An ancient bovine lineage combined with modern farming techniques could make Cambodia’s cattle industry an integral part of the country’s economy. According to the World Bank’s poverty assessment, improvements in Cambodia’s agriculture sector will be the most effective way to achieve the millennium development goal (MDG) to halve poverty by 2015. So we went down to the farm to find out if the industry is up to meeting the challenges of the future.

But first a slice of Cambodian mythology and the tale of a holy cow, which revolves around a poor peasant couple. One night, the story goes, a woman dreamt that she met a holy man dressed in white who gave her three rings which, he said, represented three types of goodness.

In the morning, the woman told her husband to consult a fortune teller, who informed him the dream meant that his wife was pregnant with a child who would have great spiritual power, adding that the woman had to avoid eating unripe mangoes during her pregnancy. Unfortunately, she ignored the warning and climbed a mango tree and tried to pick a fruit from a distant branch. The branch snapped and she fell to her death. As she hit the ground, a baby, Preah Keo, and a calf, Preah Ko, burst from her belly.

When they grew up, Ko became a magical ox who was able to speak and carry Keo on his tail as he flew through the sky. In his stomach was all the mystical, scientific, artistic, military and literary knowledge of the Khmers. However, after the collapse of Lovek in Udong and the demise of the Angkor regime, Keo and Ko were detained by the King of Siam and kept in Ayutthaya. The Siamese used a binding spell to turn Ko and Keo into samrit, or stones . . . until today.

“Cows today are the closest and most honest friends of the Cambodian people,” says Khy Vibolbotra, deputy director of the international co-operation department in the ministry of agriculture, forestry and fisheries (MOAFF). “About 85% of Cambodian people are farmers [who] use [bovine species] for their farming activities.”

In Cambodia the main cattle breeds are from Indian and Italian stock that were first imported in the 1960s. However, due to the development of new technology many farmers living in provinces on the Cambodia-Thai border have embraced mechanisation.

“I sold all my cattle and bought two machines, because I have 10 hectares of land and if I use cattle it takes [too much] time,” says Ken Sothy, a farmer living in Preah Vihear. “The animals also needed to be taken care of. The machines are easier to handle and my children have time to go to school.”

To preserve their age-old farming heritage, the ministry has advised farmers to adopt a breeding programme designed to create new strains of cattle for use in rice cultivation. “We have advised farmers on how to choose good cattle as breeders and on treatments, especially how to make them grow faster,” Vibolbotra adds.

The Cambodian brahman breeders’ association (CBBA), which was established three years ago, recently held a three-day brahman cattle show in Kandal province with about 150 cattle from different breeds. It is the first show of its kind for Cambodian farmers.

“The show was designed to promote the brahman cattle industry and to share experiences, techniques and skills with farmers about cattle-rearing in developing countries,” says Srey Chanthou, the association’s president and owner of the HP ranch. “We also explained artificial insemination, embryo transfer, new types of vaccine, good and high-protein grasses for feeding and techniques to choose high productive breeds.”

In 2007, Chanthou imported 20 brahman cattle from Thailand and 50 from Australia comprising Fern Hill, Palmvale, Tartrus, PB Fernnech and Elmo Brahmans in order to breed and develop the breed in Cambodia.

“We want HP to become the number one [breeder] in the country with the help of experts from Australia and Thailand,” Chheang Buny, CBBA’s and HP’s general manager. “With about 200 brahman cattle [we are starting] to cross-breed local and brahman cattle nationwide.”

Depending on the breed, farmers pay HP from $20-$50 for natural breeding and $60-$100 for artificial insemination. Khieu San, a former senator and owner of a cattle ranch in Kampot province, says he started breeding his HP brahmans in 2007. Today he has about 30 of them.

Business is good, he says. “They are big, high, handsome and strong. Their meat is a favourite [and of an] international standard for people worldwide. I can also sell them for a good price to local farmers and restaurants.” 

Sok Hong, 51, owner of a ranch near Takao town, has been rearing Indian and Italian cattle breeds since 1991 on his 50 hectares. “Brahmans are the newest and most popular cattle in the world. I will continue to breed and sell to other farmers,” he says. “The price depends on the size and age of the cattle. On average young animals sell for between $3,000 and $5,000, while an old one costs between $6,000 and $8,000 with bulls selling for more than $10,000.”

Chhum Roeun, 55, a rancher in Russey Keo, which has the biggest Muslim community in Phnom Penh, started farming in 1979 and currently has three brahman bulls breeding with different local breeds along with 50 other cattle on his farm. The three bulls are truly multinational and include cross-breeds from Italy, Congo, India and France.

“I have been breeding hundreds of thousands of cattle for sale in cities and provinces across the country,” he says. “It [has been] a good business with the Muslim people for a long time. They can make a lot of money to support their families. For me, I can earn at least 100,000 riel ($25) or 1m riel ($250) a day from breeding.”

“There are more than 4m pigs, about 8m cattle and over 16m [head of] poultry in Cambodia,” says Kao Phal, director of production and animal health at the MOAFF. “There are currently about 40 brahman cattle farms in Cambodia [but] about 80% of brahman meat is imported from abroad and over 1,000 pigs imported every year.”

That balance will change as the agricultural industry, like the country as a whole, learns to stand on its own two feet.