Ty Piseth and his family have been farming in the Koh Kong province of Cambodia without title or deed for decades. Because the province is sparsely populated, the land is largely undeveloped. It is also located near the ocean, a location prized by commercial developers. Enter a large Chinese investment company that wants to develop a 36,000-hectare ocean-side tourist resort.
The Chinese company is able to connect with powerful politicians to procure the land. The government and the company agree to a compensation package for a thousand growers who will be displaced. However, once development starts, the Chinese company displays a letter signed by high government officials stating that the growers’ claim on the land has been cancelled. The company provides only 5 percent of the promised compensation.
This is a story that appears almost daily in the Cambodian newspapers—the tension between developers with capital to invest who promise to be fair, and a government that negotiates with the interest of land occupants in mind, only to see the companies cheat the occupants as they implement their approved development plan.
In many Cambodian provinces, it’s estimated that up to 60 percent of land has no deed or title. Many foreign and national investment firms are already committed to capitalizing on these lands for agricultural commodities like bananas, sugar cane, and rice for export. They will build irrigation schemes, processing plants, storage, and transport to the port. They will provide hundreds of jobs in agriculture. But the biggest question will be how these developers work with the government for land procurement and whether they will provide any compensation to the poor people who may occupy or have historical connections to these lands—people who are among the 35 to 45 percent of Cambodia’s rural population that live below the poverty line.
The good news is that national and international NGOs are allowed freedom to work and act in Cambodia, and they often intervene on behalf of the land occupants. Newspapers also enjoy relative freedom in reporting on such land-grabbing issues.
Ty Piseth only wants justice. Will he get it?
The answer may lie in Cambodia’s new anti-corruption law, designed to facilitate the prosecution of anyone within government who is involved in illegal actions with developers. Another possible avenue is the regular meetings held between donors (including USAID) and high government officials, where donors can raise issues that they are concerned about. Land ownership and land reform suggestions are always made through strong ‘donor statements,’ and nowadays the government is taking the statements more seriously. Time will tell if support for smallholder agriculture can be successfully coupled with land reform.
Craig Meisner is an agricultural researcher working in Cambodia as well as an adjunct professor with Cornell University.
| < Previous Article | Next Article > |
|---|
