Rice Farm vs CCP

FCOP actually started to harvest in early October and the rice was yielding about 10 tons per hectare. The rains had slowed and it looked like we were going to reap a blessing. Sadly, the Chinese funded dams on the Thai border were opened and we were flooded with a wall of water that forced the water eight inches over the top of our dikes, which we raised this year but obviously not enough. Overnight we went from a beautiful crop to a lake. It was heartbreaking. This year has been a struggle for our crops, but there is always next year! FCOP will add another couple of feet to our dikes. Somehow, someone has got to break the choke hold these dams have on Cambodian agriculture. Just so you understand what I’m talking about, look at the map below. All the yellow dots across the northern border are Chinese funded dams and every major river coming into Cambodia is controlled by them. They hoard water during the needed growing season to fill their own reservoirs, and then when heavy rains come they open the gates and Cambodia gets the big flush.

Water is the key to successful rice production and China has the control. The only way to beat this is to build our own reservoirs and dike system to control water levels. This is something Cambodia must do or the nation is at the mercy of China. At least we learned that we can raise a good rice crop on a large scale. Now we just need about $700,000 to build the needed reservoirs, dikes, and canals. Food shortages can become a real problem for us this next year. Fortunately, we still have about 500 acres of rice to harvest. It is a lower yielding variety but with good harvest conditions it will keep us alive. Take a look at the pictures below to see the overnight change in water level that occurred. Just so you know I am not the only person who sees this, click on this article and read about Chinese funded dams more.

[nggallery id=1946]