Kirivong
More actions
| Kirivong | |
|---|---|
| Bayong Kor, Green Triangle | |
| Hierarchy | |
| Gene Pool | Southeast Asian Gene Pool |
| Growing Region | Southern Cambodia |
| Geography | |
| Country | Cambodia |
| Province/State | Takeo |
| District | Kirivong |
| Coordinates | 10.641000, 104.844000 |
| Landscape | |
| Elevation | 50-400 m |
| Terrain | Low mountain range, forested slopes |
| Climate | |
| Climate Type | Tropical monsoon |
| Rainfall | ~1,500 mm annually |
| Seasons | Wet (May-Nov), Dry (Dec-Apr) |
| Documentation | |
| Appellations | 0 |
| Accessions | 11 |
| Conservation | |
| Status | Endangered |
Kirivong is a landrace cannabis growing area in Kirivong district, Takeo province, Cambodia, and the primary centre of cannabis cultivation in the country since the early 2000s. The area is defined by the Bayong Kor mountain range, a low forested range along the Vietnamese border spanning four communes: Preah Bat Choan Chum, Prey Ampok, Som and Kiri Chung Koh.[1]
Cannabis cultivation in Kirivong is a multi-generational practice. Takeo provincial police chief Chheang Phannara stated in December 2021 that growing marijuana in Preah Bat Choan Chum commune "is not a new practice and it has been going on for many generations," attributing its persistence to local authorities' "lack of will to implement the law."[2]
Geography
The Bayong Kor range forms a low mountain barrier along the Cambodian-Vietnamese border in the southeastern corner of Takeo province. The terrain consists of forested slopes and ridgelines interspersed with small valleys, rising from the lowland rice paddies at approximately 50 m to peaks of around 400 m. The district's border with Vietnam's Tay Ninh and Long An provinces makes it a natural corridor for cross-border trade; police reports describe the terrain as "ideal for growing marijuana and smuggling to Vietnam."[1]
Cannabis is cultivated on remote mountain slopes rather than in the lowland agricultural areas. Plots are dispersed across the four communes, typically concealed within forest cover and accessed by foot trails requiring treks of 5 km or more from the nearest roads.[1]
Cultivation
Growing practices
Modern cultivation in Kirivong is shaped entirely by the need for concealment under active eradication. Plots are dispersed across remote mountain slopes rather than concentrated in fields, concealed through intercropping with cassava, cashew, sesame and forest trees. Growers build sophisticated irrigation infrastructure including wells, ponds, piped water systems and reservoirs to supply the plots, and maintain seasonal forest camps where they "live in the forest" during the growing period. After each eradication raid, growers replant rapidly at new locations.[1][3]
Kirivong district police chief Yuk Sarath confirmed in 2017 that "villagers in this commune have grown such plants in their own field for family use, and also for illegal sale to Vietnam and Phnom Penh."[4]
Knowledge export
Kirivong's established cultivation expertise has been documented radiating to other provinces under enforcement pressure. In 2021, a man from Takeo province established a 7,000-plant operation on Bunong indigenous land in Mondulkiri, deceiving local landowners who "saw plants they had never seen before."[5]
Market
Kirivong's cannabis production serves primarily the Vietnamese cross-border market, with secondary domestic distribution to Kampot, Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh. Vietnamese traders travel to the commune to buy directly at the farm gate.[2] Officials consistently report that local growers "do not use locally" and that production is entirely for sale.[2] Trafficking to the border is conducted by motorbike runners carrying loads of approximately 13 kg per trip.citation needed
| Year | Price | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 140,000-160,000 riel (US$35-40)/kg | Farmgate (to Vietnamese traders) | [2] |
| 2026 | US$500-600/kg | Wholesale (Kampot) | [6] |
| 2026 | US$0.1-1/g | Retail (Kampot) | [6] |
Commune police chief In Vuth noted that "most people in the commune have grown marijuana on their plantations in the village because of the high market price it fetches."[2] For the full historical price series including pre-prohibition data, see Cambodia: The Market.
Eradication
Kirivong has been the primary target of Cambodia's annual eradication campaigns since at least 2017, with operations typically intensifying in the dry season (December-April). Enforcement is constrained by the remote terrain; commune police chief In Savuth described the tracking methods: "We looked for signs in the forest, footprints and traces of people walking on the rocks."[1] Cultivators typically flee before police arrive, and villagers refuse to identify plot owners.
