Battambang (May 21, 2013) – Representatives from LWD, Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, Social Land Concession Working Groups at the provincial and district levels, and CEDAC met today at a half-day workshop to present the achievements and challenges and share experience from the 2-year implementation of the social land concession project at Battambang town of Battambang province.
Mr. Chan Vibol, LWD Program Manager, said in his remarks that, “Land is a valuable asset. Land is life, especially for poor families who live from hands to mouth, lack skills and strongly depend on their farmland for subsistence.”
Mr. Vibol highly appreciated the achievements made under the support from the government and donor/partner over the past two years. The key major achievements included ending the land disputes in the community, allocation of residential land to the land poor and landless families and the on-going activity to provide agricultural land, he said.
The social land concession project, entitled “Securing Rights to Land and Sustainable Livelihoods Project” was jointly implemented by LWD and CEDAC in 2011 and expected to be completed in 2013. It was funded by the European Union through DanChurchAid (DCA)/CA. The objective of the project is to alleviate rural poverty by securing access to land through Social Land Concession and by improving quality of life of vulnerable households.
The target land recipients were landless and land-poor families living in seven villages in Boeng Pram Zone, Ampil Pramdeum commune, Bavel district, Battambang. There were 1,736 poor families applying for social land concession, according to Provincial Committee for State Land Management.
Of the total, the Committee approved 1,299 applications last year. Each family will get one hectare of agricultural land and a plot of land, sized 40m by 40m for residence, while the rest were entitled to occupy their existing residential land of the same size. To date, 1,736 families received their land titles for residence. And for the first step, 1,299 families will receive a farming land of 0.6 hectare by this year.
Ms. Kristen Rasmussen, Program Coordinator for DCA/CA, thanked the government for its work to help the families secure their residential land by providing them with the land titles. “We hope that there is a possibility to secure additional land for these impoverished families so that each of them can have one hectare to farm,” she said, adding that in order for those 1,299 families to receive one hectare each, an additional 500 hectares of land will need to be secured.
H.E Nguon Ratanak, Deputy Governor of Battambang, said in his opening remarks that, “I recognize that LWD not only facilitates the land allocation for the poor, but it also improves the livelihood of the people in that area by building roads and ponds for the people. I’d like to encourage all development partners to continue their support in this area.”
The project cost 700,000 Euros. Of the total, LWD received 439,748 Euros for implementing its specific activities. The implementation of the project includes two steps—land allocation and empowerment of the poor settling in the area to improve their livelihoods.
Community representatives, local authorities at all levels and NGO partners were also invited to attend the workshop. (with additional report from Khim Sambo Rothana)
For more information, please, contact Leak Ratna (Mr.), LWD Communication Coordinator | E-mail:ratna@lwd.org.kh | Phone: 012 819 121