IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2022) 13-1

Research article
erd

The Influence of Agricultural Production Information on
the Agricultural Management Scale in Rural Areas ofCambodia
SHINOBU YAMADA*
Research Center, Institute of Environmental Rehabilitation and Conservation, Tokyo, Japan
Email: sinobun4022@gmail.com

MARI ARIMITSU
Extension Center, Institute of Environmental Rehabilitation and Conservation, Tokyo, Japan

MACHITO MIHARA
Faculty of Regional Environment Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, JapanKUMIKO KAWABE
Extension Center, Institute of Environmental Rehabilitation and Conservation, Tokyo, Japan
Received 29 March 2020

Accepted 26 November 2021(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract The main object of this study was to quantitatively grasp the relevance among
local farmers to analyze the characteristics of local farming and agricultural production
information to build stable and sustainable farming needed by farmers. The research site
was ten districts in Kampong Cham Province, Cambodia. The results of the analysis are
summarized as follows: 1) It was confirmed that the index of agricultural production
information varies depending on the districts; 2) Based on the Canonical Correlation
Analysis results, cultivated land and annual income from agricultural activity, which are
regarded to be the results of agricultural management, have relevance among factors suchas attributions, crops, and agricultural production information was clarified. The cultivatedland is affected by the index, which is aimed at expanding the scale of rice production. In
addition, annual income from agricultural activity is affected by an index aimed at highquality crop production based on new technology information, information about organic
fertilizer and training. According to the results of the analysis, agricultural productivity
expansions in Cambodia depends on providing information that can be adaptable to theintention of agricultural management of the local farmers.
Keywords Cambodia, canonical correlation analysis, multiple farming

INTRODUCTION
In Cambodia, per capita income has increased along with economic development. Consequently, ademand for various agricultural products in addition to rice has increased resulting in increased
production of various agricultural products including vegetables. Currently, in rural areas, many
local farmers intend to produce rice as usual, while many farmers produce vegetables and fruits
using multiple farming. In order to mitigate poverty in rural areas, it is necessary to produce avariety of crops, centering on rice production, which is expected to expand in the future. The
building of stable and sustainable agricultural management is essential. According to thisbackground, the main object of this study was to quantitatively grasp the relevance among local
farmers in different districts to analyze the characteristics of local farming and agricultural
production information to build stable and sustainable farming needed by the farmers. In addition,
this study focuses on multiple farming in Cambodia.

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OBJECTIVE
The main object of this study was to quantitatively grasp the relevance among local farmers in
different districts to analyze the characteristics of local farming and agricultural production
information to build stable and sustainable farming needed by the farmers. The specific analysis of
this study has the following two issues: 1) the index of agricultural production information requiredby local farmers per district; 2) the Canonical Correlation Analysis applies to attributions, crops
and agricultural production information are associated with scale of cultivated land and annual
income from agricultural activity considered to be a result of farm management. The CanonicalCorrelation Analysis is used in quantitative analysis of the relation between the agricultural
management scale acreage allotment and regional structure (Ohtake and Aoyagi, 1988; Matsumoto,1998).
METHODOLOGY
The research site was in Kampong Cham Province. Kampong Cham Province is located northeastof Phnom Penh, and southeast of Siem Reap. During the French colonial period, in Kampong
Cham Province, the hilly terrain was developed as a rubber plantation zone. The population of
Kampong Cham province is approximately 1.75 million and much of the population is engaged inagriculture. The target area of the questionnaire survey consisted of the following ten districts:
Batheay district: 45 respondents (10.3% of the total respondents); Chamkar Leu district: 50(11.4%); Chueng Prey district: 36 (8.2%); Kaoh Sotin district: 46 (10.5%); Kampong Siem district:
38 (8.7%); Krong Kampong Cham district: 48 (11.0%); Kang Meas district: 44 (10.1%); Prey
Chhor district: 36 (8.2%); Srei Santhor district: 50 (11.4%); and Stueng Trang district: 44 (10.1%).
The total number of respondents is 471, and the number of valid respondents is 437. In Kampong
Cham Province, vegetables and fruit trees are widely produced while their main production is rice.
As for the vegetables, cabbage and cucumber are often planted and produced throughout the year.
Also, various vegetables and fruits including luffa, bitter melon, winter melon, Chinese spinach,leaf onion, lemongrass, green beans, papaya, and cashew etc. are produced. Additionally, at thissite, the Institute of Environmental Rehabilitation and Conservation (ERECON) carries out aproject on Promoting Sustainable Agricultural Conditions for Poverty Reduction in Kampong
Cham Province in Cambodia (October/2017-September/2020). This project aims to promotesustainable farming practices to local farmers based on the cyclic use of natural resources.

