PRICE-SUPPORT POLICY NEEDED TO PROTECT CAMBODIAN FARMERS
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy last week wrote to The Cambodia Daily the following letter:
"In your January 31 article titled “Thais Ask Cambodia To Curb Cassava Exports” (page 25) you exposed problems encountered by Cambodian farmers struggling with falling cassava prices. You pointed to Thailand’s request that Cambodia restricts its exports of the agricultural produce but you didn’t explain why the neighboring country is entitled to do so.
Contrary to the Cambodian government, which abandons farmers to market price fluctuations and leaves them in a desperate situation, the Thai government has been steadily following a socially oriented policy that consists of supporting and stabilizing agricultural prices so as to protect their farmers’ revenue and living conditions.
Every year the Thai government spends millions, if not billions, of dollars to buy cassava (or tapioca), rice, maize and palm oil under a well known agricultural intervention scheme and it exports, at a loss in times of falling prices, those agricultural products in a bid to prop up domestic prices.
The Thai government is actually subsidizing Thai farmers through a costly price-support mechanism. Understandably, they want to reserve the benefits of its price-support policy for Thai farmers only. This is the reason why they restrict access to the Thai market for many Cambodian farm products for which there could be a huge price differential between the two countries.
Many countries all over the world are doing the same as Thailand regarding their agriculture and trade policies. The moral is that Cambodia actually needs a responsible and caring government to implement appropriate policies because, more than anyone else, vulnerable Cambodian farmers deserve support and protection.
Sam Rainsy
Elected Member of Parliament
Former Minister of Finance
8 comments:
Good idea Mr. Sam Rainsy. But sadly. current Cambodian is not a an independent, sovereign and capable one, therefore this government only carries out policy that benefits the master, and not Cambodia.
Just look at our territorial integrity on the eastern part of the border.
A well-argued statement on the part of Mr. Sam Rainsy!
Cambodian farmers need help. How can they compete with others without some forms of subsidy and monetary assistance in hard time from their own government? It is a common sense and one does not need to take Economic 101 to understand such a simple concept of trade!
Will there be a time when Cambodia has a responsible and accountable government?
The time is now! I have seen all my life nothing but horrible Cambodian governments from one regime to the next and that explains why the country land gets smaller, forest getting thinner and many people getting poorer.
Come on, Hun Sen! It is time to put Cambodian people's and national interests ahead of yours and those of your rich cronies.
At least play fair in the election and let somebody else take over if they win since you are so incapable of leading the country anyway.
Pissed off
Thank you for sharing us your ideas. I agree with your ideas, that the current is under the form of autocratic leadership. It us unfortunate that profit to the nation, means profit to their pocket first.
I must admit that Sam Rainsy's interview with Radio France International on Saturday 4 Feb 2012 is of exceptional top statemanship. The manoeuvrings in politics is quite intrigued. Khmer politicians should learn from this. However, the problem is Mr. Sam Rainsy only says these sorts of things when he is in political dead end. This time he was not afforded an opportunity to apologise to Samdech Hun Sen like the last time. Out of desperation he has to say it. But is it enough for China to support SRP? Should China forgo Sihanouk and Samdech Hun Sen in favour of the opposition party? Stay tune, time will tell. All cards for China to play now....
After knocking on the doors of USA and the Wests for years, Sam Rainsy runs out of patient. Sam Rainsy came to a political road block. Now he is trying to "buy" China's support as a last resort. Let think again. A tiny nation such as Cambodia, what can Cambodia do for China in term of “protection”? All I could think of protection in this scenario is like SRP’s issuing statements in the case of the CPP's illegal land eviction? This is Sam Rainsy's weird idea of protecting China's interest and saving Srok Khmer. Think again SRP supporters! Cambodia does not have economical and/or political weight - NIL, period! All China wanted is Cambodia's land as bad as the Viet. The fighting in 1979 between China and Viet was to protect China's interest.
Nowadays, in Phnom Penh city big businesses are operating by the Chinese already. The present best climate for China interest in Cambodia is through Samdech Hun Sen courtesy of the CPP. Therefore, the best comment Sam Rainsy could make is to shut up on this regard but he should try to unite all Khmer nationalist/democratic groups instead of claiming SRP is the only true nationalist making silly comments out of desperation which could be detrimental to Khmer’s long survival.
China would not believe Sam Rainsy any way. A few years back, Sam Rainsy said China had strong complicated connection with Khmer rouge. Sam Rainsy wanted to know how much involvement were Sihanouk and China during 1975 - 1979. Again Samdech Hun Sen is doing a better job in concealing this by undermining the effectiveness of the ECCC, the Khmer Rouge tribunal.
We know China keeps Sihanouk and the monarchy as their Khmer pawns. Gradually, Hun Sen now is within China's sight also, as ongoing and potential interest for years to come. That's why we've started to see slight "cracks" between Hun Sen and Vietman.
Note also that Vietnam is playing a double sword edge politics with the USA. USA is coming back to Asia and Asia Pacific regions. This might be good and/or bad for Cambodia's land depend on Viet's behaviour.
Reminding you that Mr. Sam Sary, a cunning politician like Mr. Sam Rainsy, Sam Rainsy's father was allegedly killed by Sihanouk. Sihanouk is China's "special" long term friend. Through good times and bad times, Sihanouk always says "Yes, China!". You cannot buy support in a few short statements as Sam Rainsy was making through radio interview. And now Sam Rainsy "fingers" at the USA and the West over the dispute islands in the South China Sea. Indeed, it is a very dangerous move by this opposition party leader in Cambodia for Srok Khmer.
Rainsy, Rainsy,អើយ Rainsy,.....just stay in France if you truely care about Cambodia!
ll Khmer, think again for the benefit of Cambodia.
Khmer in Cabramatta, Sydney
Sam Rainsy is a flexible politician, he has integrity, and he has Cambodia's survival,independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity at heart, so I vote for him all the way.
To counter the Vietnamese expansion, the connection with the west alone is not enough, it should be multiple fronts, and the west should understand that.
9:44 AM, Another CHkae barking again
I agree with you poster 12:50PM
9:44 AM
"Sihanouk is China's ‘special’ long term friend, through good times and bad times."
You got it right China has been friend to Sihanouk as a person, but she has not cared about the Khmer people. Likewise China was friend of Pol Pot as a person but not his nation.
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