Income Generation and Expenditure of Organic Rice Farming Households: Case Study of Preah Vihear Province, Cambodia

• Published in: International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 56 - 61
• Main Authors: SOK, CHANMONY, UCHIYAMA, TOMOHIRO, SHIMOGUCHI, NINA N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Institute of Environmental Rehabilitation and Conservation, Research Center 2022
• Subjects: expenditure; income; off-farm activities; organic rice; rural area
• ISSN: 2185-159X; 2433-3700
• DOI: 10.32115/ijerd.13.1_56

In Cambodia, organic rice farmers commonly engage in integrated farming and off-farm activities to supplement their income. To identify factors for income optimization, this study attempted to assess the income and expenditure structure of organic rice farm households in the Preah Vihear Province, Cambodia. Guided with a structured questionnaire, a total of 90 and 50 randomly selected farmers were interviewed in 2019 and 2021, respectively. This study utilized both descriptive and multiple regression analyses. Overall, farmers tended to expand their cultivation area and increase income from off-farm jobs. Particularly, large-scale farmers (5ha<) significantly expanded their farmland area and increased their livestock and off-farm activities, while small-scale farmers (5ha>) reduced their farmland area and increased their off-farm activities. Moreover, the multiple regression analysis revealed that secured spare time from combine-harvester usage opened opportunities for farmers to engage in off-farm jobs. These off-farm jobs, particularly by male farmers, boosted their respective annual income. On the other hand, existing loans gave several farmer respondents negative profit in 2020. Thus financial management seemed to be a factor affecting farmers’ incomes in rural areas. For further study, farm household employment choice behavior, particularly on labor mobility and off-farm activities, is recommended.