IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2013) 4-1

Research article
erd

Pilot Case Studies of Climate Risk-coping Strategies of
Small-scale Farmers in Cambodia
ROBERT J. MARTIN*
Agricultural Systems Research Cambodia Co. Ltd. Battambang, Cambodia.
Email: bob@mjpasia.org.

VAN TOUCH
Universtiy of New England, Armidale, Australia
Received 15 December 2012

Accepted 30 January 2013(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Climate predictions for Cambodia are for increases in temperatures and rainfallwith the likelihood of wetter monsoon seasons and less rainfall in the dry seasons.
Developing countries such as Cambodia have few resources and capacity to adapt toclimate change and are therefore considered to be the most vulnerable. Attention so far inCambodia has focused on technical interventions and disaster relief rather than on planned
adaptive responses. The aim of this study was to gain insights on how individual farmhouseholds cope with and adapt to climate variability and change. Here we present theresults of pilot case studies to document climate risk-coping strategies currently employedby small-scale rice farmers in Cambodia. Community consultations and in-depth
interviews with selected participants were conducted in the Communes of Trapeang
Ruessei in Kampong Thom Province and Snam Krapeu in Kampong Speu Province in2011. Data   were   collected   by   writing   down   notes   to   form   the   basis   of   the   respondent’s  narrative. Two in-depth interviews were done in each Province. It was immediately
obvious from the narratives that the households studied could not survive from on-farmincome alone especially during droughts. Our pilot interviews indicated that off-farmincome might be the predominant coping strategy in the rice-based farming system. Thereappears to be a need for researchers and policy makers to shift from an agricultural
systems/commodity mind-set to a household livelihood mind-set with regard to the abilityof households to cope with climate variability and climate change. A complete breakdownof household income sources is an essential baseline requirement before an assessment ofclimate change resilience in the rice-based system can be made. A baseline assessment ofvulnerability at the household level should be considered an essential prerequisite fordeveloping research priorities and designing interventions.
Keywords climate change, adaptation, risk, vulnerability, household, livelihood

