Pursat Farmers Struggle To Keep Rice Fields Irrigated, Worries Increase Over Migration and Debt

As drought conditions have gripped northern Cambodia, the irrigation system there cannot meet the demands of farmers, many of whom are growing water-extensive paddy.

Dozens of two-wheel tractors line a drying irrigation canal in Pursat province’s Bakan district. Meters of blue metal piping run up and down the embankment, sucking up any remaining water into flexible pipes that snake along the length of drying paddy fields.

Some two-wheel tractors are on makeshift rafts, floating in the water, straining to get to as much water out as possible. At one spot, the embankment has been dug into to place a large generator to provide the improvised irrigation operation additional power.

The sound of the dozens of engines roaring at the same time makes it hard to hear anything else. But Nop Kimlong, dressed in wet and muddy clothes, is very vocal about what’s on his mind.

In full: https://www.voacambodia.com/a/pursat-farmers-struggle-to-keep-rice-fields-irrigated-worries-increase-over-migration-and-debt/5217932.html

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