Fewer farmers, bigger farms: Cambodian agricultural shift paves way for 2050 vision

Cambodia's jasmine rice, which was awarded the world’s best rice by international judges from 2012 to 2014. Cambodian farmers are adopting more high-value crops like aromatic rice. — YAP CHEE HONG/The Star

PHNOM PENH: Cambodia is undergoing a quiet but profound transformation in its agricultural sector. New data from the 2023 Census of Agriculture Cambodia (CAC) reveals a 13 per cent (280,000 households) decline in the number of agricultural households compared to 2013, even as the average landholding size has grown.

This structural shift — marked by fewer, larger farms — signals the country’s transition from subsistence agriculture to a more commercial, technology-enabled farming model.