Despite rapid urbanization in recent years, Cambodia remains largely an agrarian country. An overwhelming majority of the population (78%) still lives in rural areas, and agriculture makes up 31% of the country’s GDP (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries [MAFF] 2015) and employs 80% of the national labour force (National Institute of Statistics [NIS] 2013). The country's major agricultural commodity is rice, or ang-kor in Khmer, which also largely constitutes the identity and way of life for Cambodians. Other major crops include cassava, maize, mung bean, and soybean. Rice is grown for both household consumption and trade, but other crops are grown mostly for commercial purposes and exports, mainly to Thailand, Vietnam, and, to a lesser extent, China. Given that 70% of agricultural landholding is used for rice farming, this chapter will focus mainly on rice smallholders more than on farmers of other agricultural crops and activities.

Small landholding is a defining feature of Cambodian farmers. While the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines those with 2 hectares or less of land ownership as smallholders, there is no existing figure on Cambodian farmers with 2 hectares or less of land. A newly released report on agricultural census conducted by the National Institute of Statistics (NIS) and other international development partners contains only figures of agricultural landholding of less than 1 hectare (47%), 1 to 3.99 hectares (45%), 4 to 9.99 hectares (7%), and 10 or more (1%) (NIS 2013).