El Niño Drought Hits More Than 44,000 Hectares of Rice as Government Orders Preparedness

Dry conditions linked to a developing El Niño have damaged or put at risk more than 44,000 hectares of rice across four provinces. Farmers who planted early in the wet season are waiting anxiously for rain, Cambodianess reported in July.

Where the damage is

A total of 44,453 hectares in 48 communes across 12 districts has been affected:

Siem Reap: 19,503 hectares
Battambang: 18,362 hectares
Banteay Meanchey: 6,436 hectares
Kampong Thom: 152 hectares affected, with a further 7,788 hectares at risk

Rainfall has fallen by as much as 50% compared with last year.

"If it doesn't rain much in the next two weeks, all of the rice sprouts will be gone." — Y Phakna, 57, who spent US$2,000 on seed for his 10-hectare farm in Bansay Sreng commune, Thmar Koul district

Loch Sann, who grows rice and vegetables in Siem Reap province, said "the water shortage is much more intense" than in previous droughts.

The forecast

The World Meteorological Organization put the chance of El Niño developing between June and August 2026 at 80%, rising to about 90% by the end of the year. Cambodia's Water Resources Ministry expects the event to peak in November and last into early 2027, CamboJA News reported. Ministry spokesperson Chan Yutha warned of severe heat waves and persistent dry conditions.

Heat is a public health concern as well as a farm problem. Soth Kimkolmony of the National Committee for Disaster Management said the conditions affect "people's daily lives in many ways."

The government response

On 26 June, Prime Minister Hun Manet ordered ministries to:

strengthen weather monitoring and public advisories;
prepare emergency response and rescue plans;
secure food reserves and support farmers through the drought.

Irrigation currently covers around 2 million of the country's roughly 3 million hectares of farmland.

Civil society groups say more is needed at local level. Soeung Saroeun of the NGO Forum on Cambodia said grassroots "preparedness is not yet sufficient." He pointed to gaps in water infrastructure and early warning systems.

FAO Representative Rebekah Bell called for:

wider early-warning services;
more diverse farming systems;
better access to seed;
larger social protection programmes for vulnerable households.

Agricultural weather alerts already piloted with Cambodian farmers are one tool that could be expanded.

Sources and further reading