Locally-owned firm i7 Ranch Co Ltd last week signed memoranda of understanding (MoU) with three state-run educational institutions to promote agricultural education in Cambodia, especially in cattle raising and breeding skills.

The MoU signing between the firm and the trio – Royal University of Agriculture, Prek Leap National Institute of Agriculture and Kampong Cham National Institute of Agriculture – took place at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Ministry undersecretary of state Ky Chanromduol, who presided over the signing ceremony, said this would contribute significantly to the development of agricultural education in Cambodia, especially towards building a new generation of human resources through training to promote the development of agriculture, particularly in cattle raising and breeding.

“The MoU signing today was of prime importance for the agricultural education sector in Cambodia, especially students from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, as they will be able to gain practical hands-on experience.

“i7 Ranch meets international standards and has experts from developed countries. Therefore, our students not only acquire knowledge and know-how, but also are equipped with knowledge of trade in the cattle raising sector,” he said.

The managing director of i7 Ranch, Srey Chanthou, said he considered the MoU to be a successful step forward following an earlier MoU with the Cambodian Cattle Expert Club (CCEC) on cooperation, development and breeding of Cambodian hybrid cattle on April 23.

“We have signed MoU with three more universities and institutes to train and develop real skills for them because we have a place to practise those skills,” he said.

Chanthou said the students who received the training from the three universities and national institutes already have good basic knowledge, but that they need more real skills and talents practice.

“[Cambodia] is paying attention to training human resources, because if human resources are strong, our country is also strong. Our ranch is really honoured to join the government in promoting the cattle sector in Cambodia to push it to thrive and try to surpass that of neighbouring countries. This is the goal of i7 Ranch as we always have work to sharpen all these skills,” he said.

The MoU were signed by Ngo Bunthan, rector of the Royal University of Agriculture; Hem Virak, director of the Kampong Cham National Institute of Agriculture; and Chhun Nou, deputy director of Prek Leap National Institute of Agriculture.

Bunthan acknowledged that the MoU with i7 Ranch would provide his students with the opportunity to be able to develop their capacities by gaining real knowledge and skills so that they will become a competent next generation resource in their field.

“Today’s MoU paved the way for officials, lecturers, students and researchers at the Royal University of Agriculture to work closely with i7 Ranch. In particular, we will send our students on internships there for practice as well as our researchers and our teachers to explore new techniques and teach our students to learn and do in person,” he said.