Cambodia: AFD commits to rehabilitate irrigation schemes damaged by severe flood in October 2020
The Agence Française de Développement (AFD) signed an additional loan agreement of €20 million with the Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance for the rehabilitation of 17 irrigation schemes damaged by the floods in Battambang and Banteay Meanchey provinces in October 2020.
In October 2020, Cambodia experienced heavy rains due to several tropical storms, causing severe flooding in 19 provinces, resulting in 42 deaths and the evacuation of 14,300 households. Two provinces, Battambang and Banteay Meanchey, suffered particularly heavy losses: 26 people died and 85,000 ha (82% of the total cultivated area) of rice and other crops were destroyed. In addition to the difficulties already faced by households due to the Covid-19 pandemic crisis, these natural disasters had a strong impact on poverty levels in these two provinces.
The importance of rehabilitating the irrigation systems
20 million will be added to the existing €66.5 million Water Resources Management and Agro-Ecological Transition Programme in Cambodia (WAT4CAM), co-financed by the European Union (€11.5 million grant). The additional funds will allow the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology (MoWRAM) to rehabilitate 17 irrigation systems located in Battambang and Banteay Meanchey, among those most affected by the October 2020 floods.
"We highly appreciate France’s continued support to the water resources management sector in Cambodia. Today’s signature marks a new step, not only in the rehabilitation of flood-damaged irrigation infrastructure, but also in building the capacity of this infrastructure to better withstand future climate risks.", said H.E. Chan Youttha, Secretary of State of MoWRAM.
"This signature highlighted AFD’s responsiveness to the emergency project formulated by our Cambodian partner. In the midst of a crisis linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, the rehabilitation of these irrigation perimeters to the tune of 20 MEUR will enable the population of the two provinces to secure the next harvests", declared Ophélie Bourhis, AFD’s Director in Cambodia.
A long-term support in the irrigation sector
AFD has been supporting irrigation development in Cambodia for more than 25 years. The WAT4CAM program, co-financed with the European Union, has three objectives: increase irrigated areas, support the agroecological intensification of irrigated agriculture, but also to improve crop diversification.
In addition, a €300,000 grant agreement was signed between AFD and the Ministry of Economy and Finance to carry out the feasibility study for the new "Svay Chek River Restoration and Management" project in Banteay Meanchey province. This new €50 million project aims to develop sustainable solutions to the recurrent problem of flooding in this province, to ensure sustainable management of water resources for both agricultural and human consumption, and to revitalize agricultural development in this river basin.