INTRODUCTION
Climate predictions for Cambodia are for increases in temperatures and rainfall with the likelihoodof wetter monsoon seasons and less rainfall in the dry seasons. Temperature is expected to rise by
0.7 to 2.7 °C by the 2060s and annual rainfall to increase with shorter-wetter rainy seasons andlonger-drier dry seasons (Mac Sweeny et al., 2008). Anecdotal evidence suggests the frequency andintensity of floods, droughts and windstorms have increased in Cambodia since the year 2000
(NAPA, 2006).
Developing countries such as Cambodia have few resources and capacity to adapt to climatechange and are therefore considered to be the most vulnerable (McCarthy et al., 2001). In response,
The Cambodian National Adaptation Programme of Action to Climate Change (NAPA) wasestablished in 2006 (NAPA, 2006). However, as with elsewhere in Southeast Asia, attention so far
in Cambodia has focused on technical interventions and ex post disaster relief rather than onplanned (ex ante) adaptive responses (Resurreccion et al., 2008).
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Researchers are now beginning to give attention to climate change adaptation in Cambodia(Roth et al., 2009). However, the emphasis remains on exploring agricultural enterpriseinterventions without reference to the climatic risk-coping strategies that are currently being
employed at the household level. This is consistent with the conventional narrow focus on
exploring changes to the agricultural enterprise mix on-farm and excluding non-farm activities andincome (Ellis, 2000). Sakurai (2009) posed that from the viewpoint of resilience, it is important toinvestigate how a farm household copes with shocks that negatively affect income. It was foundthat most of the households studied in Zambia used non-agricultural work as an ex post risk-coping
strategy to respond to crop production shock in the previous cropping season.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to gain insights on how individual farm households cope with and adapt
to climate variability and change and the basis for decision making at the household level.
METHODOLOGY
During 2011, a pilot project was conducted to evaluate options for improving adaptive capacity forclimate variability and climate change in Cambodian rice-based systems. Community consultations
were held in the Communes of Trapeang Ruessei in Kampong Thom Province and Snam Krapeu in
Kampong Speu Province. The purpose of the consultations and in-depth interviews was to gain an
insight into the current climate risk-coping strategies of small-scale farmers in Cambodia.
Community consultations were held with 30-40 farmer participants at each Commune. The
consultations were conducted according to guidance and monitoring by commune officials. On
completion of the group consultations, in-depth interviews were conducted with volunteer
participants. The methods were adapted from Roth (2008) and Ramamasy and Baas (2007).
The in-depth interviews were informal and included timeline analysis and narrative. The
timeline analysis helped draw out a narrative from the respondent on the events leading to goodtimes, successes, bad times and failures. Questions were structured to draw out information on thehousehold’s  ability  to  cope  with  climatic  events.  The  questions included: what was the reason forsuccess; how did they cope/adapt; and reasons for not coping/adapting.
It was expected that this process could identify opportunities to improve coping/adaptive
capacity. Some of the key driving forces could include health, climatic events, access to resources,
assistance and new technology. Data were collected by writing down notes to form the basis of the
respondent’s   narrative.   Two   in-depth interviews were done in each Province. A 0-100 scoring
system was used for scaling time line events and for proportioning household income.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Ms. Yam Pon, Kampong Thom Province: Ms. Yan Pon, 43, lives in Trapeang Krasang
Commune, Kampong Thom Province. Her village, is a small distance from the Kampong Thom
capital.  There  are  six  members  of  the  household.  Yam  Pon’s  timeline  is  strongly  affected  by  family  tragedy with the death of her husband in 1996; her grandmother in 2001; a brother in 2004; and her
youngest brother in 2010 (Fig. 1). Her life has been very difficult since her husband passed away as
this made her the primary supporter for the household.
On the positive side, her 1995-2001 rice income enabled her to buy an extra 0.5 ha of land.
From 2001-2008 her income increased after she got a job in Phnom Penh as a garment factory
worker. She received USD 40-100 per month from the off-farm work. Her cousin is also working
off-farm as a hotel cashier with a monthly income of USD 80.
By  2006,  Yam  Pon’s  income  from  work  at  the  garment  factory  had  raised  the  quality of life in
the household. In 2009 her income from rice and livestock enabled her to buy a new motorbike. In
2010, the rice yield enabled her to buy another 0.5 hectare of land. Yam Pon has health problemsⒸ ISERD

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and when she gets sick she cannot work and her son and aunt need to work on her behalf.
Yam  Pon’s  soil  is  sandy  and  poor  in  nutrients,  she  grows  rice  one  time  per  year  in  the  main  wet season but growing rice can be affected by drought. The average rice yield is about 1 - 2 t/ha.
She has two hectares of land and harvests around 3 tonnes of rice each year.
Yam Pon has access to finance at 1.5% per month. This is considered to be a very low interest
rate for households with low income. The common interest rate within the region is about 3% permonth. Her family income is derived from rice, other crop, livestock (four cattle), and on-farm andoff-farm labour. She and her cousin migrate off-farm for work in times of drought. The average
income for the family is around USD 40-70 per month.
In summary, when Yam Pon is faced with disasters such as drought or flood, she resorts tooff-farm activities to gain income to support her family. Thus it is very hard for her to cope withthe problems. To support her family, she would like to increase her rice yield and expand othersources of income.
Mr. So Chhoey, Kampong Thom Province: Mr. So Chhoey is 55 years old and a key farmer
living in Serei Vong village, Trapain Russei Commune, Kampong Svay District, Kampong Thom
Province. He has nine children with five already married and four remaining in his household. In
1995, after he stopped working as a soldier, his livelihood was difficult but not so serious (Fig. 1).
He mainly relied on rice and a small income from livestock and vegetables. Growing rice is mainly
for household consumption. If the rice yield is high, then the surplus can be sold; however, if therice yield is low, the household needs to buy rice to make up the deficit.
In 2000, due to sickness in the whole household, their livelihood was very badly affected.
They received a very low yield of rice because of insufficient labour to maintain the crop. To
survive, he borrowed money from rich local people at high interest rates and sold some property.
He also rented some land from a neighbour to grow vegetables for one season.
In  2005,  Chhoey’s  livelihood  improved  because  the  health  of  the  household  improved.  At  that  time, he had received some support that enabled him to earn some money from various agriculturalactivities such as vegetables, fish and fruit trees. However, his livelihood was not much better
because he had two years of drought. His rice crops during that time completely failed. His family
was dependent on homestead activities of vegetable, fish, fruit trees and livestock production.
In 2010, things   were   good   and   Chhoey’s   standard   of   living   improved.   He   had   learned   and  adopted some agricultural techniques which provided him with greater yield compared to his
traditional practice. In conclusion, his life has not been easy and he has had to cope with manydifficulties. When he is faced with drought, he is dependent on homestead activities and his income
is reduced.

