Yang Saing Koma visits a rice field in the province in the recent past. YANG SAING KOMA VIA FB
Yang Saing Koma, secretary of state at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said that one year into his political life with the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), he is focused on six major tasks that will contribute to the implementation of the aspects of the government’s Pentagonal Strategy-Phase 1 that concern agriculture.
He is particularly involved in supporting the deployment of agricultural specialists to communes around the Kingdom.
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“On November 28, 2022, with the coordination of Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Dith Tina, I met for talks with former Prime Minister Hun Sen, which focused mainly on Cambodia’s agricultural development,” he said, in a notice published November 28.
“My first task will be to deploy 1,600 agricultural officials to communes across the country. We will begin by targeting 250 communes which have been identified as important rice producing areas. Next I am leading a joint task force which coordinate agricultural price chains to implement the fifth political programme on coordination mechanisms and financing programmes. These programmes aim to boost productivity, look for markets and keep main agricultural prices stable, at an appropriate level,” he added.
He said that for his third mission, he would continue to spearhead the development of pure rice varieties. He will also continue to lead the agricultural development of Preah Vihear province, with the goal of ensuring the province is at the forefront of organic agriculture.
“Fifth, I will participate in the implementation of development projects in modern farming communities. Finally, I will continue to orientate cooperative projects with development partners,” he added.
In addition to his existing tasks, he planned to suggest that Tina establish an agricultural museum and expand the agro-tourism sector. He explained that this would create new markets for farmers to access, thus stimulating local economies.
“In order to accomplish these objectives, we will strive to increase our involvement in project-oriented collaboration with development partners to contribute to the implementation of the government’s priority political programmes for the agricultural sector, especially to support commune agriculture officials in fulfilling their roles of serving farmers well,” he said.
He added that overall, after one year of working with the government, he had received more opportunities, trust and support from both the government and the agriculture ministry than he had initially expected.
Addressing the launch ceremony of the government’s fifth and sixth political programmes on November 20, Tina noted that the ministry was also implementing several other crucial tasks.
“As a first step, we have deployed 200 agriculture students to 14 provinces across the country, with a focus on the implementation of the fourth economic pole initiative in the northwestern provinces – Pursat, Battambang, Banteay Meanchey and Pailin. We aim to promote the development of agriculture and integrate it with the establishment of the ‘fish and rice corridor’, which is an important part of the ‘diamond’ cooperation between Cambodia and China” he added.
