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Responses and explanations by Prime Minister Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet to the comments and questions from the Joint-session of the National Assembly and Senate on “agriculture” [Unofficial translation]

ដោយ៖ ម៉ម សុគន្ធ ​​ | ថ្ងៃអង្គារ ទី៣ ខែមិថុនា ឆ្នាំ២០២៥ English សម្រង់ប្រសាសន៍ 539
Responses and explanations by Prime Minister Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet to the comments and questions from the Joint-session of the National Assembly and Senate on “agriculture” [Unofficial translation] Responses and explanations by Prime Minister Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet to the comments and questions from the Joint-session of the National Assembly and Senate on “agriculture” [Unofficial translation]

CMF:

First of all, I would like to thank for the many comments on this important topic. Sharing your views, experiences, and suggestions is an important input as well as a suggestion for the Royal Government to consider and take into account in preparing its assessment and policy framework.

Before moving on to my intervention related to this sector (of agriculture), I would like to express my gratitude to HM Queen Norodom Monineath Sihanouk, Mother of the Cambodian Nation, for the precious royal gift she has given to our military forces standing guard to protect the integrity of our territory at the border.

I would also like to take this opportunity to once again thank Samdech Techo for calling for a movement to inspire the spirit of direct support for our troops. I would like to take this opportunity to thank His Majesty, His Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen, and all our compatriots, both at home and abroad, who have participated in the great movement to support the troops. (1) To ensure the effective and transparent use of this budget, the Royal Government will establish a managing fund to support the troops and work with the Unified Front Command to ensure that the funds are properly managed and used for the purpose.

I would like to thank the speakers who have spoken about the progress of the new Royal Government in these 20 months. Indeed, these 20 months have been full of new topics and disciplines for the Royal Government. We started from a period of uncertainty in the economic situation 20 months ago, left from the COVID-19 era, resulting from inflation and various wars, especially related to many sectors such as tourism and real estate, which were still in uncertainty 20 months ago. However, up to now, we have stability (in the economy) and continue to move forward.

On another front, we have dealt with another subject – on August 18, 2024, related to maintaining stability and security, facing attempts to provoke opposition to the government through violent means, on issue related to CLV-DTA. We have successfully prevented it. The new problem that has arisen is the challenge with the US global tariffs, which (tomorrow) our team led by His Excellency Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol is preparing for the second round of negotiations in the United States. The topic of this new discipline that has arisen is the challenge at the border. So, these 20 months, there have been many different subjects and are an opportunity and a challenge for the new team (of the Royal Government) to ensure continued development […] Despite these challenges, we have continued to move forward with high determination, and create new achievements.

On this occasion, I would like to state (2) what are the factors behind the achievements made in these 20 months? The first factor, the most important factor, is that the new group has inherited the legacy left behind from the efforts to build and pave the way from His Excellency, His Excellency, and the many leaders of the Royal Government who are present here, from the zero point that the country was liberated in 1979 (and continue to) build, facing all kinds of difficulties, leading to the construction of a strong economic foundation, strong institutions, a good work system, and a stable macroeconomic environment. In particular, they left financial ability in the hand for the new Royal Government to use in solving the problems.

We thank Samdech Techo and the leadership, especially His Excellency and Madam, and taking this opportunity, I would also like to thank all the sacrifices of the previous members of the Royal Government who paved the way and built this foundation for the new government. Without this strong foundation, the many topics raised today are just big topics, but we cannot be resolved so successfully.

(3) The second factor is the efforts of the leadership, civil servants at all levels of ministries, national institutions, sub-national administrations, and all armed forces who have jointly continued the work that the previous governments have built, continuing to give us the characteristics and determination to continue to solve problems for the people, regardless of whatever the subjects are. I thank the encouragement of Samdech, His Excellency, Lok Chumteav, the leaders of the National Assembly and the Senate, as well as leaders at all levels and former government leaders who have provided both physical and mental support to the new leadership team in this legislative term. I thank the continued trust and confidence from the people in (the Royal Government to help) solve the challenges that have arisen in the past.

