ReliefWeb

Mine clearance operations supported by UNDP have just released 26.5 square kilometres of land for productive use by Cambodian farmers after it was cleared of landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) in 2014. The land is expected to benefit some 35,000 villagers – 54 percent of whom are women – in three northwestern provinces of Battambang, Banteay Meanchey and Pailin.

The region is heavily contaminated with landmines and ERWs left over from the Cambodian internal conflict that ended in late 1990s. Since 2006, UNDP-supported mine clearance work has cleaned nearly 110 square kilometres of the deadly devices, turning a former battleground into a major cassava growing region in the country.

“We used to grow corn and sell it locally but I did not earn as much as I do now with cassava,” said Mr. Siem Saret, a 48-year-old farmer in Pailin.

Mr. Mot Sammut, another farmer in the same province, added: “My annual income before growing cassava was roughly US$1,230 and now my current annual income is US$3,070.”

Both men said, however, that they were able to make more money only after landmines and ERWs were cleared to allow them to expand their plantations.

Mine clearance has directly contributed to local development, particularly through the expansion of the size of save land to be used by farmers, said Ms. Khit Sarin, the chief of Bor Taing Sour village, Pailin.

“Mine clearance also had an impact on improving infrastructure such as schools and construction of safe roads. The fear of using land has been decreased and the local community feel more confident in using and investing in land,” she said. “Starting from 2012, growing cassava is one of the main income opportunities for the farmers.”

This means – the village chief and the two farmers said – demand for land for farming remains high, so does the need for clearance of the deadly devices for the villagers to make the best of the land to build a better life.