|
|
Community to manage water
resources
Hun Sen
explains new policy
Cambodia
is to adopt a short to medium term water policy that will depend on
private sector-led shallow well and low-lift pump irrigation development
programmes.
These operations will be farmer-owned to meet the specific needs and
capacities of communities and build with loans from agencies like the
Rural Development Bank.
The development of medium to large scale gravity irrigation systems will
be undertaken when institutional capacities are in place to design and
operate them.
The Prime Minister. Hun Sen made these points at last week's ceremony
here to mark the World Water and Meteorological Day.
Hun Sen said that water and poverty reduction was inter-connected in the
Cambodian context, with floods ad droughts damaging food crops from time
to time.
Unsafe water and lack of sanitation was causing serious health problems.
The government priority was to address these basac problems initially
through the abundantly available shallow and deep aquifers for
irrigation and domestic water supplies.
The Primary strategy, therefore, to achieve rapid and sustained farm
growth in the short and medium terms were to jump start the development
of cost effective, short gestation technologies and improve existing
irrigation through minor repair and maintenance.
It also called for upgrade of institutional capacity for better water
management and improved delivery of agricultural support services.
The premier said that to manage the abundant water available in the
kingdom, the government had created the separate ministry of Water
Resources and Meteorology.
Its main role was to expand irrigated rice cultivation areas from 16% to
20% by 2003.
"Private sector-led , small scale irrigation facilities would be
the engine of growth for agriculture in the long term as the country has
about 4.8 million hectares of land underlain by shallow aquifers.
"This is prerequisite to crop diversification and intensification
as the development of farmer-controlled schemes provide greater control
over production, choice of crops and mixes", pointed out Hun Sen.
The government has begun forming water communities in villages and
communes to manage water resources, providing them encouragement and
expertise.
|
