Cambodia has 1.9 mln agricultural households: census

[geovalin]

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia has approximately 1.9 million agricultural households with about 8.5 million people, or 57 percent of the country's 14.96 million people, according to the first-ever agriculture census report released on Wednesday.

"The 1.9 million agricultural households were engaged in growing of crops that were undertaken in agricultural lands with a total area of 3.1 million hectares," said the report, adding that rice and other cereals were the major agricultural products in the Southeast Asian nation.

The census found that the country has 2.7 million cattle, 1.5 million pigs, over 18,000 goats, and 33 million chicken and ducks.

Agriculture is one of the four pillars supporting the country's economy. Last year, the sector contributed 31.6 percent to the country's GDP.

"The results from the first-ever agriculture census provides data on the current agricultural situation in the country, which will be a base for the formation of plans, policies and programs for the development and improvement of the agricultural sector," Minister of Planning Chhay Than said.

Hang Lina, director general of the National Institute of Statistics, which conducted the census from April to June last year, said the results would be useful to researchers and policy- makers for the development and improvement of the agricultural sector.

She said the census cost 5.5 million U.S. dollars, which was funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization, the United States Agency for International Development, the Australian Agency for International Development, and the Swedish International Development Agency.

Such census will be held once in every 10 years.

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