Cassava price this year more than doubled from last year as many farmers changed crops after being fed up with low profits for several years. During cassava harvesting season – traditionally from December to April – the price for 1 kilogram of fresh cassava last year was about 108 riel, or $0.026, while this year it was 250 riel, according to Kim Hout, director of Battambang’s Provincial Commerce Department. The price of dried cassava increased from 575 riel to 715 riel per kilogram. According to In Sovanmony, deputy director of the province’s Agriculture Department, the area of cassava cultivation in Battambang dropped from 138,000 hectares in 2016 to 74,400 hectares in 2017. (Source: Phnom Penh Post)