Moving on to the topic related to agriculture. Today, we have the presence of His Excellency Dith Tina, Minister of Agriculture, (Forestry and Fisheries) who is ready to answer some of the topics-related questions, followed by His Excellency Tho Jetha, Minister of Water Resources, and His Excellency Chhay Rithisen, Minister of Rural Development, who are ready to make some interventions and contributing elements related to agriculture in addition to my intervention. Before handing over to Their Excellencies, let me clarify a little bit related to this matter.

The agricultural sector that I have raised is an important topic that concerns our people. According to the assessment (4), about 42% of our people (are) in the agricultural sector. Although the agricultural component has decreased to only 16% of the economy (as a whole), it is still an important actor. As long as people eat, agriculture is still the core factor. From tourism and manufacturing, we cannot eat everything. So, ensuring food security is an important task and the highest priority of the Royal Government. Even if the world has turned upside down and trade is obstructed, the country must ensure that the people have enough food to eat. This is the main goal. Ensuring a balance between production, sales and ensuring food security at home.

Regarding our main goal, when it comes to agriculture, food security is about ensuring (sufficient food). At this point, we can proudly say, and I would like to thank the many speakers who mentioned the exponential growth of our (food grain) production. In 2024, we produced 14 million tons, and we consumed six million tons domestically. There was bout seven to eight million tons left for export. Of this, we exported 600,000 tons of (white) rice, which is 1.2 million tons of paddy, to some neighboring countries and a small amount to foreign countries (overseas).

(5) When it comes to the agricultural sector, farmers are the main actors. They are producers who ensure food security, but also a group of citizens in the sector for whom we must take their interests into consideration. In order for them to continue to be farmers, they have to make a profit, and the ability to produce forever. If they lose money every year, they will definitely change their occupation and no one will plant crops for us to eat anymore […] When we talk about farmers, their livelihoods and income, we are talking about (two) components – increasing income and reducing costs. We cannot prevent the price of world agricultural products from rising and falling. There are always changes, especially for export products, agricultural products that depend on the international market, such as rice, cashews, and many products that need to be exported. But our guarantee, despite any changes, is to ensure that those changes do not significantly affect the livelihoods of our citizens, our farmers, especially their profits, whether small or large.

How does the government deal with them making income? First, the market. There are two markets – domestic and foreign. The domestic market shows that there are many production possibilities, but we also recognize that we cannot produce all our own food. We cannot ban the import of some products. No country in the world, except for countries under UN sanctions, which cannot trade with neighboring countries, or without exporting and importing. There are thousands of agricultural products. We cannot produce everything, and we do not need to produce everything.

(6) For exports, first, consider the domestic market. The Royal Government must increase the efficiency of supplying the domestic market to the fullest extent possible by using domestic products through linkages with some products that we can supply ourselves and replace imports. For example, domestic supply of pork and rice. A strategic valuation and preparation are made to reach the selection of some strategic crops that the Royal Government has set as a target to ensure supply in place of imports.

We’ll do this step by step. We can’t make 100 products and guarantee that 100 products will be produced. We will stop importing until we impose tariffs. That will affect the WTO rule. But we need to be clear that stopping imports is not about imposing tariffs or imposing technical measures to stop them from entering. It needs to increase the capacity of local producers to be able to produce, with good quality, at a reasonable price for consumers. If we ban imports but our local production is expensive and of poor quality, will our people eat it? We are not fair to the consumers. So, we only need to help our farmers, make them produce at a lower cost, sell at a reasonable price, with good quality, and still make a profit so that consumers can afford because we need a market to attract them.

We cannot force farmers to use any particular fertilizer, follow any plan or model. Yesterday, His Excellency Dith Tina told me that technically, they only use this amount of fertilizer, but the farmers don’t believe it. “I used to do this amount, so I don’t dare to take risks,” so they said […] Well, until we show them the actual results. The same goes for selling/buying. If we want the people to buy our local products, we have to make sure that the farmers are competitive, because we have to deal with both consumers and producers. For other parties, they go to consumers and entice that the products are expensive and the prices (of this/that products must) go down. At the same time, going to producers, they tell them to make the products more expensive. But for the government, it must ensure a balance between the livelihoods of farmers and the livelihoods of the people who buy food. If the prices of agricultural products are high, the prices of goods are high, the buyers of food who are civil servants, who don’t plant, and will definitely spend more money on food, so their livelihoods will also be affected.