Fig. 1 Location of the study site in Kampong Cham Province
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONⒸ ISERD

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The Index of Agricultural Production Information Required by Local Farmers per District
Table 1 shows the index of the questionnaire survey conducted, which contains categories forgender and age of the respondent, educational background, farm acreage, cropping pattern andfarmers' revenues. Table 2 shows segregated results of indicators showing the characteristics of the
agricultural production information for each district. In addition, multiple responses are gatheredregarding the agricultural production information. For each district, the following characteristics
are taken into consideration from the results in Tables 1 and 2.
Table 1 Average of agricultural management scale for each district
Number of response
All
Batheay

Index
Gender

1. Male2. FemaleAge
1.Less than 29 years old
2.30-39years
3.40-49years
4.50-59years
5.More than 60 years old
Educational 1. Never had been to school
background 2. Primary
3. Secondary
4. High school
5.College/University
Total
1.Less than 0.5 haarea
2.0.6-1ha
3.1.1-1.5ha
4.1.6-2ha
5.More than 2.1ha
Cropping
1.Ricepattern2.Vegetables
3.Fruitfarmers'
1.Less than 1,000,000 Rielrevenues
2.1,000,000-2,999,999 Riel
3.3,000,000-4,999,999 Riel
4.5,000,000-6,999,999Riel
5.7,000,000-8,999,999 Riel
6.More than 9,000,000 Riel
source ： Survey Date

