IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2012) 3-2

Research articleerd

A Study on Cassava Marketing in Chang Krang Commune,
Chhet Burei District, Kratie Province
SOPHAT ATH*
Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Email:ath.sophat@yahoo.com

KONGKEA CHHAYRoyal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

CHANTHA NUTH
Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

SOPHEARITH SOKRoyal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Received 16 December 2011

Accepted 7 February 2012(*: Corresponding Author)

Abstract Cassava, an agro-industry crop, has been cultivated for years by farmers;
however, it was not popular in the past. Recently, the market demand for cassava root hasradically increased; hence, the number of farmers and cultivated areas has boosted
considerably. This study on Cassava Marketing was conducted to measure: 1) cassava
household production, 2) cassava marketing, and 3) the important of cassava production infarmer household. 81 producers, 5 traders and 4 key informants in Chang Krang
commune, ChhetBurei district, Kratie province were selected. Multiple tools in
Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) method were employed. The result of the study
shows that the majority (95%) of Chang Krang commune farmers depend on Cassava
production. The cultivating method is operated in a traditional way and depends on rain
fed-crop. The majority of households own more than one ha of cassava field. Mostly,
cassava is converted into dry chip and sold between January and March; the average pricewas 850 riels/kg. Approximately ninety five percent of the yield is exported to Vietnam.
The cassava marketing pattern in the selected area was appropriate as not only are theyrich in middlemen, but also the location is close to the Vietnamese border. The cassava
price is defined by Vietnamese buyers and the information regarding to market price waslimited. Most farmers could get benefit both from cassava root and trunk. Cassava
production contributed 87.68% to rural livelihood. The advantages of planting cassava
included not only generating family income but also employing rural workers andreducing local and cross border migration. In conclusion, cassava production is very
important for farmers in Chang Krang commune and the marketing situation is the mainfactor that effects production chain.
Keywords cassava household production, marketing, income household

INTRODUCTION
Agriculture is the most important sector in the Cambodian economy and plays an important role in
improving economics, poverty alleviation, and building social sustainability. In 2009, agriculture
contributed 33.5% to the Gross Domestic Production (GDP) and crops production was 52.9% ofagriculture sector (Ministry of Agriculture,   Forestry,   and   Fisheries“MAFF”,   2009).   Besides rice,which is the major food production in Cambodia, farmers, local and international traders, and industrials are attracted to cassava production. Recently, Chinese businessmen have been fascinatedwith cassava and plan to produce cassava in Cambodia- about 150,000 tons per year for export toⒸISERD67

IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2012) 3-2

Republic of China (Phnom Penh Post Newspaper, 2011). As a result, cassava growing areas haverisen remarkably. In 2008, the cassava growing area was only 108,122 hectares and, in 2010, it wasincreased to 200,821 hectares (MAFF, 2010).
Cassava is a kind of root crop that is convenient to grow, drought tolerant, insect and illness
resistance, and has a high yield (FAO, 2007). In Cambodia, there are two main types of cassava:
sweet cassava and bitter cassava. Sweet cassava is commonly grown for family consumption andbitter cassava is generally grown for animal feed or as a raw material for processing industries(Hung, J. et al., 2009). According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the utilizationof cassava will continue to increase in food processing and animal feed both locally and for exportabroad.
Nowadays, the government of Cambodia has tried to attract local and international businessmen to invest in the cassava market, especially, the Chinese. This is because cassava will become
the root crop of the future (Cambodia Daily Newspaper, 2011).
In conclusion, cassava production will continue to be developed, especially its technical production and marketing. As technical production improves, it will extend to all farming areas. As formarketing will be promote both in local and international. As a result, farmer living standard will
be better and prosperity from cassava production.
METHODOLOGY
Study site: The study was conducted in 3 villages (Chang Krang, Or Chhor, and ToulTrangvillage), Chang Krang commune, Chhet Borei district, Kratie province. In these areas, most people
grow cassava and depend on it.
Sampling size and method: The study included 81 farmer households, 5 traders, and 4 key
informants in this commune. The samplings of 81 farmer households were chosen in 3 villages;
Chang Krang had 51 households, Or Chhor had 6 households, and Toul Trang had 24 households.
Moreover, it was including 1 person from the Kratie Provincial Department of Agriculture, and 1
person from the Provincial Department of Commercial.
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
History of Cassava in Kratie Province
Cassava was brought to grow in Kratie Province in 2004 by Mr. Leang Seng, Deputy Director ofProvincial Department of Agriculture. He cooperated with Ben Perk Province, Vietnam. Vietnam
has provided the KM-94 variety of cassava for Cambodia two times: 2004 and 2005. Cassava wasinitially grown in Pi Thnou and Sre Char communes, Kratie Province.
Table 1 Initiative of growing cassava in Kraties Province
Year2004
2005

