Phnom Penh (FN), Feb. 16 – The persistent challenges deriving from climate change and degrading natural resources leads to a question: how is food produced sustainably to meet the demand of a growing population? Different stakeholders in the agri-food sector have been looking into how agricultural innovations can secure sustainable growth in Cambodia’s agriculture and food systems.
Ho Puthea, deputy director of the General Directorate of Agriculture (GDA), explained that, about 1.9 million households in Cambodia are engaging in agriculture production to feed approximately 15.8 million people. Therefore farmers, fishers and forest workers are critically important for the food security of all Cambodians. He noted that in 2012, one agri-food sector worker had to feed 2.8 people, but by 2030, one agri-food system worker will have to feed up to 4.5 people. To meet this challenge significant labor-saving innovation is required in agri-food systems.
To enhance the identification and development of new agricultural innovations, on 15 February 2022, the GDA, the Department of Extension of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DEAFF) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), and the Royal University of Agriculture (RUA), with support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), are jointly organizing an agricultural market fair and innovation fair under the topic “Innovation for sustainable agri-food systems and climate resilient agriculture”. The event was organized under the framework of a project jointly implemented by the GDA and FAO with funding support from the European Union (EU).
In his opening remark, Chan Saruth, under secretary of state of the MAFF, emphasized that, “this important event aims to provide opportunities for various actors within the Agriculture Innovation System (AIS) in Cambodia to share their experience and explore opportunities for collaborating in supporting agriculture innovation processes through different services, projects and products.”
“Agricultural production innovations are about introducing new process and new ways of doing things, aiming to increase the quality and quantity of agriculture production for more profit generation and competitiveness, while safeguarding the environment and the health of the population” said Ho Puthea.
The agricultural market and innovation fair engaged around 60 participants including farmer groups, agricultural cooperatives, agricultural entrepreneurs, private sector, experts, and policy makers, coming together to share their experiences and discuss innovative ways and tools that enable famers to raise yield, manage inputs more effectively, improve quality of their products, conserve natural resources and adapt to climate change.
Despite agriculture innovation partnerships in Cambodia have been established in various forms, including farmers-to-farmers, farmers-financial institution, and farmers-government-private, they remain in limited scale. Also, a lack of national capacity to facilitate the innovation process, supportive policy framework and enabling environment prevents Cambodia from utilizing its innovation potentials.
“To help majority of rural population, whose livelihood is strongly relying on farming and natural resources, we need to work closely together to improve agricultural innovation and build capacities of actors at all levels, including development partners, local authorities, and policy makers in order to efficiently facilitate innovation process and build a strong agricultural innovation system in Cambodia,” said Antonio Schiavone, FAO head of operations.
For further inquiries, please contact:
Tet Chann, communication officer, FAO in Cambodia
Email: Chann.tet@fao.org
Tell: 011 276775
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