(7) Our focus in finding local markets is to prepare a strategy for considering certain crops or livestock, which is a step-by-step strategy. Now we have pork, in the future, what other meat do we have that we can guarantee (consumption) domestically? We are trying to help this sector through various methods, such as modern agriculture, to take one commodity at a time, step by step, to ensure domestic supply. This is a practical task. How to make sure that it works. Don’t be greedy that you have to do 10 or 20 things to be successful, it’s not possible. We have to recognize the truth.

Our production base has problems, compared to neighboring countries, in some places we are still expensive. So, if what we are trying to do (but) it is not competitive, we don’t need to focus on it, we look at what is competitive. For example, if raising an animal cannot guarantee competitiveness with other importing countries, despites the fact that we have helped our farmers, we should look at aquaculture or what else that we can guarantee and help our farmers/cultivators. Take for instance, regarding pigs farming, we helped for a short time, and they can guarantee. This is the goal of supplying the domestic market.

(8) At the same time, we need to create a better chain from producers to markets by organizing various formulas, for example, organizing contracts between (farmers/producers) and the local markets – Makro market, Lucky market, etc. They want to buy, but how should they make a contract to ensure the supply to them? We must help organize that. This is also part of organizing the general agricultural community. This is a method of solving problems locally.

The problem is that we produce more than we need. As Samdech Techo and other leaders said, in 1970, we ate more than we produced, and now we produce more than we eat. Where do we take it to? If we don’t do external trade, we have only two options. Dump it or tell people not to overproduce. If not, we have to work hard to find a market. Now we are proud that we export to 95 countries. We have many products, not just rice and cashews. But the main (9) goal for exporting abroad is how to extract maximum added value for our farmers and our products. We are not picky whether to export to Vietnam, to Thailand, to Laos, to the United States, France, Africa, or wherever. Our goal is to get good prices for our farmers.

(10) If we rely only on one market, for example, our rice is exported to the east. This is a problem where prices can be problematic. We try to set an objective to export rice to a diversified market. Sometimes we rely on one country a lot, sometimes they don’t buy it. We have to turn it around. We have to open other ports. Opening other ports ensures the ability to export at high prices, without having to wait for neighboring countries or third countries. Now, if our rice is exported to a third country, they buy it at this price to export to France or a third country at another price. They buy it from us at a lower price. If we can go directly to a third country, we can get a higher price. What is the benefit? We can lower the price a lot and buy from our farmers.

(11) This diversification of the agricultural market is not only economic diversification but also a political and diplomatic help. Our exports and many countries are now facing challenges. We have seen that trade is being used as a weapon. If we only rely on exports of manufacturing and industrial products to some countries, we can be under pressure in negotiations or they can use it as a weapon at any time. But if we diversify our exports by focusing on agricultural products and other products to other markets, it helps create a balance, not to be dependent, even if it is not used as a weapon. For example, the US economy, the European economy suddenly went into recession because of their policies, they then stopped buying.

Now we are opening markets in the Middle East, in Europe, in Africa, and we are opening markets in ASEAN as well, to ensure that our exports (are not congested). If we depend only on one market, (we also face) problems. Let us not rely (on one market. We must have other markets). This is like the tourism problem in Siem Reap. Now we are aiming to promote Siem Reap not to rely on pure tourism, but partly on agroindustry and we have an airport. We will promote in the future to have factories. Now there is a consideration of logistics there. We should be thinking on not to rely on one thing. If there is a problem in one sector, we can evacuate to another sector when necessary. At the same time, we should not have all the eggs in one basket.

(12) For the agricultural sector, which we are trying to further production for export, the most important task that we need to do is to reform, open up and strengthen the market. Currently, we see that the reason we are limited is because we have products, but exports are not yet very integrated due to some problems, such as food standards, technical standards, etc. and another is the internal chain. For example, a country wants a contract to buy 100,000 tons of rice from us. No company dares to do it. A mill (can guarantee) only 30,000 to 40,000 metric tons because we do not have a large-scale storage facility. So, I have asked to examine the chain, why are we exporting so little. Cashew nuts are the same. We need to examine where in the chain of production is missing? That is, we have lost the ability to absorb and store for large-scale processing and export.

