The cultivation of rainy season rice in Cambodia has surpassed the aim.

More than 2.6 million hectares of rainy season rice have been planted, accounting for 101.90 percent of the annual goal. By the third week of August, the country had reached this goal.

On the morning of August 20, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, Veng Sakhon, declared this on Facebook.

The statistic is notable because, according to the Minister, rainy season rice farming only achieved 94.74 percent of the yearly target during the same period last year.

During this year's early rainy seasons, the "light rice" harvest increased by 1,267,791 tonnes, a year-on-year gain of 789,151 tonnes, or roughly 4.2 tonnes per hectare on average, according to the Minister.

Drought, on the other hand, has damaged 67,942 hectares of rice crops in Banteay Meanchey, Pursat, Kandal, and Siem Reap due to a rise in temperature and a lack of rain. This equates to 2.56 percent of the country's total rice fields.

Other crops' targets, according to the Minister, are on track to meet the aim. White maize, sweet potatoes, vegetables, chili, and watermelon all met the national target of 95.66 percent. Red maize, cassava, beans, peanuts, soybeans, sesame, sugarcane, and other industrial crops have achieved 93.46 percent of the national target.

The country anticipates increased agricultural growth as the private sector is portrayed as a key role in the industry's development. Farmers are also being urged by provinces' Departments of Agriculture to switch from conventional farming methods to more efficient ones.