The government of Cambodia has acknowledged that a well-functioning physical infrastructure is a pre-requisite for the national goal of achieving sustainable economic development, growth and poverty reduction. For this reason, the government prioritizes the rehabilitation, maintenance, construction and efficient management of irrigation infrastructure in order to boost agricultural production. This study attempts to measure the effects of irrigation on the numbers of household assets such as durable assets, farm equipment, cows and buffalo and pull/plough animals.

This policy brief presents a household survey conducted under the Water Resource Management Research Capacity Development Programme (WRMRCDP) in 10 irrigation schemes located in three provinces in the Tonle Sap Basin. The authors clarify the findings of the survey as follows:

• access to greater irrigated plot areas has no significant positive impact on accumulation of household assets
• human capital contributes greatly to durable assets accumulation
• household size is positively associated with the number of livestock, cows and buffalo and pull/plough animals, however those assets are likely to decline if the total number of household members exceeded seven to eight

The authors highlight some key policy implications arising from this study, thus they recommend:

• improvement of irrigation efficiency, specifically ensuring the availability of water in both wet and dry seasons
• establishment of appropriate water levels in cultivated plots, and expansion of the coverage of irrigation systems
• investment in human capital and infrastructure which have a strong impact on improving livelihoods, socio-economic status and accumulation of household assets