Caritas Cambodia organized "Poor farmers and workers forum on high inflation"

Representatives from workers and poor farmers from several provinces on 28, April, 2007 have come together at Caritas Kandal training hall raising their concern and sufferings from high inflation. Caritas Cambodia has organized Poor farmers and workers forum on high inflation considering the poor is getting much impact and become poorer and poorer. To solve the problem in a short period of time is difficult but trying to minimize the effects of the inflation is much needed. Civil society organizations and other private sectors are the main actors to address the issue to the government, and the poor community is much more appreciated because they are directly affected.

The creation of this forum is to study on the causes (local and international) of high inflation in Cambodia. Secondly, the forum will discuss on the impact of inflation especially its affects to the poor farmers and workers. Thirdly, it is to find best strategies to minimize the impact of inflation.

55 farmers from Kandal, Battambong and Kampong Thom provinces along with 5 garment worker representatives along with NGOs were participating in the forum. This forum was done followed by meetings among NGOs to discuss on inflation which took place on April, 10 and April, 24 2008. The two meeting was to raise awareness among NGOs about the inflation and to give policy recommendations to the government.

High inflation is a major concern. Inflation is simply a general and progressive increase in price. Everything gets more valuable except money. Nuth Som Ol, executive director of Caritas Cambodia , and one of the guest speakers said the community and those who are extremely affected by inflation has to stand together revealing their real difficulties and appeal to the authority in order to let them hear their encountered hardship.

The participants voiced out their complaints, difficulties and their life change since the inflation is getting higher and higher. Most of them expressed their deep concern on higher inflation saying that their living standard becomes worse and hard to survive. The increasing price of food and gasoline is their major concern in the community because food consumption for the poor, about 4.5 million people, accounts for about 70 % of total household consumption, a statistic from Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI) says.

A farmer from Kampong Thom province, her name is Yorng Sagnat, also a farmers representative described that the recent high inflation does affect to her family and also her community. She said among 140 families in her village, only 30-40 families have enough food to survive, the other 100 families are having difficulties. A report studied by CDIR in 9 villages in 2001 and 2004 says that up to 65% of households do not cultivate enough rice for own consumption.

Inflation affects everybody, the poor is touched the most. Almost of their incomes is spent on higher price of food and other goods in the market. With only the same amount of money they earn comparing to their present expenditure is higher, the poor is struggling to survive.

Responding to Caritas Cambodia in early April, some garment workers outskirt of Phnom Penh described their living difficulties because of recent high inflation. They said they decide to have porridge instead of having rice during lunch time because it cheaper. Such a situation is very bad because it really affected to their health and provokes people’s poor nutrition. A few workers said they might stop work because they did not stand in such a condition. Before, they spend less on food and more money kept for sending back home for feeding family’s members and with a small amount remain on hand. While now it is totally different, they said.

It is only one of its affects. Some families stop sending their children to school because they do not have money and barrier with school fees for the teachers as well as a small amount of extra money for teachers. Another farmer from Kampong Cham province confirmed this. He said his family and some others decide to stop their children going to school because they do not longer afford and labor force is another pushing factor to drop school. He further told the forum is a learning opportunity for him and other farmers to have a wider view on the causes of high inflation and a forum where he can express concerns, hardship and demand to the government for resolution measures.

The high inflation happens almost every country in the world. Cambodia is one of the poorest country in Asia, with 35 percents of its population are living under poverty line, meaning they earn less than 1 US dollar per day. Mr. Chhorn Paul, from NGO forum, who was one of the quest speakers, presented the cause of high inflation. His presentation reveals both local and international reason of high inflation, the international causes are counted as high cost of the gasoline, population growth demand more food, disasters in some countries. The other reasons are also because some countries stop rice exportation, etc. While, the price of gasoline increased, the population growth, less agricultural field is determined to be local reasons of high inflation. Based on report in 1999, 10 percent of the rich people own 64.4 percent of land area.

In order to sharing experience and to have a wider discussion, farmers and garment workers are separately divided into five group work discussion on high inflation, its impacts, their own view on how to mitigate them and their demanding to higher authority or the government to minimize the impacts of high inflation. Throughout one hour discussion, the five groups raised out their encountered impacts mainly on their every day living standard. They appealed to the government and NGOs to have effective measure to mitigate the inflation and to improve agricultural techniques because poor farmers living in the countryside need higher rice productivity to support the family.