Krong
Kampong
Kang
Prey
Srei
StuengKampong
Siem
Meas
Chhor
Santhor
Trang
Cham
437
45
50
36
46
38
48
44
36
50
44
(n) (%) (n) (%) (n) (%) (n) (%) (n) (%) (n) (%) (n) (%) (n) (%) (n) (%) (n) (%) (n) (%)
282 64.53 32 0.71 42 0.84 16 0.44 26 0.57 19 0.50 25 0.52 34 0.77 20 0.56 36 0.72 32 0.73
155 35.47 13 0.29 8 0.16 20 0.56 20 0.43 19 0.50 23 0.48 10 0.23 16 0.44 14 0.28 12 0.27
17 3.89 2 0.04 3 0.06 0 0.00 1 0.02 2 0.05 0 0.00 1 0.02 1 0.03 3 0.06 4 0.09
113 25.86 15 0.33 20 0.40 7 0.19 6 0.13 10 0.26 7 0.15 14 0.32 7 0.19 8 0.16 19 0.43
140 32.04 21 0.47 15 0.30 9 0.25 20 0.43 12 0.32 15 0.31 17 0.39 9 0.25 10 0.20 12 0.27
116 26.54 2 0.04 7 0.14 12 0.33 16 0.35 11 0.29 17 0.35 6 0.14 18 0.50 22 0.44 5 0.11
51 11.67 5 0.11 5 0.10 8 0.22 3 0.07 3 0.08 9 0.19 6 0.14 1 0.03 7 0.14 4 0.09
42 9.61 5 0.11 3 0.06 7 0.19 2 0.04 0 0.00 14 0.29 2 0.05 0 0.00 2 0.04 7 0.16
228 52.17 24 0.53 34 0.68 21 0.58 20 0.43 22 0.58 17 0.35 20 0.45 18 0.50 25 0.50 27 0.61
133 30.43 14 0.31 11 0.22 5 0.14 19 0.41 13 0.34 14 0.29 14 0.32 17 0.47 20 0.40 6 0.14
33 7.55 2 0.04 2 0.04 3 0.08 5 0.11 3 0.08 2 0.04 8 0.18 1 0.03 3 0.06 4 0.09
1 0.23 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 1 0.02 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00
91 20.82 5 0.11 15 0.30 5 0.14 0 0.00 13 0.34 30 0.63 7 0.16 9 0.25 5 0.10 2 0.05
116 26.54 14 0.31 13 0.26 10 0.28 17 0.37 11 0.29 6 0.13 11 0.25 18 0.50 11 0.22 5 0.11
117 26.77 12 0.27 10 0.20 14 0.39 13 0.28 6 0.16 8 0.17 16 0.36 3 0.08 25 0.50 10 0.23
40 9.15 8 0.18 3 0.06 1 0.03 7 0.15 7 0.18 0 0.00 5 0.11 1 0.03 3 0.06 5 0.11
73 16.70 6 0.13 9 0.18 6 0.17 9 0.20 1 0.03 4 0.08 5 0.11 5 0.14 6 0.12 22 0.50
394 0.36 43 0.46 34 0.27 35 0.36 45 0.36 32 0.32 42 0.35 38 0.32 35 0.43 48 0.35 42 0.44
389 0.36 37 0.40 48 0.39 31 0.32 43 0.35 35 0.35 46 0.38 42 0.36 33 0.41 50 0.37 24 0.25
307 0.28 13 0.14 42 0.34 32 0.33 36 0.29 33 0.33 32 0.27 38 0.32 13 0.16 38 0.28 30 0.3130
6.86 0 0.00 1 2.22 8 0.07 3 9.26 7 0.05 2 7.47 0 0.00 6 24.46 3 0.02 0 0.00
169 38.67 9 0.09 16 35.56 18 0.16 23 70.99 15 0.11 25 93.40 17 0.09 14 57.06 24 0.16 8 23.48
122 27.92 12 0.12 12 26.67 7 0.06 11 33.95 11 0.08 12 44.83 18 0.10 10 40.76 15 0.10 14 41.08
57 13.04 5 0.05 13 28.89 2 0.02 6 18.52 1 0.01 5 18.68 6 0.03 3 12.23 4 0.03 12 35.22
32
7.32 10 0.10 4 8.89 1 0.01 2 6.17 4 0.03 1 3.74 2 0.01 1 4.08 2 0.01 5 14.67
27
6.18 9 0.09 4 8.89 0 0.00 1 3.09 0 0.00 3 11.21 1 0.01 2 8.15 2 0.01 5 14.67
Chamkar
Leu

Chueng
Prey

Kaoh
Sotin

In Batheay District, the average annual agricultural income was the highest among the 10
districts. In the order of importance, they valued information about training, information aboutorganic fertilizer, and new technology information. For Chamkar Leu District surveys indicatedthat more vegetables and fruits were produced than rice, based on the local cropping pattern. The
farmers, in order of importance, valued information about organic fertilizer, new technology
information and information about seeds. In Cheung Prey District, the average agricultural annual
income is the lowest among the 10 districts and respondents have the highest average age. They
most valued information about seeds, followed by information about training and market. Kaoh
Sotin District has the third largest average management area among the 10 districts. The
agricultural production information that was answered as important was in the order of information
about seeds, information about organic fertilizer and market. In Kampong Siem District, it has thesecond lowest average management area and annual income out of 10 districts. The agricultural
production information that was answered as important was in the order of information about seeds,
new technology information and market information. In Krong Kampong Cham, it has the smallest
average management area, because it located in an urban area in the province. The agricultural
production information that was answered as important was in the order of information aboutorganic fertilizer, information about seeds and planting information. In Kang Meas District, half ofthe respondents graduated from secondary school and high school. The agricultural production
information that was answered as important was in the order of information about chemicalfertilizer, information about seeds and planting information. In Prey Chhor District, almost all local
farmers produce rice and vegetables, while fruits production is low. The agricultural production
information that was answered as important was in the order of planting information, informationⒸ ISERD