So, the government is preparing/implementing a Pilot Program Project for cashews in Kampong Thom, which we plan to set up a new type of industrial park. This industrial park is different from the industrial parks or special economic zones that were previously privately owned. This park is owned by the state. The state provides land, the private sector invests and rents the space at a low price to others. The state helps build infrastructure somewhere.

Setting licenses for cashew processors. If we don’t set them, the company that comes to process this could have problems. If they invest 50-100 million USD, produces a volume for 20-30 thousand hectares, and if we give him 10, 20, 30 thousand hectares […] this would be a problem. So, we have designed this strategy so that we can set them licenses effectively. However, in the chain, we don’t set condition for buyers. They may compete as they wish.

This is the consideration of export guarantees. (13) Exports are possible only if there is scale. (To be able to define) scale, there must be scale of production. If we export small, we will not be able to compete. If our company is small and does not have scale, we will not be able to compete. Products with high costs and small markets will not be able to pass. We have to gather, organize capacity, work with potential partners. We have companies from Japan, the Netherlands, which have markets outside, but we have to ensure that they can buy (from our farmers). We have to consider the quota of the number of enterprises or large processing factories so that they can expand and help us. If they expand, they help find markets for us, they provide technical assistance to farmers, because industrial parks and processing factories are tools. Our main goal is to help farmers and help the sector. They do it, they make a profit, they lose, we give them tax exemptions, but what we want is for them to find markets for our farmers.

If we set the wrong direction, we set the wrong goal, we think that as long as the company makes a profit, and only care about the company’s profit, that is not going to sustain. This is our way to open the door for our producers to enter the international market. So (14) We should not be afraid to give them free access to land. We should not be afraid to give them tax exemptions so that they can help them process, increase production efficiency, buy more from farmers. The main target that I am talking about in agriculture is farmers. Investors in processing are participants in the ingredients. They are called secondary actors. Like the military, we say the main target and the secondary target. The main target is farmers and the market for agricultural products.

So, this kind of means and arrangement is what (15) the Royal Government is testing on three produces. The first is cashew nuts, the second is rice (and the third is fertilizer). We are setting up a parent company. In a moment, I will talk about financing arrangements. Right now, we only rely on the state budget, bank loans, or loans. But there is still a formula that I give to the economy, the private sector, and the ministry to consider. There is a lot of private capital in our country, but there is no entrance. We need to create a formula or a package so that all that capital can participate in investment. More or less, other countries do it. They sell it as shares, they sell it as stocks, they sell it as bonds. We need to think about innovations in raising funds.

May I apologize, Samdech Techo, (this comment) is a bit long. We had a meeting with the rice sector, with the private sector. From the beginning, we have had the private sector as a role model to help think, to help do, to be responsible. We have implemented this work a lot. In the cashew sector, there is a lot of interaction, both technicians and the private sector, working shoulder to shoulder, using a formula that can be agreed upon.

On the second crop – the rice sector. (16) We have put in place a policy of borrowing money from abroad to build a few hundred silos, but it has been 10 years since but we have not been able to do so. I think now we will create a new formula to do it. That is, create a parent company to guarantee a certain level of procurement. We do not have the capacity to procure large quantities, our exporting companies do not dare to sign large contracts. If there is a company that can guarantee 20 to 30 thousand tons, small exporting companies would also dare to sign contracts with them because they can contract with us to buy more. From our inquiry, this is the gap. The state has organized the mechanism. We intervene only in this area by organizing silos and procurement, investing in revolving funds to guarantee, and making the production chain from producers to external markets. It works, but some places have not got this.

Now, neighboring countries are playing a role because they have the capacity to store hundreds of thousands of tons. We don’t have it. So, they come and collect and buy whatever amount is left from (our consumption and ability to store and export) to store at theirs. When it is time, they export. Now, we create the capacity to store in our country as a means of supply and collection. If we have such a large capacity, we can guarantee prices. When there is difficulty, we guarantee raw materials or even the initial capital for our exporters. They can contract outside. This is our thinking.

