Cambodia
In 1979, WFP began operations in Cambodia to provide humanitarian relief assistance to refugees and internally displaced people. Subsequent to the Paris Peace Accords in 1991, WFP began extensive rehabilitation programmes to support the recovery of the population following decades of conflict and economic isolation. Since the advent of genuine peace in the late 1990s, WFP has been at the forefront of efforts to bring lasting reprieve from extreme poverty and hunger to the people of Cambodia.
With its focus on basic human needs in rural areas, including health and nutrition, education, and disaster mitigation, WFP's current operations continue to facilitate the recovery process and directly contribute to the Millennium Development Goals. In the year 2008, the combined geographic coverage of the current Protracted Relief and Recovery Operations (10305.1), and Development Project (10170.2) allowed WFP to reach more than 998,700 people across all 24 provinces. As Cambodia continues along the course of recovery, WFP food assistance remains an essential means for improving the lives of the food-insecure and provides a critical safety net in times of crisis.
More than 55% (16,480 MT) of food commodities including rice, sugar and salt, were bought locally. This has reduced shipping, stevedoring, and transport costs from port-of-entry to common delivery points (CDPs). Over 18% (5,440 MT), including vegetable oil, CFI and corn-soya blend (CSB) were purchased internationally and regionally and nearly 27% (7,965 MT) of commodities such as rice, vegetable oil and yellow split peas were contributed in-kind.
During 2008, the fuel costs increased by over 44 %, from US$ 0.95 per liter in January to US$ 1.37 per liter in June, thus impacting Logistics operational costs.
Cambodia has international air and sea ports and also has the capacity to receive commodities by road from neighboring countries such as Vietnam, Thailand and Laos.
Transport of commodities within Cambodia can be carried out by road from a port-of-entry to all provinces, town and capital. By rail, transport can take place from Sihanoukville Port towards the north west of Cambodia, from Poi Pet to Kampot, Takeo, Phnom Penh, Kampong Speu, Pursat, Battambang, and Banteay Mean Chhay. Transport by river can occur from Phnom Penh Port to Prey Veng, Kampong Chhnang, Pursat, Battambang, Kampong Cham, Kampong Thom and Siem Reap. Currently, the railway in Cambodia is under renovation; thus, train transport is suspended. Commodities transported from extended delivery points (EDPs) to final delivery points (FDPs) are generally carried out by road and in some areas by river.
Overall, WFP Cambodia has 20,000-MT warehousing capacity. The WFP warehouse located in Phnom Penh (KM6) has 15,000-MT capacity. The warehouse in the Kampong Cham Province (KCM) has 3,000-MT capacity and the one in Siem Reap Province (SRP) has 2,000-MT capacity. The commodities from the ports and suppliers are stored at these warehouses, after which they are transported to the FDPs.