Amount of Cassava(trunk)
400,000
650,000

Grow Area size (ha)300500

Yield Harvested of freshroot (t)9.000

Cassava Household Production
Capital: Cassava  production  capital  was  from  loan  provider  and  farmers’  own  capital.  Typically,  farmer used their own capital for production account to 60.49% and borrowed from loan provider
about 39.51%. The reason that farmers didn’t  prefer  to  use outside capital because the interest rate
was high and farmers could not afford it. For farmer that accept loan, they commonly paid back in
dry chip cassava. They were unable to pay back in interest rate. Farmer in study area could not useⒸISERD68IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2012) 3-2

credit from Rural Micro-Finance for the reason that they have no property or land title to pawn for
the Micro-Finance.
Machinery for land preparation: For land preparation, farmers mostly use their own machinery(tractors) because their land could not be prepared by animal power. Farmer who does not own themachinery hired it from others. Farmer use tractor for land preparation around 80% of the time andprepared the land with animals, which accounted for 20%.
Size area: According to the results, Cassava area was larger  than  other  kind  of  crops’  area.  In  all  three villages of Chang Krang Commune, the cassava area was larger than 50%. The cassava area
in Chang Krang was 58.05%, Toul Trang was 53.76%, and Orchor was 65.86%. So, we canconclude that farmers paid more attention to cassava than other crops like corn, soy bean, sesame,and bean.

Fig. 1 Cassava area of each village
Growing Technique: Farmers in the study location had poor knowledge of growing technique.
They applied traditional techniques, cultural way, and rain water. For maintaining the growing area,
farmers did not use chemicals or fertilizer. They just cleared small forests or grasses several times.
With respect to cassava variety, farmers grow only KM-94 that has been imported fromVietnam. This variety provides high yield and is tolerant to drought and pests. This variety issuitable for processing in dry chip form. KM-94 is commonly called Migort or Mimaly by farmers,
which in Thai is called KU-50.
Generally, the cassava season lasts for 8 months. Farmers start to grow cassava at any timebetween February and May. It depends on rain: if there was enough rain in February, farmer will
start to grow in February. But, if there was less rain, farmer will wait until to April or May. The
harvest time is from October to February. Farmer harvests the product by relying on the market.
Frequently, if farmer grow in February or March, farmer will harvest in October or December.
However, if they grow in May, they will harvest in January or February.
Cassava marketing
Cassava in the market: The majority (95%) of cassava production was exported to Vietnam
through the Kratie and Kompong Cham Provincial Border. These two borders were extremely
economically for exporting agricultural products to Vietnam. Local consumption of cassava
production was around 5%. Vietnam is the most important market for traders.