Fig. 1 Timelines for Ms. Yam Pon (left) and Mr. So Chhoey (right)
Ms. Keo Sokhom, Kampong Speu Province: Keo Sokhom is 50 years old, and a key farmer
living in Snam Krapeu Commune, Kampong Speu Province. She has two daughters. In 1995 herlivelihood was difficult but not so serious. It was mainly reliant on livestock (cattle), rice andvegetable.
In  1996,  due  her  mother’s  sickness,  her  livelihood was difficult because she had to spend a lotof money on medical treatment and other expenditure for the household (Fig. 2). They receivedⒸ ISERD108

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very low yield from their rice because of insufficient labour to maintain the crop. To survive, sheborrowed money at high interest rates.
In 1998, her livelihood was a bit better because the general household health had improved
although her sister remained sick. At that time, she worked at needle craft which enabled her toearn some money. Her daughter also commenced migrant labour at a garment factory in Phnom
Penh. Her husband is disabled but can take the cattle to grass fields off-farm. Her livelihood has
been made difficult because of successive droughts and floods (1999-2004).
Droughts and floods resulted in almost complete failure of the rice crop and loss of
productivity from livestock. During these times, her household was dependent on migrant labor andlivestock and some on homestead activities of vegetable or fruit tree. Her land is less than 1 hectare
which produces enough rice for family consumption but no surplus to sell.
In  2010,  things  were  better  and  Sokhom’s  standard  of  living  was  improved.  She  had  learned  some new agricultural techniques that resulted in better yield compared to traditional practice.
In  conclusion,  Sokhom’s  life  is  not  easy  and  she  has  to  cope  with  many  difficulties.  When  she  has a problem with drought, she depends on off-farm income and homestead activities. The biggest
challenges for her life are drought and flood.

Fig. 2 Timelines for Ms. Keo Sokhom (left) and Mr. Bun Marn (right)
Mr. Bun Marn, Kampong Speu Province: Bun Marn is 42 and lives in Cham Bok Khae village,
Toek La Ok Commune, Kong Pisey District, Kampong Speu Province. There are five members in
the household, two daughters, one son, his wife and himself. He stopped studying after he was ingrade 7 of the secondary school. His village is a long way from Kampong Speu capital and it takes
around one hour to travel there.
Bun   Marn’s   health   is   not   good   and   when   he falls ill, he cannot work, and this is a major
problem because his whole family is dependent on him (Fig. 2). In addition, his medication costs
around USD 40 per year with the total cost for family health care being about USD 75-100 per year.
The soil is a sandy loam poor in nutrients and he can grow only one rice crop per year in themain wet season. He would like to grow rice two times per year but there is not enough water. The
average rice yield is about 1 - 2 tonnes per hectare. He has only 0.4 hectares of land and receives arice yield of around 800 - 900 kg. Within the village, there is no irrigation infrastructure or water
resources. But in some other villages within the commune, some channels have been dug bygovernment projects. Marn has access to credit but with an interest rate of 3% per month which isconsidered excessive for people on low incomes.
Marn’s  family  income  is  derived  from  rice,  motor  taxi,  small  store  and  making  Khmer  noodles.  
He  doesn’t  do  off-farm labour or migrate for work. He has one cow which has not yet produced acalf. In the past, he had several cows but sold all because he needed money for family medical
expenses. The household has a small number of chickens. He does not keep pigs because it is hardto supply feed. The average income for the household is around USD 40 – 50 per month.
When Marn is faced with disasters such as drought or flood, he is forced to resort to off-farmactivities to gain income to support the household. He has also had to mortgage his farm to get aloan during periods without income. To support his family, he has had to increase the time driving
his moto-taxi and expand other sources of small income.
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Discussion
Ellis (2000) contended that most rural families have multiple income sources including off-farmwage work in agriculture, non-agricultural wage work, trading and remittances from urban areas
and from abroad. In sub-Saharan Africa, between 30 and 50 per cent of household income isderived from non-farm sources (Ellis, 2000).
A similar situation exists in Cambodia. A survey of households in Preah Nipean and Angk
Popel Communes in Kampong Speu Province in 2011 showed that the average number of persons
per household was 5.65 with 55 percent of households owning less than 0.5 ha of land, 35 percent
having a non-farm business, 67 percent reliant on credit and 88 percent receiving remittances from
migrant labour. Clearly these households do not have the capacity to survive on agricultural
pursuits alone even during periods of favourable climatic conditions.
It was also immediately obvious from the narratives of respondents in our study that theirhouseholds could not survive from on-farm income alone especially during droughts. We therefore
introduced retrospectively, a question about the income sources that the household relied on. This
yielded the dramatic results presented in Fig. 3. Three of the four farmers relied heavily on off-farmincome during periods of climate stress and this ranged up to 93%.
(a)

