Social Protection Project Briefs Protecting Cambodia’s Most Vulnerable From Food Crisis ore than two decades of civil war, violence, Pushing the Poor Deeper Into Food Insecurity and isolation left Cambodia as one of In 2008, Cambodia was hard hit on many fronts by the poorest countries in the world. The soaring food prices. Domestic prices of rice have doubled 2007 United Nations Development over the past year, so has the price of fertilizer. Meat and MProgramme (UNDP) human development index (HDI)1 fish prices have increased 30–60%. Rice price increase ranked Cambodia as 131st out of 177 countries.2 Poverty has accentuated food vulnerability of deficit households, in Cambodia is characterized by low income and including the urban poor. On the other hand, input price consumption; poor nutritional status; low educational increase threatens immediate future food production as attainment; less access to public services, including farmers reduce fertilizer consumption thereby reducing school and health services; less access to economic paddy yield, which is one of the lowest in Asia even in the opportunities; vulnerability to external shocks; and best of years. The gasoline price increase has increased exclusion from economic, social, and political processes.3 costs of transport, processing, and water pumping for The war resulted in the destruction of social support irrigation.6 networks and shortages of skilled and intellectual The soaring food price situation has severely affected human resources, making poverty reduction difficult and the poor and the vulnerable, particularly 20% of the cumbersome. population who is below the food poverty line. The But the country has bounced back since the war. situation may trigger the sale of household assets and Gross domestic product (GDP) growth has been robust exacerbate the debt trap problem in the country as more at nearly 9% over the last 10 years. From 2004 to 2007, households will have to find ways to obtain cash. It may the economy grew about 10% per year, driven largely also lead to an increase in child labor and consequent by an expansion in the garment sector, construction, decrease in school attendance.7 agriculture, and tourism. While the incidence of poverty High food prices and the effects of the global has declined from 34.7% in 2004 to around 30% in economic slowdown have pushed the poor into deeper 2007, it still remains high. Recent economic growth— food insecurity. According to the 2008 Cambodia narrowly concentrated on the garment, tourism, and Anthropometrics Survey, acute malnutrition in poor construction industries—is urban-focused, with limited linkage to the rural economy, where 91% of the poor live.4 Growth dropped below 7% in 2008 as a result of the global economic slowdown. The global financial The Emergency Food Assistance Project crisis is weakening demand for Cambodian exports, and has eased the burden of food insecurity construction is declining due to a shortage of credit. The long-term development of the economy remains a among Cambodia’s poor and vulnerable daunting challenge.5 households, particularly its children. urban children increased to 15.9% in 2008 from 9.6% By October 2008, the distribution of free rice to in 2005, as poor families cut back on food expenditure. target communes has been completed. The government Based on the 2008 Global Hunger Index8 (GHI) severity, requested that the remaining free rice be reallocated Cambodia has a GHI of 23.29 and rated as “alarming.” entirely for the school feeding program. Similarly, request was made for increasing the budget for the food-for-work program and for flexibility in allowing cash as a means of Addressing Food Security compensation, anticipating diminishing number of jobs Recognizing the need to immediately strengthen due to the impact of the global crisis. safety net programs for the most vulnerable population The seed-fertilizer-extension package has been who are coping with the drastic rise in their food scaled down and a portion of its funds reallocated for the bills, the government created the National Task Force school feeding and food-for-work programs. The seed- for Emergency Food Assistance to provide strategic fertilizer-extension package commenced in May 2009 direction and policy guidance to support the vulnerable with the supply of 2,000 metric tons of early maturity rice population. Under these dire circumstances, the variety to selected farmers. government requested the Asian Development Bank The Emergency Food Assistance Project has eased (ADB) for emergency assistance to augment its efforts the burden of food insecurity among Cambodia’s poor and help mitigate the effects of the crises. and vulnerable households, particularly its children. As a response, ADB approved the Emergency Food A month after its implementation, the project has Assistance Project10 in 2008 to ease the burden of soaring completed its free rice distribution. Adjustments in food prices on Cambodians. About 500,000 residents, the project design were made to make it relevant to or 89,000 