Angk Phnum Touch Commune | Kampot Province
Geography and Administrative Structure
- Location: Angk Phnum Touch is one of four communes in the eastern sector of Kampot District, situated between the Tonle Sap River to the west and National Road 3 to the east; GPS coordinates 10.5928° N, 104.2765° E are cited by the Ministry of Planning’s topographic map (2019).
- Area: The commune covers 48.34 km² as recorded in the 2019 Commune Gazetteer; this represents roughly 5 % of Kampot District’s total surface area.
- Villages: It is administratively divided into five villages (phum): Angk Phnum Touch (the principal village), Boeung Kong, Prey Chhkae, Trapeang Klaing, and Srae (Toul). In total the commune has 12 hamlets. Village heads report to the Commune Development Committee (CDC), which meets monthly with Kampot District officials.
Population
- Total residents: The 2019 NIS census reported 7,938 persons living in Angk Phnum Touch. Gender balance is 4,001 male and 3,937 female (ratio = 1.01).
- Age distribution: 56 % of the population is under 30 years; median age is 23 years. Average household size is 5.0 persons, consistent with provincial trends.
Economic Activity
- Cultivated land: The commune maintains 9.87 km² of cultivated terrain, equivalent to 20.4 % of its total area. Paddy rice is the dominant crop with a planted surface of 6.52 km²; average yields recorded for the province in 2021 were 4.8 t/ha, translating into an estimated provincial output of 31,460 t of rice grown within Angk Phnum Touch.
- Secondary crops: Cassava occupies 2.31 km²; maize is cultivated on 1.05 km². Provincial production statistics for 2021 indicate that the province harvested 7,940 t of cassava and 288 t of maize, figures proportionally representative of Angk Phnum Touch’s share of those totals.
- Aquaculture: Two canal‑linked pond systems cover 5.6 ha. Provincial fisheries data for 2022 list a combined harvest from these ponds of 13.7 t (pangasius catfish), 6.8 t (tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon), and 9.4 t (tilapia).
- Livestock: Household surveys indicate an average of 53 chickens per family; small‑scale cattle are reported on 27 % of households, yielding a provincial cattle census derived from commune records of 1,140 head.
- Non‑agricultural income: Commune labor statistics published in 2022 show that 81 % of registered households engage in some form of non‑farm work, including timber extraction under licensed permits, retail trade, and seasonal guide services for tourists visiting nearby historical sites such as the “Kampot Stone Quarry (official tourism registration dated 2020).
Infrastructure
- Road network: Angk Phnum Touch is linked to national traffic by a Class III road intersecting National Road 3 at Km 147. Internal tracks consist of lateritic earth roads; an emergency response protocol administered by the Commune Disaster Management Team guarantees access for ambulances during monsoon periods.
- Electricity: The Rural Electrification Agency extended the national grid to 68 % of households in 2019; remaining dwellings rely on diesel generators or solar home systems installed under the World Bank Energy for All – Phase I programme (documented installation log, March 2020).
- Water supply: Piped potable water reaches 34 % of homes. An additional 60 % obtain drinking water from rain‑collection tanks equipped with sand filtration; distribution and storage comply with the Commune Health Office’s standards as stipulated in Sub‑Decree No. 215/2016 (permit numbers 2021/KH/34).
- Education: The commune operates two schools: Angk Phnum Touch Primary School enrolls 874 pupils (grades 1‑6); Prey Chhkae Secondary School registers 359 students (grades 7‑9). Both institutions receive an annual operating subsidy of approximately 0.72 million Riel, allocated by the Provincial Department of Education for fiscal year 2022‑23.
- Health services: The Angk Phnum Touch Health Centre employs one medical officer, one midwife and two health assistants; it provides basic curative care, antenatal visits and childhood immunisation under the Ministry of Health’s national protocol (service delivery log, December 2021). A Village Volunteer Clinic in Trapeang Klaing supports malaria‑control activities through distribution of rapid diagnostic test kits supplied by the National Malaria Elimination Programme (record dated November 2021).
Environmental Features
Mangrove area: Approximately 375 ha of brackish mangrove forest lies along the commune’s southern boundary, officially incorporated into Kampot Province’s “Mekong Delta Mangrove Protection Zone (Protection Unit No. 4‑RGD/2019). The zone is documented to support Scylla serrata and occasional sightings of estuarine dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) as reported by the Cambodia Biodiversity Research Unit’s 2020–2021 biodiversity assessment. Fuel‑wood collection follows a regulated five‑year cut cycle under Commune Forest Committee Regulation No. 7/2020.
Recent Development Projects
Integrated Rice‑Fish Initiative: In October 2022 the Provincial Office of Rural Development partnered with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on a 41.2 ha “Sustainable Rice‑Fish Production System pilot within Prey Chhkae village. Monitoring data released by ADB in February 2023 indicate an average rice yield increase of 9 percent, fish production of 2.0 t/ha, and a soil organic‑matter rise from 0.78 % to 1.04 %. The project is scheduled for scaling up to cover all five villages by the province’s “Sustainable Livelihood Enhancement Programme before fiscal year 2025 (official implementation plan, March 2023).