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about organic fertilizer and seeds. In Srei Santhor District, the farmers have the third lowest
average agricultural annual income among the 10 districts. The agricultural production informationthat was answered as important was in the order of new technology information, market
information, and information about seeds. In Stueng Trang District, the farmers had the youngest
average age, and the largest average management area. The average agricultural annual income wasalso high. They ranked agricultural production information as most important followed by,information about organic fertilizer, new technology information and information about seeds. The
composite questionnaire answers the index of agricultural production information varies among the
districts.
Table 2 Characteristics of agricultural production information for each district
Number of response
All
Batheay

Index
Agricultural
production
information

Information about seeds
Information about machinery
New technology information
Information about chemical fertilizer
Information about organic fertilizer
Market information
Information about training
Price information
Information about harvest
Planting information
Source ： Survey Date

Chamkar
Leu

Chueng
Prey

Kaoh
Sotin

Kampong Krong
Kang
Prey
Srei
StuengSiem
Kampong
Meas
Chhor
Santhor
Trang
Cham
437
45
50
36
46
38
48
44
36
50
44
(n) (%) (n) (%) (n) (%) (n) (%) (n) (%) (n) (%) (n) (%) (n) (%) (n) (%) (n) (%) (n) (%)
194 0.44
8 0.18 14 0.28 29 0.81 28 0.61 22 0.58 22 0.46 24 0.55 17 0.47 13 0.26 17 0.39
26 0.06
0 0.000 0.005 0.14
1 0.02
8 0.21
2 0.04
4 0.09
1 0.03
2 0.04
3 0.07135 0.31 13 0.29 17 0.34 10 0.28 10 0.22 19 0.50 11 0.23 13 0.30
5 0.14 18 0.36 19 0.43
32 0.07
1 0.02
4 0.08
4 0.11
3 0.07
8 0.21
6 0.13
1 0.02
4 0.11
1 0.020 0.00
199 0.46 18 0.40 18 0.36 13 0.36 24 0.52 15 0.39 30 0.63 30 0.68 18 0.50 12 0.24 21 0.48
113 0.26
9 0.20 13 0.26 14 0.39 22 0.48 17 0.45
9 0.19
6 0.14
2 0.06 15 0.30
6 0.14117 0.27 24 0.53
2 0.04 19 0.53
5 0.11 15 0.39
8 0.17
9 0.209 0.25 10 0.20 16 0.36
32 0.07
2 0.04
1 0.02
8 0.22
6 0.13
6 0.16
1 0.02
2 0.050 0.001 0.02
5 0.11
15 0.03
0 0.000 0.004 0.11
2 0.04
4 0.11
1 0.020 0.000 0.000 0.004 0.09138 0.32
5 0.11 10 0.20 13 0.36 21 0.46
6 0.16 18 0.38 19 0.43 25 0.69
6 0.12 15 0.34

Table 3 Estimation results of canonical correlation analysis

IindexCultivated land
Annual income from agricultural activity
1 Gender2 Age
3 Educational background4 Rice5 Vegetables
6 Fruit
7 Information about seeds
8 Information about machinery
9 New technology information
10 Information about chemical fertilizer
11 Information about organic fertilizer
12 Market information
13 Information about training
14 Price information
15 Information about harvest
16 Planting information

：
：
：
：
：
：
：
：
：
：
：
：
：
：
：
：
：
：

Ｙ1
Ｙ2
Ｘ1
Ｘ2
Ｘ3
Ｘ4
Ｘ5
Ｘ6
Ｘ7
Ｘ8
Ｘ9
Ｘ10
Ｘ11
Ｘ12
Ｘ13
Ｘ14
Ｘ15
Ｘ16

（5 levels）（5 levels）（dummy)（5 levels）（5 levels）（dummy)（dummy)（dummy)（dummy)（dummy)（dummy)（dummy)（dummy)（dummy)（dummy)（dummy)（dummy)（dummy)Canonical variables
standardized coefficients
CV1
CV2
0.99580.34760.0129-1.0547
0.04670.2559-0.2296-0.26130.25340.07480.698-0.1882-0.259-0.02440.296-0.5674-0.3184-0.30510.1119-0.06290.10610.2414-0.0442-0.1390.02960.2306-0.0133
0.18940.13430.27870.1084-0.2773
0.27830.07080.0616-0.1661

