mine-Free Lands Used for Growing Rice: JMAS

• By Chhum Chantha
• October 2, 2023 7:00 PM

PHNOM PENH – The Japan Mine Action Service (JMAS) has freed 80 hectares of land from mines in Banon district, Battambang province, that have been turned into rice fields since 2020.

Named the Agriculture in Battambang Challenge (ABC) project, it is fully funded by Japan’s Komatsu company, which is traditionally involved in manufacturing construction, mining and forestry equipment.

While most Cambodian farmers only harvest rice once or twice a year, farmers in Banon district have been able to harvest high-quality rice up to three times per year, over the last three years, given the cleared land is particularly fertile.

Om Vithu, the project director, said the location in Banon district’s Chaeng Mean Chey commune was chosen for the project as it is located near the Sangke river, which provides accessible and nearly free water to farmers.

Thanks to Komatsu’s technical expertise, farmers have been able to harvest two to five metric tons per hectare.

“Local people used to be scared of the mines here because this area was one of the last battlefields at the end of the war. With the help from the Japanese government, we have cleared many mines thus far, and decided to turn the cleared land into rice fields,” said Vithu.

According to the project director, the project has gained support from the locals, who requested for more land to be cleared. JMAS, however, has yet to respond to such requests but said it will help local farmers as much as possible.

Vithu said the project has also reduced immigration to Thailand as it offered local jobs to the people. He gave the example of five families who started to grow rice in the commune after the COVID-19 pandemic, instead of going back to Thailand where they had been working before.

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Secretary of State Yang Saing Koma said the project has contributed to increasing the income of the local people in the area.

He considers the project as a “golden” land and encourages JMAS to study the demands and participation of the local people to further expand the land preparation for more farmers.

While 30 households currently harvest on the 80-hectare cleared land, the project aims to clear an additional 50 hectares next year to grant safe land to more farmers in the area.

Originally written in Khmer for ThmeyThmey, this story was translated by Meng Seavmey for Cambodianess.