On 15 June 2026, our Executive Director Dr Netra Eng and Senior Researchers were honored to meet with His Excellency Dith Tina, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF) and a team of his senior colleagues, to discuss a potential research-led policy collaboration.

While agriculture only constitutes 16% of Cambodia's economy and has been steadily declining, this underestimates its true economic and social importance — in 2025 the sector exported $6.5 billion, and with 70% of the population living in rural areas, agricultural incomes remain a crucial source of demand for consumer goods and industrial inputs. Rising productivity in agriculture is also key to releasing labour for industry, while the sector supplies vital raw materials including cotton, cassava, and timber. CDRI research has shown that Cambodia offers opportunities for promoting agro-industrial processing in cashews, rice, mangoes, and pepper.

At CDRI, we believe evidence-based insights are key to sustainable growth. The core focus of our discussion centered on Agricultural Economics research, exploring how our joint analytical efforts can provide the data-driven framework needed to strengthen and optimize national agricultural policy implementation.

We look forward to the possibility of working closely with MAFF to contribute to Cambodia's agricultural development.