In 1982, having lost, neglected, or eaten to extinction most of its local rice varieties during the recent war, Kampuchea (formerly Cambodia) requested nearly 150 samples of rice germplasm from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), whose scientists had collected Cambodian rice varieties in 1973.

In the 1980s, IRRI reintroduced 766 traditional Cambodian rice varieties to Cambodia from its seed bank in the Philippines—a vivid demonstration of the foresight that created the bank in the 1960s.