Sourse Sarvey date
Note Eigenvalue: CV1; 0.19, CV2; 0.13

The Influence of Agricultural Production Information on the Agricultural Management Scale
In this section, Canonical Correlation Analysis reveals that attribute, crop, and agricultural
production information are related to annual income from arable land and agricultural activities andare considered a result of farm management. The Canonical Correlation Analysis is used to identify
and measure the associations between two sets of variables. The analysis is applicable in the same
way as multiple regression analysis, but it is more suitable when there are multiple objective
variables. Therefore, the objective variables of Canonical Correlation analysis are Y1: cultivatedland and Y2: annual income from agricultural activity. Further, explanatory variables are X1:
gender; X2: age; X3: educational background; X4: rice; X5: vegetables; X6: fruits; X7: information
about seeds; X8: information about machinery; X9: new technology information; X10: information
about chemical fertilizer; X11: information about organic fertilizer; X12: market information; X13:Ⓒ ISERD

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information about training; X14: price information; X15: information about harvest; and X16:
planting information. In Table 3, the results from the estimation of the Canonical Correlation
Analysis are shown in the research site.
According to the results of Canonical Correlation analysis, Canonical variate 1 shows
cultivated land while Canonical variate 2 shows annual income from agricultural activity.
Cultivated land: educational background, rice and fruits are affecting as attributions, andinformation about harvest is affecting as agricultural production information. Therefore, thecultivated land is affected by the index aiming at expanding the scale of rice production. For annual
income from agricultural activity: gender is affecting as attributions, and new technology
information, information about organic fertilizer and training are affecting as agricultural
production information. Therefore, annual income from agricultural activity is affected by an index
of new technology information, information about organic fertilizer and training, all of which areimportant for high-quality crop production. The results of the analysis suggest that the developmentof multiple farming in Cambodia is under the condition of expanding rice production andincreasing the skills of local farmers in agricultural technology.
CONCLUSION
The main object of this study was to quantitatively grasp the relevance among local farmers toanalyze the characteristics of local farming and agricultural production information to build stable
and sustainable farming needed by the farmers in Kampong Cham Province, Cambodia. In addition,a Canonical Correlation Analysis applies to attributions, crops and agricultural production
information are associated with annual income from agricultural activity and cultivated land thatare considered as a result of farm management.
The results of the analysis are summarized as follows. According to the answers fromquestionnaire, it was confirmed that the index of agricultural production information varies
depending on the districts. According to the results of Canonical Correlation analysis, thecultivated land is affected by the index aimed at expanding the scale of rice production. In addition,
annual income from agricultural activity is affected by the index aimed at high-quality crop
production based on new technology information, information about organic fertilizer and training.
As a result of the analysis, it was suggested that for the development of multiple farming in
Cambodia, in addition to the premise of expanding rice production, it is necessary to improve theskills necessary for the conversion of high-quality crop production.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP18K05857.
REFERENCES
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and regional structure in the Tohoku District, Japan. Quarterly Journal of Geography, 50 (2), 105-108.
Yagura, K. 2008. Poverty and widening economic disparity in rural Cambodia. Showado, Japan.
Yamada, S., Mihara, M. and Kawabe, K. 2016. Characteristics of transformation of traditional uplandfarming system in Cambodia, A case study of Snuol Commune, Kratie Province. International Journal ofEnvironmental and Rural Development, 7 (2), 81-86.
Yamada, S., Mihara, M. and Kawabe, K. 2017. Characteristics of participants of non-formal education
contributing to learning achievement, A case study of Snuol Commune, Kratie Province, Cambodia.
International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development, 8 (2), 111-116.

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