Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Farmers called on to up organic vegetable yields

Farmers called on to up organic vegetable yields

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
Organic vegetable supply in the capital’s supermarkets and restaurants is currently around 500kg per day, says Bun Sieng, founder of shop Natural Agriculture Village, an organic vegetable buyer.NATURAL AGRICULTURE VILLAGE

Farmers called on to up organic vegetable yields

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the private sector has called on farmers to increase organic vegetable yields to meet demand from Phnom Penh’s supermarkets and restaurants.

The push was made during a visit last week by Gilbert F Houngbo, International Fund for Agricultural Development (Ifad) president, to Sa’ang district’s Svay Brateal commune in Kandal province – an area in which growers practice non-chemical and organic farming through an Ifad project.

Duong Kimchean – monitoring and evaluation consultant for the Agriculture Services Programme for Innovation, Resilience and Extension (Aspire) under the Kandal provincial Department of Agriculture – said organic vegetable supply is set to increase by some 20 per cent by the end of this year.

The province’s farmers supplied 134,400kg of organic vegetables to the local market last year.

“[Organic vegetables] fetch high prices and are grown in net houses. Farmers can cultivate them throughout the year and they reduce production costs because they do not use chemicals,” Kimchean said.

He added that since the establishment of the Aspire project in 2014, membership has grown from 13 families to 50.

Farmers previously received training from the provincial department’s Project for Agricultural Development and Economic Empowerment, he said, but have now joined Aspire’s agricultural promotion programme.

According to Kimchean, Sa’ang district has an area of 3,570ha, of which 1,443ha is agricultural land, on which vegetable crops are mostly grown.

Bun Sieng, founder of shop Natural Agriculture Village, an organic vegetable buyer, said organic vegetable supply in the capital’s supermarkets and restaurants is currently around 500kg per day.

“This amount is not yet sufficient to supply supermarkets such as AEON Mall, Lucky Supermarket and restaurants in Phnom Penh,” she said.

According to Sieng, Natural Agriculture Village will increase its purchases of organic vegetables to 20 tonnes by the end of this year and 100 tonnes by next year.

On Monday, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries launched a $100,000 Japanese-funded quality inspection and distribution centre in Kandal province.

The ministry’s secretary of state Hean Vannhorn said: “The centre is a necessity to boost the production of vegetables guaranteed to be safe – from planting, to harvesting, to packaging and selling on the market.”

The Post previously reported that last year Cambodia consumed 500 tonnes of vegetables per day, at a daily cost of between $200,000 and $300,000.

The Kingdom is also estimated to import fruits and vegetables worth more than $300 million annually.

MOST VIEWED

  • Joy as Koh Ker Temple registered by UNESCO

    Cambodia's Koh Ker Temple archaeological site has been officially added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on September 17. The ancient temple, also known as Lingapura or Chok Gargyar, is located in

  • Famed US collector family return artefacts to Cambodia

    In the latest repatriation of ancient artefacts from the US, a total of 33 pieces of Khmer cultural heritage will soon return home, according to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. In a September 12 press statement, it said the US Attorney’s Office for the

  • Cambodia set to celebrate Koh Ker UNESCO listing

    To celebrate the inscription of the Koh Ker archaeological site on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the Ministry of Cults and Religion has appealed to pagodas and places of worship to celebrate the achievement by ringing bells, shaking rattles and banging gongs on September 20. Venerable

  • Kampot curfew imposed to curb ‘gang’ violence

    Kampot provincial police have announced measures to contain a recent spike in antisocial behaviour by “unruly’ youth. Officials say the province has been plagued by recent violence among so-called “gang members”, who often fight with weapons such as knives and machetes. Several social observers have

  • PM outlines plans to discuss trade, policy during US visit

    Prime Minister Hun Manet is set to meet with senior US officials and business leaders during his upcoming visit to the US for the UN General Assembly (UNGA), scheduled for September 20. While addressing nearly 20,000 workers in Kampong Speu province, Manet said he aims to affirm

  • Manet touches down in Beijing for high-level meetings

    Prime Minister Hun Manet arrived in Beijing on September 14 for his first official visit to China, where he is slated to attend the 20th China-ASEAN Expo and meet other leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping. Upon his arrival, Manet laid a wreath at the Monument