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Cambodia sacks agriculture minister amid floods

Veng Sakhon was ‘out of touch’ with realities on the ground and failed to adequately respond to the situation
A Cambodian farmer walks through a rice field in floodwaters at Pea Reang district in Prey Veng province, some 60 kilometers east of Phnom Penh on Oct. 6

A Cambodian farmer walks through a rice field in floodwaters at Pea Reang district in Prey Veng province, some 60 kilometers east of Phnom Penh on Oct. 6. (Photo: AFP)

Published: October 11, 2022 11:18 AM GMT
Updated: October 11, 2022 11:19 AM GMT

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has sacked his agriculture minister after complaints from farmers’ groups the government had failed to adequately respond to torrential floods which have inundated the country in recent months.

Veng Sakhon was fired by a royal decree which was signed by King Norodom Sihamoni, and is expected to be replaced by the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Dith Tyna, as agriculture minister once a hastily arranged vote of confidence is arranged.

Hun Sen said in a public address that urgent cooperation was required to assess the scale of the damage caused by the floods and to prepare the distribution of rice and other plant seeds in time for the next harvests.

He also ordered the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and sub-national authorities such as the National Disaster Management Committee to make an assessment.

“It is a necessity, and we have to do it urgently,” he said.

Veng Sakhon could not be reached for comment.

Cambodian farmers were struggling with a four-year drought which the Mekong River Commission said has ended with this year’s monsoon delivering heavy rains, which long-range weather forecasters say will extend into December due to the La Nina weather phenomena.

According to the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM), 22 of Cambodia’s 25 provinces have been affected by floods with six in the north badly impacted, and almost 30,000 hectares of rice fields had been destroyed across the country.

A further 133,237 hectares of rice paddy fields and 11,848 hectares of mixed crops had been damaged while provincial schools closed, the annual water festival for November was canceled and landmines have been unearthed and washed downstream.

The lives of more than 70,000 families have reportedly been hurt by floods, with more than 1,700 families evacuated and about 25 people believed to have perished.

The wet season normally ends in October but the NCDM said La Nina, which occurs every three to five years, results in a cooling of surface water temperatures across the Pacific Ocean. As such it expects heavier rains across Southeast Asia until the end of the year.

Theng Savoeun, president of the Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community, said Hun Sen had warned Veng Sakhon about his inaction on several occasions and that his sacking could relate to several issues that farmers are facing.

This includes “lacking access to market, while others have been affected by the floods without proper intervention, or the failure to help provide seeds to farmers in times of need,” he told Radio Free Asia. “It shows the lack of responsibility during his term.”

Yang Saing Koma, chairman of the board of directors of the Grassroots Democracy Party, said the ousted minister was out of touch and had trouble working with civil society and political parties.

“It reflects the reality not just inside the Ministry of Agriculture. Likewise, it happens among other ministries. It is just the fact that the Agriculture Ministry plays a vital role in Cambodia given the fact that it relates to so many people who are farmers and to the country’s economy,” he said.

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