In order to provide the Government of Cambodia with the basis for determining its strategic approach to land and agricultural development, this study reviews the experience in Cambodia in terms of the productivity of smallholder versus large scale production. The results of this study have shown that in fact trade-offs often do not have to be made. It is not always the case that one enterprise structure is more �efficient� or profitable than another. Clearly, some enterprises should not be undertaken in some areas due to adverse agro-ecological conditions or under prevailing market conditions. Equally clear is the fact that making judgments on appropriate enterprises in particular areas is not simply a matter of choosing the enterprise with the largest gross margin or internal rate of return. Smallholder agricultural production systems absorb a significant amount of the rural labor force, something which large plantation systems often do not. Alternative systems of organization need to be examined. Linkages between producers and down-stream actors are often more important in increasing the profitability of a particular production system than the agro-ecological or economic conditions at the farm level.
URL http://go.worldbank.org/7TSE15UXI0
