The government yesterday announced that a new rice variety known as ‘japonica’ is officially available for farming after having passed performance tests.
Officially called ‘oryza sativa japonica’, the rice variety will be planted in 200,000 hectares around the country, and will be shipped primarily to China, where it is very popular, Agriculture Minister Veng Sakhon said Monday.
Tests on japonica and its adaptability to the Cambodian soil have been conducted in Kampong Speu province, after the ministry signed an agreement in January with two Chinese laboratories, Hunan Hybrid Rice Research Center and Jiangsu Long An Agricultural Technology, to study the grain jointly.
The ultimate goal of the agreement is to feed vast demand for the grain in the Chinese market, Mr Sakhon explained.
“As planned, 200,000 hectares of land will be used for planting japonica seeds, producing up to six tonnes of paddy rice per hectare,” he said, although he failed to go into details regarding the provinces where the plantations will be located.
