October to January covers the growing period of the main (wet season) rice, and the early stage of the second (dry season) rice in Cambodia. Crop condition was globally average. The fraction of cropped arable land was slightly above the average of the previous five years (+2%). Compared to average, the CropWatch agro-climatic indicators describe a relatively dry season with a 20% drop in rainfall. Air temperature was about average and radiation was slightly up  (+6%). Environmental indicators mentioned above caused a 2% decrease in the biomass production potential (BIOMSS).

Unsatisfied water requirements did harm crops, especially rice, and resulted in well below average crops over most of the season, which is clearly displayed by the NDVI profile. A small area (6.6% or cropland) near western Tonle Sap suffered a drop in NDVI deficit early of the season, but recovered since December 2019. Vegetation condition indices (VCIx) are high (>0.8) in most parts of the country, which means drought condition influences only part of the entire growing season and might be remedied by sufficient water supplying.

Regional analysis

Based mostly on climate differences, two agro-ecological regions can be distinguished in Cambodia. Weather in the Tonle Sap lake area (especially rainfall and temperature) is mainly influenced by the lake itself. The second area, referred to as the "upland area" covers the region outside the Tonle Sap basin along the border with Thailand and Laos in the north and Vietnam in the east.

In the Tonle Sap lake area, which is mainly affected by upland and Mekong river water supply, NDVI behaved similarly to the entire country. Crop condition went well below average before January but has recovered slightly since then.

The Upland Area differs from the Tonle Sap basin in that it is more directly affected by the monsoon. It recorded 381mm of rainfall, above the Tonle Sap region precipitation, but still 15% below average. The two regions share similar air temperature and radiation. Compared with the average of the previous five years, BIOMSS increased  1%

Phenology of major crops 

Crop condition development graph based on NDVI_Cambodia  Maximum VCI

Spatial distribution of NDVI profiles

Crop condition development graph based on NDVI_Central Tonle-Sap plain

Crop condition development graph based on NDVI_Upland areas

Table3.44. Cambodia agroclimatic indicators by sub-national regions,current season's values and departure from 15YA, October, 2018-January 2019

Table 3.45. Cambodia, agronomic indicators bysub-national regions, current season's values and departure from 5YA, October, 2018-January 2019