PHNOM PENH: The General Department of the Ministry of Agriculture issued a press release on Sunday, 26 March 2023, rejecting a news report by Radio Free Asia (RFA) with the headline, "Farmers in Kandal province despair after destroying vegetables due to a lack of market".

A press release from the General Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries stated that RFA's coverage was not clear enough to detail the issue at hand for the department to address.

The General Department stated that it does not buy RFA's allegation that a farmer named Sam Sokin destroyed five tons of lettuce due to a lack of market, as the department has identified other farmers in the area, such as one farmer named Heng in Koh Thom district, who regularly clears his leftover lettuce from the previous harvest to turn into fertilizer so that he can plant eggplants for the next harvest.

Additionally, regarding the report that the price of cucumbers is falling, the department noted that the accompanying image of a man sleeping atop a pile of cucumbers is actually an old image that was taken in 2019, when Cambodia, as well as the rest of the world, was suffering from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The department's statement added that RFA's news report did not reflect the current situation of vegetable farmers in Kandal province, and was likely intended to distort the truth through the use of old images from different contexts, and through the omission of the fact that leftover vegetables are regularly harvested for replanting, not as a surplus to be destroyed.

The General Department of Agriculture emphasizes to the public that farmers have the option to engage in the free market on their own volition, by cultivating crops that they assess are marketable or through contract farming options. The 25 Capital-Provincial Departments of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries will help to guarantee agricultural contracts to farmers, while the buyers will guarantee the market for a set period of time. Farmers, however, are also obligated to sell their goods at a fixed price. This system is a way to guarantee the market for agricultural products before planting.

According to a price inquiry on wholesale vegetables at Takhmao Market and Kour Srov Market in Phnom Penh, conducted by the General Department of Agriculture and the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Kandal Province on Sunday, 26 March, the current price of lettuce is 700-800 riel per kg, the price of cucumber is 800-1,200 riel per kg, the price of kale is 1,000-1,200 riel per kg and the price of chili is 6,000 riel per kg.