By Banksy
I can't help but feel that the opportunity to hitch Cambodia to the global economy was missed although it certainly has not been missed forever.
The government chose the easiest (that requiring the least government investment) means of boosting its economy without investing in its populace. For an impoverished nation any work is better than nothing and this allowed the government decades to neglect the sectors of the economy that really needed to be improved so that Cambodia wouldn't simply be an importer.
However, while 'returning to the farm' is the perennial solution proffered by Cambodian leaders in the post colonial era (Sihanouk included), without substantial investment, including research and development, agriculture is unlikely to satisfy the needs of an expanding and modernizing population.
For urban workers, the thought of returning to a life of rural peasantry so recently escaped will be a step down in status as well as living standards. For many, returning to the farm is a necessity but will not satisfy these owners of greater cultural.
Ultimately, an investment in agriculture, which will allow Cambodians to truly make a living from it, is unlikely to happen as the government will, more than likely, opt for leasing land or exporting food to foreign countries. To do this efficiently, will require intensified industrial methods which will probably relegate the independent farmer to the position of labourer on land whose produce will not go into his/her pot but rather the pot of someone in the middle east or Israel.
Expect greater protests from rural workers as they become squashed between the needs of the elites to generate money (less available from garments, tourism and most of all property) and the roving eye of foreign governments looking to ensure food security for its electorate and masses of young unemployed.
The electorate is something that the Cambodian government has worked hard to ensure has no real voice or choice in the situation. I'm sure the draft military law will be back in discussion soon as more and more young people are unable to find jobs. Fortunately, Cambodia and Thailand have concocted a low level conflict to distract their populations from the really issues and ensure there will be ranks of willing conscripts desperate for any sort of work.
I can't help but feel that the opportunity to hitch Cambodia to the global economy was missed although it certainly has not been missed forever.
The government chose the easiest (that requiring the least government investment) means of boosting its economy without investing in its populace. For an impoverished nation any work is better than nothing and this allowed the government decades to neglect the sectors of the economy that really needed to be improved so that Cambodia wouldn't simply be an importer.
However, while 'returning to the farm' is the perennial solution proffered by Cambodian leaders in the post colonial era (Sihanouk included), without substantial investment, including research and development, agriculture is unlikely to satisfy the needs of an expanding and modernizing population.
For urban workers, the thought of returning to a life of rural peasantry so recently escaped will be a step down in status as well as living standards. For many, returning to the farm is a necessity but will not satisfy these owners of greater cultural.
Ultimately, an investment in agriculture, which will allow Cambodians to truly make a living from it, is unlikely to happen as the government will, more than likely, opt for leasing land or exporting food to foreign countries. To do this efficiently, will require intensified industrial methods which will probably relegate the independent farmer to the position of labourer on land whose produce will not go into his/her pot but rather the pot of someone in the middle east or Israel.
Expect greater protests from rural workers as they become squashed between the needs of the elites to generate money (less available from garments, tourism and most of all property) and the roving eye of foreign governments looking to ensure food security for its electorate and masses of young unemployed.
The electorate is something that the Cambodian government has worked hard to ensure has no real voice or choice in the situation. I'm sure the draft military law will be back in discussion soon as more and more young people are unable to find jobs. Fortunately, Cambodia and Thailand have concocted a low level conflict to distract their populations from the really issues and ensure there will be ranks of willing conscripts desperate for any sort of work.
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