Third, fertilizer. This fertilizer is important. Your Majesty, Your Excellency, (17) Fertilizer is not just a raw material for production. Fertilizer is a strategy. If we depend on other to breath, once there is a problem, they would just raise the price of fertilizer, and we would have a hard time already […] we must have the ability to produce fertilizer ourselves. We face many problems – our prices are high but our capabilities are low. I met with His Excellency Mong Rithy, and leaders of the Ministry of Agriculture, (Forestry and Fisheries) and especially assigned the task to the private sector in the fertilizer sector (to conduct studies). I think that if you want to know, you have to ask those who do business. The other day we met and asked Oknha Mong Rithy, Oknha Phe Hok Chuon, Oknha Hun Lak, Heng Long, and some experts in the agricultural sector to help study the possibility of producing fertilizer locally at some level, whether it is natural fertilizer or chemical fertilizer. If not 100%, at least we should be able to guarantee 30% of our demand, because this is an important task, quality, quantity, and price, and we can afford to do this task. The team is studying how to find a formula to ensure this.

The strategy on these three products that the government is preparing to test is cashew nuts, rice/rice, and fertilizer, whereas fertilizer is related to production. If we have small production, we buy fertilizer in small amount, expensive raw materials, only from neighboring countries, we would not be able to make profit. Most of them is produced abroad, and we bring it in. The quality of the mixture is also not clear […] There are some importing companies like Oknha Phe Hok Chuon who have standards, but he also agrees to join in if there is (such organization). Oknha Phu Puy is also the first to support it […] The Rice Association also participates. I think if other countries can do it, we Cambodians can do it too. Even if it faces any challenges, it’s just that we haven’t found the right formula yet. And if there is a formula, the state is not afraid to help in any way because production is a means to help farmers. If fertilizer can be produced, we have the ownership, the cost of production will decrease for farmers. This is a good thing.

(18) Regarding the financing guarantee for agriculture, in the past, we had a limited ability that the Rural Development Bank/Agriculture released some funds and some guarantees for commercial banks to help provide credit to our agricultural sector. In this sense, we have provided credit between 4% and 7% to the agricultural sector from the Rural Development Bank. But the capital is still limited. In private banks, there is also participation in providing loans at the request of the government. The National Bank has also worked with the private sector, asking them to help provide some capital. This is our effort. We will continue. In addition, we will consider some helpful formulas.

The Royal Government also thanks Samdech Techo, the Royal Government from previous mandates who gave priority to exempting agricultural land, agricultural fertilizers, many agricultural machinery, and agricultural component products, which helped reduce the cost of farmers. The Royal Government from the previous mandates and this mandate continues to exempt many taxes and duties for companies/businessmen in the agricultural sector to help agriculture reduce costs.

Regarding electricity prices, we cannot intervene all the time. (19) In 2024, His Excellency Keo Ratanak reported that electricity prices would be reduced from 9 pm to 7 am, with the state spending nearly three million USD to help (the agricultural sector). Speaking nationwide, through EDC, the Royal Government has provided 128 million USD to people nationwide to prevent electricity prices from rising. In other countries, due to war, electricity prices have been raised, but in Cambodia we have maintained (prices not to rise). Of course, the more we use, the higher the price. But the price per kilowatt hour remains stable. It is not because the state has benefited from it, but because the state has spent 128 million USD in 2024 to keep the price under control. Most of it is for people’s homes. In the agricultural sector, the state has spent nearly three million USD.

On another important reduction is scale. Yesterday, His Excellency Pen Simon raised the issue of one village, one product. May I take on this issue, His Excellency Pen Simon, (20), for this one village, one product, for the agricultural sector, we may not be able to do it in general. We can only do it for a small number of niche products or a few products that can support other sectors, for example, a village handicraft around Siem Reap can be promoted to serve the tourism sector in Siem Reap. But if we talk about agriculture, we have to talk about scale. If we don’t produce a lot, the cost of production will not go down, and there will be no quantity to compete with other countries or to supply our market. What we have been pushing since the beginning of the mandate is to think about one region, one product, but not to take (products) from Thailand. We have a principle of thinking about the region. The region can be considered at the district level, the provincial level, or even several provinces together. Like cashew nuts, we have a number of provinces. Otherwise, we cannot ensure the scale of the product.