A persistent cycle characterises the enforcement pattern: "When we crack down on marijuana plants in the west, growers secretly plant them in the east because this area is on the Cambodian-Vietnamese border. They are opportunists, but we will continue our clampdowns."[3]
Documented operations
| Date | Plants destroyed | Locations/farms | Area | Dried confiscated | Commune(s) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Jul 2017 (H1 total) | 134,886 | 47 | 272 kg | Multiple | [4] | |
| 1 Feb 2020 | 180,367 | 24 | Multiple | [1] | ||
| 5 Aug 2020 | ~15,000 | 8 | 2 ha | Preah Bat Choan Chum | [7] | |
| 30 Jan 2021 | 20,000+ | 5 | Preah Bat Choan Chum | [8] | ||
| 21 May 2021 | 8 | Bayong Kor range | [9] | |||
| 25 May 2021 | thousands (seedlings) | Toteung Mountain | [10] | |||
| 6 Jul 2021 | 13 | Multiple | [11] | |||
| 25 Jul 2021 | 13 | Multiple | [12] | |||
| 11 Aug 2021 | 5 farms + 4 reservoirs | Ta O | [13] | |||
| 3 Oct 2021 | 4 | Multiple | [14] | |||
| 23 Jun 2022 | 10 | Ta O | [15] | |||
| 3 Feb 2025 | 3,365 | Bayong Kor range | [16] |
Cumulative enforcement data
The most detailed aggregate figures come from a police summary covering 2019 to mid-2021: 97 operations across 443 locations, 282 water reservoirs destroyed, 80.5 kg of dried marijuana confiscated, covering a total cultivated area of 60.97 hectares.[1]
Accessions
| Accession ID | Name | Priority | Collected | Locality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZOM-KHM-TAK-002024001 | Kirivong General Population 2024 | Critical | 20 June 2024 | |
| ZOM-KHM-TAK-0420230005 | Kirivong 'Ta Ou' General Population 2023 | Critical | 15 April 2023 | Secret |
| ZOM-KHM-TAK-0420230001 | Kirivong General Population 2023 | Critical | 15 April 2023 | Secret |
| ZOM-KHM-TAK-0420230006 | Kirivong 'Pha-aok' General Population 2023 | Critical | 15 April 2023 | Secret |
| ZOM-KHM-TAK-0420230002 | Kirivong 'Lime' General Population 2023 | Critical | 15 April 2023 | Secret |
| ZOM-KHM-TAK-0420230003 | Kirivong 'Cambodian Red' General Population 2023 | Critical | 15 April 2023 | Secret |
| ZOM-KHM-TAK-0420230004 | Kirivong 'Phnom Bayang' General Population 2023 | 15 April 2023 | Secret | |
| ZOM-KHM-TAK-0420220001 | Kirivong General Population 2022 | Critical | 15 April 2022 | Secret |
| ZOM-KHM-TAK-0420220002 | Kirivong 'Lime' General Population 2022 | Critical | 15 April 2022 | Secret |
| ZOM-KHM-TAK-0420220003 | Kirivong 'Cambodian Red' General Population 2022 | Critical | 15 April 2022 | Secret |
| ZOM-KHM-TAK-0420220004 | Kirivong 'Mango Passion' General Population 2022 | Critical | 15 April 2022 | Secret |
Conservation Status
Conservation status: Endangered — Active eradication, multi-generational cultivation under sustained enforcement pressure, no known preservation efforts.
Kirivong's landrace populations face the most acute eradication pressure of any growing area in Cambodia. The annual destruction of tens of thousands of plants, combined with the systematic dismantling of irrigation infrastructure (282 reservoirs destroyed between 2019 and 2021 alone[1]), eliminates not just standing crops but the physical cultivation infrastructure that supports them.
Despite this pressure, cultivation has persisted for generations. The multi-generational continuity documented by provincial authorities suggests a resilient seed-saving and agricultural knowledge transmission system, but the scale and frequency of eradication operations represent an ongoing threat to genetic diversity and traditional practices.
Recent News
See Also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Ry Sochan. "Hunt on for Takeo marijuana growers." Phnom Penh Post, 1 June 2021. [1]
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Khouth Sophak Chakrya. "Officers told to tackle marijuana cultivation." Phnom Penh Post, 6 December 2021. [2]
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Nov Sivutha. "Police destroy five marijuana farms in Takeo province." Phnom Penh Post, 12 August 2021. [3]
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Khouth Sophak Chakrya. "Field of Dreams: Marijuana crop destroyed in Takeo." Phnom Penh Post, 5 July 2017. [4]
- ↑ Orm Bunthoeurn. "Mondulkiri marijuana farm busted." Phnom Penh Post, 5 April 2021. [5]
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Dillon, Eloïse. Field report (forthcoming). Zomia Collective, 2026.
- ↑ "Two hectares of marijuana found and destroyed in Takeo." Khmer Times, 5 August 2020. [6]
- ↑ "Police raid five marijuana farms and destroy more than 20,000 plants." Khmer Times, 30 January 2021. [7]
- ↑ [marijuana sites destroyed in Bayong Kor mountains]. Landrace.Wiki News, 21 May 2021.
- ↑ [of marijuana seedlings destroyed on Toteung Mountain]. Landrace.Wiki News, 25 May 2021.
- ↑ [police burn marijuana crops across 13 locations]. Landrace.Wiki News, 6 July 2021.
- ↑ [crops burned across 13 locations]. Landrace.Wiki News, 25 July 2021.
- ↑ [marijuana farms and four reservoirs destroyed in Ta O commune]. Landrace.Wiki News, 11 August 2021.
- ↑ [plants destroyed at four locations]. Landrace.Wiki News, 3 October 2021.
- ↑ [marijuana plantations destroyed in Ta O commune]. Landrace.Wiki News, 23 June 2022.
- ↑ [burn 3,365 marijuana plants in raid on Bayang Kor Mountain]. Landrace.Wiki News, 3 February 2025.