Rice-farming families in Svay Rieng province have reached a compensation agreement with sugar company Koy Saren after it dumped earth from a canal restoration project onto their rice farms, local officials confirmed.

During a meeting yesterday in Svay Tiep district’s Koki Som commune, locals from 50 families demanded compensation for their damaged rice from the company.

They also asked that the company build a pipe system that would allow for the canal to be covered, and for canal doors to be built to control water flows and ensure crops would not flood, said deputy commune chief Reach Seang.

The company agreed to all of the demands, and offered to pay 150,000 riel, about $37.50, per family for the damaged rice, said commune police chief Derk Nimeth.

The company also offered each family 30 litres of gasoline for every hectare they owned in proximity to the canal, and agreed that each family can extract an unlimited amount of water from the canal four times per month during the rainy season, Song Kum village chief Ton Tak confirmed.

Seang had granted Koy Saren permission to restore the canal because the company’s sugar fields are nearby. The company could not be reached.