Farmers at Loss to Nationally Move Produce
Former Khmer Rouge farmers say they find difficulties getting their produce to local Cambodian markets. (14 January 2008)
In the ex-Khmer Rouge district of Kamrieng, in Battambang province, farmers say they have difficulty moving their produce inside Cambodia and are forced instead to sell to middlemen, who move the goods to Thailand. Mam Van, a former Khmer Rouge guerrilla, said she is no longer a fighter, but farming in Battambang province is proving difficult. There are no customers in her village, she told VOA Khmer, and it is difficult for her to find good roads to markets. “I would like for all organizations and all parties help us find markets for villagers directly, so there would be more profit than the middlemen in neighboring countries,” she said. Kuy San, a neighboring farmer, said villagers would like to sell the crops they grow, especially with the rising price of fuel. “The roads for transportation are far and create problems,” he said. “So the middlemen take that into consideration.” The price for potatoes is especially low, he said. District officials say there is little business inside the country, and foreign vendors keep coming to buy the products. Farmers are left with little control of the price of their goods, officials said.