Cambodia Reviews ARDB Loan Effectiveness in Rice Mills

Kau Thach, Director General of the Agricultural and Rural Development Bank (ARDB), accompanied by Oknha Lay Chhunhuor, President of the Cambodia Rice Federation, and colleagues, inspected three rice mills in Santeuk district, Kampong Thom province, on September 11, 2026. The visit aimed to understand the processes of rice procurement and storage. The inspection focused on assessing the effectiveness of loans provided by ARDB, a policy bank of the Royal Government of Cambodia, which prioritizes the agricultural and rural development sectors. The three rice mills visited were BRM Rice Mill in Santeuk district, Amru Rice Mill in Stueng district, and 1698 Rice Mill in Kampong Thom province. During the visit, Dr. Kau Thach personally inspected the harvesting activities of Jasmine rice, produced by BRM Rice Mill on a 300-hectare land with a yield of 4 tons per hectare. Subsequently, he observed Amru Rice Mill's operations, where they procure 500 to 600 tons of Sen Kro Ob and OM 5451 rice varieties from farmers daily. He also inspected Amru Rice's model seed purification facility, examining Sangkare and Sen Kro Ob rice varieties intended for distribution to farmers to enhance yields and improve climate change resilience. Finally, he visited 1698 Rice Mill in Kampong Thom province, which is currently procuring rice from farmers for storage and processing to supply both domestic and international markets. Furthermore, to contribute to increasing the value of farmers' paddy and maintaining price stability, Dr. Kau Thach, in his capacity as the policy bank, urged local rice mills to maximize their purchases of paddy from farmers during the current harvest season at reasonable prices for storage, processing into rice, and subsequent export.