Cambodia Journal of Basic and Applied Research

The Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP) has worked with the Child Rights Foundation (CRF) to put Research Findings into Policy Implications and Actions

Serey Sok — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0700

The question ‘Why are universities engaging in the conduct of research?’ has been widely asked by practitioners. This question is attached with doubts and the university’s key role in putting the research findings into policy, planning, and action processes. Most people have only learned that universities conduct academic research, use results for knowledge advancement, and create concepts and theories. Some people even seriously say that the publication of university research work is only displayed on library shelves. As Cambodia’s oldest public university and leading higher education institution, the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP) promotes high-quality teaching and research practices to serve the community. The Policy on Research Development and Innovation (2020-2024) aims to be Cambodia’s leading university in applied and academic research.

Teachers’ Perspective on How Financial Literacy Benefits Primary Students in Cambodia?

Chealy Chet , Chhen Khim, Sao Khem, Leakhena Seang, Chenda Our, Serey Sok — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0700

A well-known quote by Tim Pawlenty says, ‘Financial literacy is an important part of avoiding financial mistakes and planning for a strong, secure financial future’. Life in the 21^st century needs a variety of knowledge skills that everyone must master to become a successful person. In addition, people today are growing up in a society with increasing financial citizenship responsibility and economic complexity (Amagir et al., 2018). The Director General of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) and the Royal Government of Cambodia have included financial literacy as a school subject because it aligns with the Financial Development Strategy 2016-2025. According to Dr. CHEA Serey1, “The NBC and the Ministry of Education Youth and Sport have recognized a Financial Literacy Working Group, with the assistance from Good Return, World Education Cambodia and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to review the de-facto formal education curriculum for students in public schools and recognize specific areas where financial education could be involved” In the same time, Lusardi and Mitchell (2014) viewed that financial literacy is an investment in human capital and can be supportive in the milieu of decisions about pension, savings, mortgage, and financial choices. Huston (2010) also defines that economic factors, family, friends, habits, cognitive abilities, society, and institutions may affect financial literacy. Other factors such as age, work experience, maternal education, location of work, parents’ education, and media access influence financial resources (Ansong and Gyensare, 2012; Keown, 2011).

Sustainable Livelihoods and Rural Development. By Ian Scoones. Agrarian Change and Peasant Studies Series, 2015. 168 pp. Warwickshire: Practical Action Publishing. Price: $76.42 (Hardcover) and $9.99 (kindle)

Chandavy Long — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0700

A well-known saying by Jeff Corwin, ‘The natural resources we’ve depended on, if the places where they exist are not stable, our livelihood and our health are put at risk’ is inspired for writing this book review. A book on Sustainable Livelihoods and Rural Development is a long-term work of Ian Scoones, co-director of the ESRC STEPS Centre at Sussex. In this book, key concepts are the extended livelihoods approach advocated, which argues for close attention to the local and the particular, appreciating the complexity of people in places. Based on critical agrarian studies, the book presents new questions and four dimensions of a new politics of livelihoods, such as interests, individuals, knowledge, and ecology. In 1990, Ian Scoones aimed to bring this argument about the importance of livelihood approaches in development to a wider audience and encourage debate and discussion. Moreover, this book comprises nine main chapters related to the livelihoods framework, which explores the articulations with the practical and policy concerns of livelihood approaches and critical agricultural and environmental studies, highlighting knowledge, politics, and political economy theories. It encourages readers to contribute their case studies and methodologies to the field of livelihood analysis, addressing the political economy of agrarian change and promoting a more inclusive approach to rural development (Ian Scoones, 2015). One of the key components of sustainable livelihoods is the promotion of diversified and resilient livelihood strategies. This involves providing opportunities for rural residents to engage in various income-generating activities such as agriculture, livestock rearing, small-scale enterprises, and other sustainable economic activities. Diversification helps communities to spread risks and adapt to changing environmental and market conditions, thus enhancing their resilience.

Promoting Agricultural Cooperative for Livelihood Development among Smallholder Farmers in Cambodia

Nyda Chhinh, Sethik Rath, Pheakdey Nguophan, Ponlue Thou — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0700

• The number of agricultural cooperatives (ACs) has increased gradually from 1 in 2003 to 1,217 in 2021. This study clearly reveals that AC operation has been essential for their livelihood development in terms of skill building, technology transfer, provision of inputs, and access to credits and loans for agricultural investment. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF), relevant government agencies, communities, and smallholder farmers should close attention to establishing and operating ACs to support sustainable livelihoods.

