The demand for vegetables in Cambodia is around 1.2 million tonnes per year, but current national output meets only about half of this, and the country has to import the difference from neighboring countries. In response, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is working with WorldVeg and partners to increase the supply of vegetables year-round, focusing especially on off-season production when yields are generally low, but there is great potential for improvement.

Alongside the establishment of demonstration sites to train farmers on appropriate technologies, the Cambodian General Department of Agriculture in partnership with WorldVeg, ran a training course on 9-12 October 2023 for 30 participants on pest and disease management and good agricultural practices.

Srinivasan Ramasamy, WorldVeg program leader for safe and sustainable value chains at and who led Center’s group of specialist trainers, said that “We aim to empower farmers with the capacity to cultivate vegetables by introducing new farming technologies in specific regions, so it is essential that we first enhance the skills and knowledge of all the teachers present.” He also explained that farmers often over-use pesticides during vegetable cultivation, so the project raises awareness and advocates for the production of safe vegetables. Also, crop rotation is imperative to replenish soil fertility and ensure long-term sustainability for continued production.

At the training course, Mak Soeun, deputy head of the general department, identified climate change, crop pests and diseases, and concerns over product quality and safety, as the main factors that limit competitive exports. He also noted that “the training of quality trainers is crucial, as we require this knowledge to educate district and commune agriculture officials, and I extend gratitude to WorldVeg and our colleagues who have collaborated with our Plant Protection, Sanitary and Phytosanitary department.”

See also – GIZ-funded course supercharges veggie production | Phnom Penh Post

This is part of the ‘Grow against the flow’ project, funded by Germany’s international development agency GIZ. WorldVeg provide a package of safe, ready-to-scale technologies for off-season production of key vegetables in Cambodia and Lao PDR; East-West Seed-Knowledge Transfer (EWS-KT) lead activities to intensively train farmers in Cambodia and training of trainers in Lao PDR; iDE lead on communications to expand adoption of production technologies and promote vegetable consumption; and the Lao PDR Department of Agriculture’s Clean Agriculture Standards Center promote LaoGAP standards and monitor quality of vegetables produced in the off-season.