Roles of Agricultural Cooperatives (ACs) in Drought Risk Management among Smallholder Farmers in Pursat and Kampong Speu Provinces, Cambodia

This research aims to investigate the roles of agricultural cooperatives (ACs) in the provinces Pursat and Kampong Speu, Cambodia, with respect to managing the drought risks among smallholder farmers, with particular focus on the following factors: (a) the impacts of drought on socio-economic development and livelihood; (b) the services delivered by AC operations in terms of increasing the five livelihood assets; and (c) the interactions between AC operations, adaptive capacity, and the impacts of drought. Household surveys were conducted among 421 smallholder farmers; in addition, case studies were also conducted with stakeholders in the Bakan district in Pursat Province and the Barsedth district in Kampong Speu Province. The study demonstrates that (i) both climatic and human-made factors contributed toward the impact of drought in the Bakan and Barsedth districts. Furthermore, this hazard affected smallholder farmers. (ii) AC operations increased the smallholder farmers' access to natural and physical assets. Currently, AC operations are constrained by a lack of willingness and commitment in AC committees, trust building in the communities, and human and financial resources after development projects, which are implemented by non-governmental organizations (NGOs). (iii) Adaptive capacity contributed to the drought impacts and participation in AC activities, but the involvement in AC activities did not contribute to AC operations nor to aiding with the impacts of drought. This empirical research, which was performed via structural education modeling (SEM), fills a gap in the literature by increasing the understanding of the roles of AC operations in the context of drought risk management and their role in increasing access to the five livelihood assets.