“Rectangular Strategy” for Growth, Employment, Equity and Efficiency Phase III

This Rectangular Strategy for Growth, Employment, Equity and Efficiency Phase III is the "Socio Economic Policy Agenda" of the “Political Platform of the Royal Government of Cambodia of the Fifth Legislature of the National Assembly”, which guides the activities of all stakeholders to further pursue and strengthen long-term sustainable development aimed at promoting economic growth, creating jobs, equitable distribution of the fruits of growth, and ensuring effectiveness of public institutions and management of resources. It reaffirms the RGC’s mission and its strong commitment to sustainable development and poverty reduction.
Concerning helping eliminate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition, the Rectangular Strategy-Phase III requires further strengthening food security, especially the mechanism of “Cambodia Food Reserve Management Committee”, and promoting health and nutrition, particularly of the poor and the vulnerable including women and children.
Regarding making agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable, the promotion of agriculture sector is set out as one of the four strategic rectangles. The vision is to transform this sector into an intensive stage of development, which primarily depends on the application of techniques, new technologies, R&D, mechanization and increased capacity of irrigation to improve productivity, while taking into account the need to ensure efficient management of land and sustainability of environment and natural resources. Key strategic directions include: improved productivity, diversification and commercialization; promoting livestock farming and aquaculture; land reform and clearance of mines; sustainable management of national resources.
Concerning rural poverty reduction, the document has set out two strategic objectives as follows which are relevant to this issue: (1). Achieving more than 1 percentage point reduction in poverty incidence annually, including the realization of other MDG targets of Cambodia, while placing higher priority on the development of human resources and sustainable management and use of environmental and natural resources. (2). Creating more jobs for people especially the youth. Main strategic directions include: enhancing implementation of gender equity; strengthening and enhancing education, science and technology, and technical training; improving the social protection policy framework and strategy, including the update of “National Social Protection Strategy for the Poor and Vulnerable 2011-2015” and other related documents; encouraging investments in rural areas; developing and implementing a national employment policy; enhancing financial inclusion through expansion of coverage and intermediation of microfinance and micro-insurance services at affordable prices and favorable terms and conditions, including state assistance in financing business creation through the “National Fund for Training and Poverty Reduction”.
Concerning enabling more inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems, the main priorities include: further improving pro ductivity of rice and other crops by strengthening, expanding and ensuring the sustainability of extension services and market information; further promoting commercialization through implementation of laws and policies and strengthening institutional arrangements to promote trade and export of agricultural products, including effective implementation of law on agricultural communities, enhanced processing capacity, further improvement in trade facilitation including “one-stop services”, strengthened logistics system, enhanced quality of agricultural products according to international standards, improved capacity to provide affordable credit, and enhanced partnership between farmers and traders as well as between largescale agro-industries and household farming; further promoting agricultural diversification through promotion of R&D, dissemination of new crops which have high potential for production expansion and exports; strengthening favorable environment to attract private investment especially in research on crop varieties, production and distribution of seeds and agro-processing; Encouraging investments in medium and large-scale animal feed production to support livestock farming, along with improvements in the extension services system, animal breeding, credit and market access for farmers, incentives for private investment in processing of livestock and fisheries products, establishment of modern slaughterhouses as well as facilitation of trade in livestock, livestock products, and fish and fisheries products. enhancing R&D in areas such as breeding, animal health and feed production, and farming systems both in livestock and aquaculture sectors.
The Rectangular Strategy-Phase III recognizes managing environment and climate change as a challenge for the sustainability of Cambodia’s economic growth and social development. In response, the Government will continue to take a comprehensive development approach toward environmental management, including: (1). intensifying efforts to reduce the impacts of climate change by strengthening adaptation capacity and resiliency to climate change, particularly by implementing the “National Policy on Green Development” and the “National Strategic Plan on Green Development 2013-2030”; (2). Continuing to strengthen technical and institutional capacity to promote the mainstreaming of climate change responses into the policies, laws and plans at national and sub-national levels.
Good governance is considered as the core of the Rectangular Strategy. One of the four key strategic strategies of the Rectangular Strategy III is: Improving institutional capacity and governance at both national and sub-national levels and ensuring effectiveness and efficiency of public services to better serve the people.