Cambodia to enjoy good crops this year, astrologer predicts

SIEM REAP, May 2, 2010 (Kyodo News International) -- A Cambodian royal astrologer predicted Sunday at one of the ancient temples in the Angkor Wat complex that Cambodia will have ''good'' agricultural crops this year.

Astrologer Korng Keng told a crowd of tens of thousands at Lean Chul Damrei Temple in Siem Reap Province that the country's crops, especially corn and beans, will be ''good.''

He made the prediction at a ceremony to mark the beginning of the rainy season in Cambodia, drawing his conclusions from the results of the Royal Plowing Ceremony.

The ceremony in Siem Reap is the first since 1967 when then Crown Prince, later King, Norodom Sihanouk presided over the plowing.

This year, Sihanouk's son King Norodom Sihamoni watched over the traditional welcome to the growing season along with thousands of government officials, diplomats, foreign visitors and Cambodians.

The ceremony is usually held annually near the royal palace in Phnom Penh at the start of the planting season.

But Thong Khon, minister of tourism, said the ceremony was in Siem Reap this year because the timing coincides with the first great Buddhist tourism event ''The Trail of Civilization and Art Performance'' at Angkor Wat in which more than 100,000 participants, including those from nine other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus China, Japan, South Korea and India.

It is also being used to attract more tourists to Angkor Wat.

Tourism is Cambodia's second-largest income earner after the garment sector and Angkor Wat is the main target for foreign tourists in Cambodia.

According to government statistics, despite a decline in tourism worldwide because of the global economic crisis, Cambodia achieved an increase of 1.7 percent in foreign arrivals last year to 2,161,577.

And in the first three months of 2010, 683,692 international tourists visited Cambodia, an increase of 9.87 percent from the same three months last year.

In the Royal Plowing Ceremony, seven golden trays -- holding rice, corn, beans, sesame, grass, water or rice wine -- are laid out for a pair of royal oxen and predictions for the coming growing season are made from the choices made by the oxen when they reach the trays.

This year, the oxen ate most of the corn and beans, indicating Cambodian farmers will have ''good'' crops at least for these two products in 2010.

According to the royal astrologer, if the oxen eat the grass it means bad luck for farmers because insects may attack the crops.

If they drink the rice wine it means turmoil, fighting or robbery in the country.

But this year, the oxen ate no grass, rice or sesame and drank no water or rice wine.

Drinking water indicates lots of water for cropping, while eating sesame indicates a big harvest.

Last year, when the oxen ate all the corn and beans, Korng Keng predicted ''quite good crops'' for Cambodian farmers.

And Cambodia produced about 7.3 million tons of rice in 2009, leaving a surplus of nearly 3 million tons for export.

Chan Sarun, minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, recently said Cambodia is expected to become one of the world's major rice exporters when a long-term plan to increase land under rice cultivation to 3.5 million hectares from the current 2.6 million hectares is complete.

Rice production then is estimated to reach 12.25 million tons annually.

Year of the Tiger is very bad for Cambodia: Prediction

Reminder: please don't forget to send Mr. Hun Xen your well wishes on his birthday on 04 April.

31 March 2010
By S. Botum
Free Press Magazine Online
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer

According the Moha Sangkran (almanac) book recently published by the ministry of Cult and religion, the year of the Tiger is the worst year for Cambodia.

Based on documents and fortunetellers working at the ministry of Cult, violence, natural disasters, social upheavals will take place in Cambodia in the upcoming year of the Tiger.

The almanac book indicated that: “The country will meet upheavals, wars, people will kill each other, and they will be separated from each others. The country will be in a bad situation when compared to the previous years.”

The almanac also predicted that agriculture will be fruitful in half of the country only, the weather will be very cold, and flood will take place due to strong rains.

Nevertheless, at this point in time when science has reached its zenith already, Cambodian people still consider predictions by fortunetellers as being important. However, bad events that took place last year – such as violence and killings, acid attacks, the Ketsana typhoon which led to at least 40 Cambodian dead and almost $132 million in damage, as well as other mishaps – could also become flash points [in the upcoming year].

On top of this, 4 April is also Hun Xen’s birthday, therefore his cronies and the big business hotshots are busily preparing to send their well wishes to him next week.

Ceremony Predicts Good Corn, Bean Harvest

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
12 May 2009

Royal oxen have predicted the crops for corn and bean will be good in Cambodia this year, following an ancient ceremony to mark the beginning of the rainy season.

In the Royal Plowing Ceremony, the oxen pull a blade through the soil of an ancient rice field, outside the Royal Palace, before offerings of beans, corn, grass, rice, water and wine are placed before them.

This year, the oxen nibbled at beans and corn, forsaking rice. That will mean good crops of the first two, but a poor rice crop, perhaps only 30 percent of the typical yield, according to Kang Ken, chief royal astrologer.

“The royal oxen did not eat rice at all,” he said.

The annual ceremony was overseen by King Norodom Sihamoni and attended by Senate President Chea Sim, National Assembly Heng Samrin, lawmakers, diplomats and thousands of onlookers.

Rice farmer Sim Ang, 51, from Kandal province, said he wasn’t completely convinced of the prediction.

“We must work hard for our rice farming to support our living, and we must not be hopeless for the negative prediction of the poor harvest,” he said after the ceremony.

Nop Sophal, a farmer from Kampont province, said she wasn’t convinced either.

“The ceremony is only an ancient prediction,” she said. “But now, nature and the weather are changing very often.”

Besides, she said, the oxen didn’t predict a good rice crop last year, “but I still had rice to eat.”

Still, the prediction was cause for worry for some, like 39-year-old Phnom Penh resident Ly Vanda.

“If the oxen don’t eat rice, we will face a rice shortage,” she said. “We are very worried for the poor harvest affecting the livelihood of farmers and Phnom Penh residents, while Cambodia is suffering under the global economic crisis.”

If the oxen aren’t hungry for rice, the export market is. Cambodia’s rice production increased to 7.2 million tons in 2008, up half a million tons from the year before, and the Ministry of Agriculture says the country could export 8 million tons per year by 2015.

Royal Oxen Predict Fair Harvest for Year

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
23 May 2008

If the royal oxen are to be believed, Cambodia will see fair harvests of rice, corn and beans in the upcoming year.

In the annual royal plow ceremony Friday, which marks the beginning of the rainy season, the oxen chose those three staples following three rounds of plowing, foregoing water, grass and wine.

Their crop prediction also indicates the Cambodian people will be spared calamity, disease and natural disaster, royal astronomer Kang Ken said.

The royal ceremony was attended by King Norodom Sihamoni, National Assembly President Heng Samrin and other dignitaries. Not in attendance were Prime Minister Hun Sen and Senate President Chea Sim.

“I am very happy for the result of the royal plough ceremony,” said Meas Kunthea, a farmer from Svay Rieng province.

“I am very happy because my home village plants rice, corn and bean and will have fair production in this year,” said Kratie province farmer Koa Top. “I’m not concerned about my agricultural crops.”

The high price of rice did cast a pall over the royal ceremony, he said. “The rice price is high. I am not happy, but if I have high rice production, I will be.”