Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Dith Tina met for talks with Nurmi Pangest, the representative of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Cambodia, to strengthen cooperation on agriculture and food security.

The discussion at the ministry headquarters on January 20 focused mainly on rice crops in the Kingdom.

“The minister welcomes and supports continued cooperation to ensure a high level of effectiveness among food-security safeguards for the rice sector,” the ministry said in a social media post.

The ministry and IRRI have had a long-term partnership to carry out research and development and to boost the rice harvest yields in Cambodia.

Back in 1996, they signed an agreement to strengthen the rice sector through extensive research programmes and training. That historic agreement brought their cooperation to new heights and was instrumental in transforming Cambodia into one of the main exporters of high-quality rice in the world, the ministry said.

It said the government and IRRI have maintained partnership for nearly 40 years through the General Directorate of Agriculture and the Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) to reduce starvation and poverty and increase food security.