By Ros Dina
Ka-set.info
Unofficial translation from French by Luc Sâr
Click here to read the original article in French
Click here to read the original article in Khmer
Qatar will buy crops produced from 10,000-hectare of rice fields located in the province of Svay Rieng, reserved for this country. In exchange, the small Middle East emirate will loan the necessary money to build an irrigation system in this zone known as the “Tonle Vayko,” Chan Sarun, the minister of agriculture explained on 02 May 2008.
This agreement will be finalized under the framework of a cooperation meeting between the two countries, which will be held on 05 May in Phnom Penh.
For now, the quantity of rice to be exported to Qatar is still unknown, but, rice farmers in the Tonle Vayko will be in charge of this production.
“We are encouraging the farmers to start growing early rice, starting now. With the starting rains, and soon the irrigation system, they can count on at least 2 to 3 crops per year,” Chan Sarun anticipated while underscoring that the first rice export to Qatar will not start until at least next year because the irrigation work will take at least one year.
The minister of agriculture predicted that the 2008 rice crop will reach 7 million tons, in comparison to 6.7 million tons in 2007.
This agreement will be finalized under the framework of a cooperation meeting between the two countries, which will be held on 05 May in Phnom Penh.
For now, the quantity of rice to be exported to Qatar is still unknown, but, rice farmers in the Tonle Vayko will be in charge of this production.
“We are encouraging the farmers to start growing early rice, starting now. With the starting rains, and soon the irrigation system, they can count on at least 2 to 3 crops per year,” Chan Sarun anticipated while underscoring that the first rice export to Qatar will not start until at least next year because the irrigation work will take at least one year.
The minister of agriculture predicted that the 2008 rice crop will reach 7 million tons, in comparison to 6.7 million tons in 2007.