If we talk about the scale of products, we have to talk about the scale of production or producers. That is why modern agricultural communities play an important role. We cannot rely on one farmer, even if he has 500 hectares, to act as a scale. We have to secure tens of thousands of hectares. When I was in the army, I first met with the development partner. They asked me for advice that in order to develop agriculture, they needed to have 5,000 to 10,000 hectares of land. I said we don’t have land. But let’s think that each military family owns land in that area that Samdech Techo, the Royal Government, gave to them, like in Division No. 9. There are 2,000 families that have 2,000 hectares. Gather them as a community and we contract with them, and the Men Sarun Company worked with Division No. 7 to get 500 to 600 families as a practical implementation. This is what I support and the Royal Government is encouraging.

I thank Samdech Techo for caring and directly promoting the agricultural community. The term modern agricultural community is different from ordinary communities. Some communities just gather to buy fertilizer and sell it for profit or intervene, but the benefits are different. When it loses, they work together, and there is a problem when there is profit. But the formula of this community (of modern agriculture) is to change the way of thinking, both difficulties and profits must be together. This means that members of the community are the shares of the company. This, according to the thinking, means that if there is profit or loss, there is no stealing from each other, but the profit and loss are equal according to the rate. Only with that we can create it. Otherwise, there is no sustainability. After doing for a shout while, they would start fighting because there was no honesty and cooperation. When it is difficult, they run to each other so that they can buy good fertilizer but when the price is good, they pull it out and sell it to this person and that person, and lose unity, trust, and cannot move forward.

Thus, (21) the main adjustment is to regulate the mindset from working privately to working in a community together […] as a method or cooperatives or something, but we are shareholders of the company. This is the concept of creating a company where everyone puts together land and draws the benefits of joint investment, and the benefits are shared according to their shares. Who has small or large land is divided accordingly, and how to put their capital in? This is a task that I am very grateful to the Ministry of Agriculture, (Forestry and Fisheries) His Excellency Dith Tina, for thinking about it so far. I believe that if we do not have a scale, we will not win. In terms of scale, how do we have to have a scale of production. If there is a scale of production, we cannot go for land concessions. We no longer distribute economic land concessions. (We have given) thousands and tens of thousands of hectares already. Only the people there (use) this contracting formula […] for instance, the Macro market wants a contract with a village. If a contract is between the Macro market and each of the house in the village, the Macro market would not do it. But if a village has a hundred families who agree to grow vegetables for the Macro, and guarantee the discipline in applying fertilizer, the Macro will agree to do it. This is the importance of setting work standards that are agreed upon.

Please encourage the creation of more communities and ask all community members to think about the common interest. Think of themself as the owner of a company that has to make the company live longer, make more profit, and everyone will make more profit together. (If they can do it) this way, the community will be operational. It is not that when there is a loss, they run to each other to reduce the loss, but when there is a profit, each person will make it his/her own. They say that when there is a loss, the state pays, and when there is a profit, the private sector keeps – not a good thing. For the community, when there is a loss, the community pays, and when there is a profit, the individual keeps, this is not going to work […]

Regarding one village, one product […] His Excellency Ouk Rabun is still working on it. We are considering the movement of the Udong era, to organize it as an umbrella and implement it wherever we can. It is not that this formula is not implementable everywhere. I am not talking only about agriculture, but also about handicrafts. For example, in the green areas around tourist areas, “one village, one product” is important. One place can produce one product to attract tourism. This is a good work. Especially in poor communities, natural communities. This is “one village, one product” that we want. This is a product that we have to promote, not to stop working, because we cannot have the scale everywhere […] I am talking about the image of the agricultural sector, related to major principles.

(22) Regarding the irrigation system, His Excellency Tho Jetha will raise this issue. I would like to report to Samdech Techo that I have permitted working with the Korean government through KOICA to study building a canal connecting the upper Mekong River to the Tonle Sap River through the Sen River to ensure water balance. Right now (between the two geographical areas, there is no connection). It flows downstream. In the dry season, it flows all the way down. So, we will study this geographical location. In the future, we will be able to connect from the Tonle Sap River to area near to Poipet/Banteay Meanchey to ensure transportation. When the Funan Techo Canal is ready, our waterway transportation system will become more important. Now, we have been asked to study first the environment, the technical system, how to connect the upper Mekong River, a little lower than Stoeung Treng, to the Sen River, and into the Tonle Sap River, which is about 70 km long. If we can do this, we can ensure the water balance between the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers and ensure irrigation and water supply throughout the country […] As for how to organize the system, HE Tho Jetha will report in more detail.

