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Paper short abstract

We studied how rice farmers have engaged in commercial farming as a result of irrigated scheme rehabilitation in Cambodia, and then responded to sustainable models proposed lately. We argue that farming trajectories are “scripted” by schemes rehabilitation and emerging commercial infrastructures.

Paper long abstract

Investments in modern irrigation played a major role in transition from subsistence to capital-intensive commercial farming through the "Green revolution" process. The limitations of this model have been widely highlighted, and more sustainable development pathways (e.g. agroecology) are increasingly promoted in response; however, the role of irrigation development within these trajectories remains contested. In Cambodia, water-based intensification and related green-revolution practices (multiple cropping seasons, high yielding varieties, synthetic inputs, mechanization) have emerged relatively recently (circa the late 1990s). The rehabilitation process, drawing on schemes inherited from the Khmer Rouge era, constitutes the main agricultural investment, with priority given to physical infrastructure over institutional support.

This research draws on an empirical case study from an irrigated rice-growing scheme in Battambang province, north-west Cambodia, undergoing rehabilitation since the 2010s, and where numerous initiatives promoting sustainable agriculture and collective water management are taking place. We studied how farmers lately engaged into commercial farming dynamics thanks to recent irrigation development and associated initiatives, and how they considered sustainable farming models proposed.

Through qualitative field survey, we showed that the temporal precedence of irrigation schemes rehabilitation over initiatives related to institutional support and sustainability, combined with its dominance in terms of allocated resources has led to an unforeseen intensification of practices (e.g. synthetic fertilizer use increased from 50-100 kg.ha.cycle to 300-400 kg.ha.cycle). We argue that these dynamics « script » practices, bring specific industry infrastructures into being, and constrain the adoption of pathways toward sustainability, even though some farmers still attempt to pursue alternative trajectories.