Sunday, January 23, 2011

Bangladesh to take Cambodian lands on lease to produce rice [-More forced evictions on the way?]

Dhaka, Sunday January 23 2011
Nazmul Ahsan
Financial Express-Bangladesh

Bangladesh will take Cambodian lands on lease to produce rice over there and import it to meet the local demands for the same.

Besides, Bangladeshi businessmen will establish rice husking mills in different cities of Cambodia.

A recent inter-ministerial meeting, held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), took the decision. Foreign Secretary Mijarul Kayes presided over the meeting, sources said.

Representatives from ministries of agriculture, commerce, food and foreign affairs attended the meeting.


The decision came following the visit of foreign minister Dipu Moni, to Cambodia in late December, 2010, a high official in the foreign ministry said.

The meeting decided to form an expert team comprising representatives from different ministries concerned and private sector. The proposed team, likely to be headed by foreign secretary, will shortly visit Cambodia to complete necessary formalities with Cambodian government, sources said.

"The team to visit Cambodia will explore all potentials in taking lease of their lands to produce food grains, particularly rice and import the same to Bangladesh," a top official in the foreign ministry said.

"A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Bangladesh and Cambodia will be signed following the visit," he added.

The foreign ministry officials said the government of Cambodia responded positively to a request for leasing out their lands to Bangladesh for agricultural purpose during the visit of Dipu Moni.

The terms of condition, particularly the lease-period and annual fees for the leased land, will be finalised by expert teams of contracting countries, sources said.

Asked, a high official in the foreign ministry, however, said no government ministry or agency conducted any feasibility study on the issue so far.

Bangladesh annually imports 3.0-3.2 million tonnes of food grains to meet the local demand.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

it show perhaps some khmer farmers lack good organization, etc... i mean, it shouldn't be about eviction, etc... it should be about helping khmer farmers to get better organization so their rice, fruits, crops, etc, can find a market out there; this way is help the khmer farmers to grow and sell their crops, etc, so, in turn help alleviate their hardship and joblessness, etc... so, look for ways to better organize! why not formed a khmer farmers union, etc, so they can have voices, strength in unity, etc... everyone got to make a living somehow, you know! i think it is better to think of ways to improve the way people live, work, etc in cambodia, that's the smart way, i believe. it looks like people are still in the dark and lack of assistance, supports, money, ideas, thinking, logic, etc... wake up and get some education in order to improve lives for all, ok!

Anonymous said...

This is a nice comment:
Anonymous said...
it show perhaps some khmer farmers lack good organization, etc... i mean, it shouldn't be about eviction,

However,
this person do not understand the Reality in Cambodia. Wherever you look around in Cambodia Khmer People cannot work together, they are so much selfish that they only think for them self and never for other People.
That is why Foreigners come to help Khmer people.

So the successful Business in Cambodia go to People which has an open mind, willing to listen to Experts and do a good agriculture Business.
Example is SOK ANH which do very well with his chicken farm.

The Government is ONLY a mirror of the mind of the People so do not complain about the Government.
See that you do a better Business!

It is a shame that Bangladeshi feel they can do a better Business in Cambodia to plant rice than Khmer People.

This show that Khmer People are disabled to grow there own rice and instead sell it to Bangladesh.

You can see that Foreigners in Cambodia only do the Business which Khmer People cannot do.
Name it Bangladesh, Vietnam or China.

Now start to think how the People in this Country think about us the Khmer People that we cannot do agriculture in our own land???

Anonymous said...

2:00PM

Have the RCG done enough to provide support and training to the Khmer farmers?
What about the land grabbing epidemic, would this encourage the farmers to work for the thugs to come and take the land?

You have no shame by bringing Sok Anh's chicken farm business to set an example for Khmer farmers. Why don't you ask yourself, do the Khmer farmers have the same opportunity like this thugs Sok Anh?

Anonymous said...

How is it possible that Cambodia has land for lease to foreign countries for food production when dirt poor Cambodian people don't even have land to live on?

This is fucken corruption at the highest level! AH HUN SEN Vietcong sponsor government is taking dirt poor Cambodian people for a fool!

Just follow the money trail and you will know who benefit from the land lease and the land eviction!

Anonymous said...

Many vital economic information are restricted from dirt poor Cambodian people by AH HUN SEN Vietcong slave government and only Okhna and AH HUN SEN associates know what need to be done to move economic inside Cambodia! Dirt poor Cambodian people need to know that they are still living under dictatorship and they are no less than commodity which foreingers buy and trade with no regard for human right and human dignity!