Regarding the issue food safety, I agree with Samdech Techo’s opinion. This is a big issue. Yesterday, I spoke with His Excellency Professor Aun Pornmoniroth and His Excellency Sar Sokha. This issue, from the beginning of my term, I assigned the task to His Excellency Professor Aun Pornmoniroth and the assessment team because our problem is (23) there are too many institutions in food inspection (which is making it difficult)Crossing the border, there is customs, in the market, there is the Ministry of Commerce, and in the shop, there is the Ministry of Health and Tourism. Who does what? And what do they receive? Not only do we have this situation of too many cooks spoil the soup, but also put the burden on the private sector. Sometimes, how many institutions go to check a food shop? What do we do? This is a big issue for all of us.

Samdech, Excellency, Lok Chumteav, are having lunch here today. Did you ask where the vegetables/food come from? Excellency, Lok Chumteavs, and the leaders, some of you grow vegetables at your home, but when you go to (wedding) ceremonies, you eat (the food from) somewhere else. This is what I say is more dangerous than drugs. Drugs only affect the users and the insecurity they create. But this food affects everyone. We have hundreds of bodyguards here to protect us, but who is protecting what we (will) put in our stomachs? This is a problem (related to the health of) our citizens. It does not happen suddenly, it causes (gradually) deterioration of our health, which is a long-term burden.

In terms of food safety management, Samdech Techo as well as the previous governments, have worked hard to set up many mechanisms and tested them in inter-ministerial mechanisms to work together. Each ministry has worked hard, the Ministry of Interior, Trade, Tourism, Health, have worked hard, but there are still gaps. (24) So, it requires us to look at the organization of the mechanism again. We are considering a number of mechanisms and options, including the organization of a joint leadership and coordination mechanism that can work, reduce overlap/duplication. We will meet in the future, choose two or three scenarios to review. The most important goal is how to eliminate the overlap, the gap, leading to the prevention of food or medicine that is of poor quality.

I thank you for raising this point because it is related to agriculture (but also) the use and consumption of agricultural products. This is taken into account from the cultivation, because now some countries have banned imports. The other day, our rice had a problem because of some chemicals. Tons of durian in Vietnam had to be thrown away because of chemicals that were found to cause cancer. So, our guarantee is not only for our food, but also to ensure a trade system and products that are recognized by the people, plus internationally, to ensure all techniques, both cultivation and food safety.

I thank Samdech Techo for his guidance recommendations (25) for the competition. In the past, we had a national competition mechanism for the private sector and the education and health sectors. I would like to ask His Excellency Ut Mony and His Excellency Dith Tina to organize another addition to the organization, which is the agricultural sector, in the national competition. In particular, the ministry level, the provincial level […] should consider raising opinions, not only agricultural officials but also agricultural units, meaning any department or district office that can help.

As for decentralization or delegation of documents and rights, please let the ministry examine it in detail. It is what we can do. Some products need to be exported (quickly). I once intervened during the time of His Excellency Veng Sokhonn to request the export stamp from Siem Reap with the approval of the ministry to put the products on the plane. If documents have to be taken from Phnom Penh, it can take a long time because some products, such as food, mangoes, etc., cannot be stored that long. There is a delegation of rights. All these tasks are requested (by the ministry to examine it in detail) because they are related to the inspection. Also, it makes the service faster and guarantees (to have confirmation) directly because some agricultural products (need to be shipped urgently). Some can be shipped for a long time because they have refrigerators, and they can be shipped for one or two months, but some, in a few days, the quality may deteriorate, especially when shipped by plane.

I am grateful for the congress members to have raised these points. Regarding the request for the establishment of a national mechanism, there is no need because we have many mechanisms in place already. There are many committees related to the agricultural sector. We also have a working group of the Royal Government with the agricultural sector, […] and agroindustry. This group has the role of coordinating a platform for meetings between the private sector and the state. If there is a problem, we meet to solve it. However, the implementation is left to the ministries and specialized institutions and the specialized private sector. We do not need to create another mechanism to replace it. Only an umbrella mechanism for coordination and for each arrow to be responsible. This is good. Otherwise, we will create a third actor who will act as a responsible entity for other institutions. On this topic, I would like to raise this much./.

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