Abstract: Rice is a major crop in many Asian countries including Cambodia. This study attempts to understand the underlying issues of low rice productivity and whether increasing the intensity of market participation plays a role in improving it. The study is based on an instrumental variable analysis of the data from the Cambodia Inter-Censal Agriculture Survey in 2019 and the Cambodia Agriculture Census in 2013. We use a plot level measure of the Household Crop Commercialization Index as an indicator for the intensity of market participation, and the annual crop harvest per hectare of cultivated land as the dependent variable. Employing a two-stage least square to address the endogeneity issue, our preliminary results show that the extent of market participation strongly affects rice productivity. In addition, enhancing productivity hinges, among other things, on improvements in general education and the expansion of irrigation and pesticide usage. The findings from this study offer added perspectives on the issues and will, we hope, contribute to potential policies and reforms.

English