households, living in selected urban slums of Cambodia’s current development realities. To date, project the country’s capital of Phnom Penh and in the seven activities continue to be carried out, trying to ensure provinces along the Tonle Sap Basin are estimated to immediate and sustainable food security for the poor and benefit from the assistance, which is expected to be the vulnerable during crisis. completed in 2011. The project is an integral part of the overall commitment made by ADB in May 2008 at its Annual General Meeting in Madrid, Spain, to provide assistance to countries reeling from food price rise. The project has three components: z Compensatory consumption support—Provision of free food among selected families and those enrolled in the food-for-work program; activities under the food-for-work program include rehabilitation of small tertiary irrigation canals and village roads. z Productivity enhancement support—Provision of seeds and fertilizer to smallholders and marginal farmers at subsidized prices. z Capacity development and project management—Designed to enhance the government’s longer-term capability to deal with food emergencies, and provide support to ongoing efforts at sustaining the growth of productivity by minimizing the impacts of natural disaster. The component covers the establishment of an independent monitoring system to oversee target-group selection, distribution of food and inputs, organization and management of the food-for-work program, and compliance with fiduciary requirements. It also includes the establishment of a system of emergency food reserve and rapid response. Endnotes About the Asian Development Bank 1 The Human Development Index (HDI) is an index used to rank countries by level of ADB’s vision is an Asia and Pacific region free of poverty. Its mission is “human development,” which usually also implies whether a country is a developed, to help its developing member countries substantially reduce poverty developing, or underdeveloped country. and improve the quality of life of their people. Despite the region’s many 2 United Nations Development Programme. 2007/2008 Human Development Report. successes, it remains home to two-thirds of the world’s poor: 1.8 billion Cambodia. The Human Development Index - going beyond income. http://hdrstats.undp.org/ people who live on less than $2 a day, with 903 million struggling on countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_KHM.html less than $1.25 a day. ADB is committed to reducing poverty through 3 UNESCAP website. Overview of Poverty in Cambodia. www.unsiap.or.jp/participants_work/ inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and cos03_homepages/group1/cambodia.htm regional integration. 4 Asian Development Bank. ADB & Cambodia Fact Sheet. www.adb.org/Documents/ Based in Manila, ADB is owned by 67 members, including 48 from Fact_Sheets/CAM.pdf the region. Its main instruments for helping its developing member 5 CIA The World Factbook. East & Southeast Asia: Cambodia. www.cia.gov/library/ countries are policy dialogue, loans, equity investments, guarantees, publications/the-world-factbook/geos/countrytemplate_CB.html grants, and technical assistance. 6 ADB. 2008. Report and Recommendation of the President to the Board of Directors on the Proposed Loan and Asian Development Fund Grant Kingdom of Cambodia: Emergency Food Assistance Project. www.adb.org/Documents/RRPs/CAM/42186-CAM-RRP.pdf 7 Piseth Long. 2009. Emergency Food Assistance Project. ADB-Cambodia Resident Mission. www.delkhm.ec.europa.eu/en/events/april-22-09/Annex7FoodEmergencyAssistance.pdf 8 The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool for calculating hunger and malnutrition. Developed by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), it was presented for the first time in 2006 in conjunction with the Non-Governmental Organisations Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide. The GHI supports the measurement of progress and failures in the global fight against hunger, thereby facilitating more effective monitoring of the Millennium Development Goals. 9 Klaus von Grebmer, Heidi Fritschel, Bella Nestorova, Tolulope Olofinbiyi, Rajul Pandya-Lorch, and Yisehac Yohannes. 2008. Global Hunger Index. The Challenge of Hunger 2008. Bonn, Washington DC, Dublin.: www.ifpri.org/pubs/cp/ghi08.pdf?bcsi_scan_D4A612CF62FE9576 =S+uFGVRUNmuEaUEx9x9I3BUAAACWAxcV&bcsi_scan_filename=ghi08.pdf 10 Loan 2455 CAM Emergency Food Assistance Project. Approval Date: October 2008. Expected Completion: September 2011. Total Loan Amount: $17.50 million. Executing Contact Information Agency: Ministry of Economy and Finance. Asian Development Bank 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City Disclaimer 1550 Metro Manila, Philippines The views and assessments contained herein do not necessarily reflect the views of ADB Tel +63 2 632 4444 or its Board of Directors or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the Fax +63 2 636 2444 accuracy of the data and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. www.adb.org.