Born in Kandal province, Pheng Kimkheang, 21, is a student at the Royal University of Agriculture and a tropical crop planter. He sows several kinds of vegetables and fruit such as lettuce, cai xin, garlic, sour cabbage, as well as sugar cane and papaya. The problem he faces is that he gets low prices while selling the lettuce because the dealer sets low prices for the planters while earning more from the market price.

According to Kimkheang, most dealers set low prices for the farmer by giving the cultivator half the market price. This means that the farmer earns less than the dealer.

“The dealer seems to trick us by setting the price depending on the mouth,” said Kimkheang. “For example, the dealer sells the lettuce 3,000 riel per kilogram, but then buys from us for only 1,800 or 2,000 riel. They rarely give us up to 2,500 riel; therefore, we get a low income.”

Kimkheang asked the dealers how they determine their prices, but they gave no proper answer.

“I ask them about the price, but some of the dealers set the price by themselves so we find it difficult to ask more from them. We cannot threaten them to give us higher prices, so we can only find the other dealers who can give us more to buy our products.”

What are some ways to solve the problems between farmers and the dealers that allow both to profit?