Mekong Flower is chiefly grown on small family plots by households belonging to the Damrei Romeal Rice Cooperatives in Takeo, a province dominated by rice fields and sugar palm trees. Cooperative members are using a set of growing methods, called the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), which enable smallholder farmers to harvest more rice from their traditional varieties using less water, seed, land and no chemicals. Researchers have found that the major aromatic compound in rice is increased in response to water stress. With SRI, farmers drain their paddies periodically, which may explain why Cambodian consumers are saying that SRI-grown 'Phka Malis' is more aromatic and better tasting.