On Monday, 17 June 2025, the Cambodia Conservation Agriculture and Sustainable Intensification Consortium (CASIC), in collaboration with the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), successfully organized the celebration of the 2025 World Day to combat land degradation and drought under the theme of "Restore the Land. Unlock the Opportunities." The event took place in Tuol Lvea Village, Tuol Lvea Commune, Pailin City, Pailin Province, and was presided over by H.E. Meas Pyseth, Secretary of State, MAFF, highly representing H.E. Dith Tina, Minister of MAFF, and Mr. Ros Noeu, Provincial Deputy Governor, representing H.E. Ban Sreymom, Provincial Governor of Pailin Province.
The event began with opening remarks from Mr. Say Sophat, Director of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries of Pailin Province, who provided an overview of agricultural production in 2024, including key crops such as rice, horticultural produce, and industrial crops, while outlining the future for continued development.
According to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), up to 40% of the world’s land is degraded, impacting over 3.2 billion people. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warns that, if current trends continue, as much as 90% of soil worldwide could be degraded by 2050. While Cambodia-specific figure assessments by MAFF and the Asian Development Bank suggest that around 45% of the country’s land is at moderate to high risk of degradation, particularly in upland farming areas.
Cambodia’s land degradation issue stems from a combination of interconnected challenges, with deforestation playing a major role. Driven largely by agricultural expansion, widespread clearing of forests has removed natural vegetation that once protected the soil, leaving it highly vulnerable to erosion. Between 2001 and 2023, the country lost nearly 28% of its tree cover, a dramatic decline with far-reaching environmental consequences. Provinces like Pailin have been particularly affected, where vast areas of forest have been converted into farmland for crops such as cashew, cassava, and other cash crops. This rapid transformation is placing increasing pressure on ecosystems, soil health, and long-term agricultural sustainability.
The challenges facing agriculture are being made worse by the misuse of chemicals and unsustainable farming practices. Although fertilizer use per hectare is still lower than the regional average, the inappropriate application of pesticides and nitrogen-based fertilizers is harming soil health by disrupting vital microbial activity and contaminating nearby water sources. At the same time, farming methods such as intensive monocropping and frequent deep tillage are stripping the soil of essential nutrients and weakening its structure. In some upland and pasture areas, overgrazing by livestock is further degrading the land by reducing vegetation cover, compacting the soil, and accelerating erosion.
Climate change is further intensifying these pressures, adding another layer of vulnerability to Cambodia’s agricultural sector. The country has already experienced severe droughts in 2015–2016 and 2019–2020, and projections suggest that northwestern farming zones are likely to face more frequent and intense dry spells in the coming years. In erosion-prone upland areas, the situation is particularly alarming, with annual soil losses reaching 20–30 tonnes per hectare. This contributes to the global estimate of around 75 billion tonnes of soil lost each year, posing a serious threat to crop yields, food security, and the livelihoods of rural communities that depend heavily on agriculture.