Fig. 2 The percentage of cassava exported to VietnamⒸISERD69

IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2012) 3-2Traders export yield to Vietnam because the local demand is low and limited. The processingindustries are only located in Phnom Penh capital city and Kompong Cham Province. On the otherhand, exporting products to Vietnam is easier because it is convenient to transport and high demand.
Moreover, farmers around industrial areas could afford the industry’s   raw   materials.   So,   when   it  was surplus in the local market, the traders need to export to another area, especially, to Vietnam.
The main factors in the market: The main factors that play an important role in the cassava
market are: the farmer, the collector, the small trader, the trader that transports cassava to Vietnam,
the loan provider, and the Vietnamese trader that stands at the Vietnam border.
- Farmer: the producer- Collector: someone who collects products from the farmer for the trader that transport to Vietnamand get the commission- Small trader: someone who buys the products from the farmer in small amounts and sells it totraders that transport to Vietnam or the loan provider to get some profit. A small trader is the one
who lives permanently in Chang Krang commune- Trader that transports to Vietnam: the one who transports all cassava products to Vietnam andcooperates closely with Vietnamese traders- Loan provider: the one who provides loan to farmers and allows farmers pay back in dry chipcassava. The loan provider also exports cassava to Vietnam directly- Vietnamese traders: They are all Vietnamese, who stay at Vietnamese borders to get the products
from Khmer traders
Marketing structure: The marketing structure starts from the farmer, who is the producer. The
product flows from farmers to Vietnam border through collectors and small traders. Collectors
transfer products to the trader that transported to Vietnam and small trader exchange products totrader that transported to Vietnam and also to loan provider. Traders and loan providers bring theproducts directly to the Vietnam border. Moreover, farmers sell their consignment directly to thetrader and loan provider as well. After collecting enough cassava, traders and loan providers deliver
the products to the Vietnamese traders via two different borders, Kratie and Kompong Champrovinces.
FarmerTrader that transportto Vietnam

SmallTraderCollector

Loan Provider

Vietnamese Trader atVietnam
BorderFig. 3 Marketing structureMarketing constraint: The biggest marketing constraint is price fluctuation. The price of cassava
is seemingly unpredictable. Both traders and farmers were not satisfied with the price situation. Infact, this year the price was high and farmer enjoyed with it, but they were really not happy withthe price instability. Farmer was unable to predict for the price next year and later on because they
have experienced extremely low prices in the past.
The  importance  of  cassava  in  farmers’  households
Cassava is very important for family households in rural regions. Households mainly rely on
cassava production. In families, both fresh leaves and fresh root cassava are commonly consumedfor food. As for fresh root, farmers boil it for a snack. Cassava is not only for householdⒸISERD70IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2012) 3-2

consumption, but also for gross income. Cassava provided farmer income that can support thefamily living situation. The benefit of cassava product is extremely important for all households inthe surveyed region. Farmers can support child education, material and equipment, household
repairs, food and other nutrients, and other expenditure for daily living.
Furthermore, cassava production offers employment to all members of the family. It reduces
migrant labour and members of household can earn more profit from hiring labor in cassava
production.

Fig. 4 The percentage of hiring labor andother activities

Fig. 5 The income source in thehousehold

CONCLUSION
Cassava production is the main root crop for farmers in the surveyed region. People rely on it morethan other kinds of crops. However, the growing techniques were still inefficient, simply using traditional methods and rain water. Most cassava produced is exported to the neighboring country ofVietnam and a small amount is left that is need in local industrials. Kratie and Kompong Cham
were the most important borders for transport to Vietnam. The significant factors that play important roles in marketing were: the farmer, the collector, the small trader, the trader that transports
to Vietnam, the loan provider, and the Vietnamese trader that stands at the Vietnam border. In addition, the core income in farming households was from cassava. Farmers can support their living
standard by depending on this crop. Finally, farmers’  income was maily from cassava production.
So, in conclusion, growing technique and market were the main point that could improve farmers’
living situation.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research was supported by Centro International de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT) cooperated
with Royal University of Agriculture (RUA). Sincerely, I would like to thank CIAT, RUA, lecturers, parents, and other partner who assisted in the research.
REFERENCES
Cambodia Daily Newspaper. 11 January 2011. Phorn Bopha and Paul Vrieze, Published 17 February 2011.
Centro International de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT). 2010. A new future for cassava in Asia: Its use as food,feed and fuel to benefit the poor. Proc. 8th Regional Workshop, help in Vietnam, Lao PDR. Oct 20-24,
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FAO. 2007. Cassava development strategy for Mozambique. 2008-2012. Volume I, Sub-sector Strategoc
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Huang Jie, Tain Yinong, Seng Srey, Kang Aun, Chiv Phiny and Suon Serey. 2009. Cassava production andUtilization  in Cambodia.
MAFF. 2009. Annual report about agriculture 2008-2009, Cambodia.
MAFF. 2010. Annual report about agriculture 2009-2010, Cambodia.
Phnom Penh Post Newspaper. 11 January 2011, published 17 January 2011.
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