Phnom Penh (VNA) – The World Bank approved a93-million-USD credit for the Cambodia Land Allocation for Social and EconomicDevelopment Project III (LASED III), it said in a press statement last week.

The project will help improve land tenure security andaccess to infrastructure and agricultural and social services for landless andpoor smallholders and indigenous communities in Cambodia.

The Cambodian government has established a legalframework for Social Land Concessions (SLC) that expands land titling for thelandless rural poor. It has also promoted Indigenous Communal Land Titling(ICLT) to enhance tenure security for indigenous people over their lands.

“Access to land, better agriculture practices andextension services to improve productivity as well as access to better publicservices are crucial for the rural poor,” said Inguna Dobraja, World BankCountry Manager for Cambodia.

LASED III will build on the experience of LASED and LASEDII to expand the implementation of the SLC programme. Landtitling for indigenous communities will support the completion of severalongoing ICLT processes and will also provide assistance to communities thathave already completed their ICLT processes.

LASED III will cover 71 sites and communities in allprovinces in Cambodia except Phnom Penh. The project will support buildingrural roads, small-scale irrigation systems, water supply and sanitation facilities,school buildings, teachers’ houses, health posts and community centers.

New SLC beneficiaries will receive assistance for theirfirst-year crops, including seedlings.

The project will also provide technical assistance toimplement climate-smart agriculture techniques, establish farmers’ organisations forproduction and marketing activities, and manage community funds to scale uplocal economic activities./.