• Improving the livelihood of smallholder farmers remains challenging, especially when they cannot access all five assets: physical, financial, human, natural, and social. Smallholder farmers have moderate access to physical and financial assets, but they are constrained by the sufficiency of human, natural, and social assets.

• Compared to non-agricultural cooperative members, the AC members have improved smallholder farmers’ livelihoods by giving them access to five key assets.

• In Cambodia, agricultural cooperatives (ACs) operate with technical and financial assistance from the MAFF, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and communities. Smallholder farmers participating in ACs can gain capacity building, economic development, market access, agricultural inputs, and transportation for their agricultural products.

• Smallholder farmers have optimistic views of AC’s operation, believing it can improve their productivity, increase their income, alleviate poverty, improve food security, and empower women. Both female and male smallholder farmers benefit equally from AC’s activities and services.

• ACs will play a significant role in ensuring overall social and economic development in the future, such as empowering women, mitigating risks (including climate change risks), and achieving food security. However, we must promote ACs’ operation by increasing government support, technological advancement, and market facilitation.

Current status of pesticide practices and management approaches toward the safety and health of Cambodia: A review

Chanchao Chem — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0700

Pesticides have been one of the most extensively used throughout the world. In low- and middle-income countries, pesticides are extensively used in agriculture. Agriculture is Cambodia’s most important economic sector. Around 80% of the population lives in rural areas and is mainly involved in subsistence farming. Cambodian farmers use synthetic pesticides to protect their agricultural products from pest infestation. The increase in agricultural products and the rapid population growth have led to the rise of farming pesticides, which causes concerns about the negative impact on environmental issues and food security in Cambodia. The routes of exposure, toxicity, and pesticide residues in daily food intake are all ambiguous in Cambodia. The scientific reports available in Cambodia could be more extensive and consistent. Therefore, this report provides an overview of the current status of pesticide practices in Cambodia and relates knowledge of pesticide use among local farmers. The contents described the risk assessment of pesticide contamination based on the Cambodian local market. In the same way, the pesticides that farmers use were considered extremely hazardous, highly hazardous, or moderately hazardous by the World Health Organization. This study also discussed the integrated pesticide use management approach and the future perspectives for pesticide practices in Cambodia. The review’s findings raised serious concerns regarding environmental safety and human health. Although some pesticides have been banned, most local farmers still use them for agriculture. The study strongly recommends that the Royal Government of Cambodia be provided with a concrete public health policy on pesticide management and suitable training on pesticide applications.

The Alteration of Flood Peak Discharge by Land Cover Change in Prek Thnot Watershed, Kampong Speu Provine, Cambodia

Nyda Chhinh, Sethik Rath, Kimseng Choeun — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0700

This study analyses the alterations of peak catchment runoff from Prek Thnot watershed using the Soil Conservation Service Curve Number (SCS-CN) methodology. Two major studies using different approaches have previously been conducted in the catchment, albeit producing inconsistent results. The Snowy Mountain Hydro-electric Authority published the first study in 1967 and found that the peak surface flow runoff over a 10-year return period was 710 m³/s. The second study was conducted by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) between 1991 and 2006 and reported a peak catchment discharge of 1,380 m3/s. To date, there has been no discussion comparing the two studies to determine why the discharge during the later study was double that of the first. As the annual rainfall during the two study periods was similar, it is suggested that this discrepancy may be attributed to physical changes in the watershed, such as changes to forest cover. We deployed the Hydrologic Engineering Centre-Hydrologic Modeling System to simulate the peak runoff of the catchment. Our result was very similar to the JICA finding. Our data suggested that the increase in catchment discharge may be attributed to the conversion of 26% of forest cover in the catchment to agricultural land since the early 2000s. This information is useful for flood management practices, particularly with respect to managing catchment runoff in the context of rapid deforestation and the hydrological impacts of climate change within the watershed. The paper analyzes the impact of land-use changes on catchment runoff and provides valuable insights for flood management practices in the context of climate change and deforestation.