WetWetseasonseasonrice
rice

Other
Other

Mixed crop
Mixed
crop

Migrant labor
Migrant
labor

(c)

Loan
Loan

pond
FishFishpond

WetWetseasonrice
season rice

(b)

Mixed
cropcrop
Mixed

Motor
taxi
Motor
taxi

Livestock

Live stock

Sale of produce

Livestock

Live stock

Sale of prduce

WetWetseasonseason rice
rice

(d)

Mixed cropcrop
Mixed

Off-farmlabourOff-farm labour

Livestockproduce
SaleSaleof ofprduce

Live stock

WetWetseasonrice
season riceMixedcropcrop
Mixed

Live stock

Livestock

Fig. 3 Sources of household income in normal and drought years for Yam Pon (a),So Chhoey (b), Keo Sokhom (c) and Bun Marn (d). Normal year (solid line),drought year (dotted line).
CONCLUSION
In-depth  farmer  interviews  revealed  that  coping  strategies  of  households  in  “the  rice-based farming
system”  did  not  always  include  rice  or  on-farm diversification options. Production from other crops,
chickens, pigs and cattle suffer in the drought the same as the rice. There appears to be a need forresearchers and policy makers to shift from an agricultural systems/commodity mind-set to ahousehold livelihood mind-set with regard to the ability of households to cope with climate
variability and climate change. In the in-depth interview pilot case studies, the rice-based systemappeared to be systemically inadequate to cope with regular droughts.

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It appears that natural disasters such as drought and poor health are causing significant
livelihood problems for Cambodian rural households. To cope with the difficulties, somehousehold members migrate for off-farm income, while others diversify their agricultural crops andlivestock in order to secure their income. Based on this case study, access to micro-finance atreasonable interest rates would greatly assist rural households especially to reduce the impact ofnatural disasters and family sickness.
Access to better health care and health information is crucial. The households interviewed
appeared to be having serious problems with their heath and are spending significant amounts ofmoney on medication. Construction of irrigation infrastructure where appropriate could help
farmers in coping with drought.
The   concept   of   a   “rice-based   system”   in   the   Cambodian   rainfed   lowlands   appears   to   be   a  dogmatic construct which seems to have been unquestioningly accepted by researchers and policy
makers with the potential for application of inappropriate interventions. Although the majority offarmers in the Cambodian rainfed lowland grow rice, it is not possible to determine from national
statistics the proportional contribution that rice makes to the household income.
A complete breakdown of household income sources is an essential baseline requirement
before   an   assessment   of   climate   change   resilience   in   the   “rice-based   system”   can   be   made.   A  baseline assessment of vulnerability at the household level should be considered an essential
prerequisite for prioritizing research projects and designing interventions.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This project was hosted by the General Directorate of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries, Royal Kingdom of Cambodia and funded by the FAO/European Union
Food   Facility   Project   for   Cambodia   GCP/CMB/033/EC:   “To   Improve   Food   Security   of   Farming  Families  Affected  by  Volatile  Food  Prices”.
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