Using the Socioeconomic Indicator Analysis to assess the Urban Vulnerability for Building Urban Resilience: A Case Study in Siem Reap City, Siem Reap Province

Sophat Seak, Lyna Khan, Vin Spoann, Chandara Phat, Kimseng Choeun, Sreynoch Seak — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0700

Urban climate resilience relies on several factors, but urban socioeconomics are considered as a core bloodstream for urban development and building adaptive capability to overcome urban vulnerability and climate change impacts. The socioeconomic indicators are important parameters in assessing urban resilience level on climate-related natural and man-made disasters. This study aims to explore and address the levels of urban vulnerability and resilience in Siem Reap City, Cambodia by using variables of socioeconomic indicators. The research design of this study was made by adopting the HIGS framework (Hazard-Infrastructure-Governance-Socio-economics) on urban vulnerability assessment. Of these four key components of indicators, this study focuses only on twelve socioeconomic indicators by dividing them into three main components (demographic profile, development, and education-poverty-occupation) for assessing vulnerability and exploring how to build urban climate resilience. Data collection and research conducted using commune database data, key informant interviews and focused group discussion with Sangkats (communes) and relevant government agencies in Siem Reap City. The Siem Reap City is highly vulnerable to climate change impacts and has fair resilience toward urban climate change. Siem Reap City remains high ID Poor people. It has a relatively high number of population (especially children and 60 years old) vulnerable to climate change. In addition, the main occupation in this city retains a high attribution of agricultural production, and it has been impacted by climate change. The balanced development should also be made for the communes (Sangkats) that are vulnerable to climate change impacts, especially the green infrastructure, social services, and job creation and livelihood diversification for vulnerable groups, which help reduce the vulnerability of urban areas to climate threats and also key factors for the enhancing response capacity and adaptation of the city, or scalling up small, more local and city-based climate actions.

The Six Components of Urban Quality of Life: A Case Study in Khan Dangkao of Phnom Penh City

Piseth Phal, Pheakdey Nguonphan — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0700

The research study aims to examine and analyze the quality of life and urban communities of Phnom Penh capital city introduced by Muhammed & Abubakar (2019) through the six basic components: health, security, personal development, community development, physical environment, and natural resources, goods, and services. The survey interviewed 250 households of urban residents in Borey and None-Borey for quantitative data and applied participatory approaches for qualitative data. The research finds that the majority of the respondents had good health conditions. However, they were not fully able to access healthcare services. In terms of security, residents in Borey were safer than None-Borey, and most respondents experienced some types of violence’s form but not serious violence. The survey also shows that the respondents in Borey and None-Borey residencies enjoyed spending much time per month visiting green spaces. Regarding community development, the research concludes that the residents in Borey were less engaged in community development than in None-Borey. Moreover, most of the respondents were satisfied with their personal development. Interestingly, residents in Borey were more satisfied with the physical environment. Most respondents were satisfied with their communities’ private and public infrastructure. The research finding suggests and provides appropriate solutions to the current basic components of quality of life.

Teaching Mathematics at Upper Secondary School in the Digital Age: A Case Study in Cambodia

Sopheap Phann, Bunthan Po, Ork Luy, Sokean Kouy, Sokloeun Huot — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0700

The research showed (1) Necessity, (2) Challenges, and (3) Solutions in teaching mathematics. At the same time, teachers, learners, and stakeholders were encouraged to develop soft skills and hard skills that intervened positively to ensure the quality of education in line with regional and global educational trends to achieve the goal of education for all in the new millennium. However, surveys clearly show that limited digital technology and inadequate digital materials were at the root of the problems. Practical observations provided a fair number of results and some points showed the relationship between the quality of teaching and learning in supportive strategies. The research questions were: (1) What are the requirements for teaching mathematics at the high school in the digital age? (2) What are the challenges of implementation of mathematics teaching at the high school in the digital age? (3) What are the solutions for teaching mathematics at the high school? The research methods through quantitative data were collected from principals, deputy principals, deputy directors, technical team leaders, mathematics teachers, and high school students through questionnaires in Khmer language to investigate the link between teaching management and mathematics learning where N (principals, teachers, students) = N (90,158,933). The results of the analysis on ( )1 2 3 x =2.96 , x =3.26 , x =3.32 and F(2 , 36) = 8.534, p < 0.05 showed that the conceptual framework expressions for the three independent variables were quite different and teaching mathematics was challenging more than solutions and needs which were lower than finding solutions. In this sense, teaching materials and teaching talent were the main keys to improving the quality of education while the situation was not good; it was unsuccessful because the support or implementation of information and communication technology and technology was still limited and the use of teaching strategies showed positive and negative effects as arguments for further study on the application of teaching methods.