Facilitators and Advisors for Youth Nutrition Camp learn organic vegetable production with help from Life and Nature Project

On 21 February 2020, Mr Lim Naluch, national agronomist for the Life and Nature Project, is working with the EU-FAO FIRST programme to build the knowledge of facilitators and advisors for the Youth Nutrition Camp to be conducted 7-9 April in Kampot and Kep provinces. The small team visited a farmers’ community at Kampong Nong village in Kampot province to learn first-hand from the farmers about production and marketing.

The GEF funded Life and Nature Project is working with farmers and the Provincial Departments of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in four provinces in northern Cambodia to field-test climate resilient farming techniques. This experience and the close relationship with farming communities is vital to help farmers adapt to new challenges.

In recent years, more farmers in Kampong Nong village are adopting safe and organic vegetable production in addition to rice farming to diversify their income.

However, the farmers are experiencing difficulties in growing cauliflower and other vegetables during the hotter months. This makes it difficult to maintain continuity of supply for their customers.

In response, Mr Vith Sopheak, the village chief and lead farmer for Kampong Nong, invested in building a greenhouse. He also adopted several climate smart agricultural practices to ensure continuous supply of organic vegetables.

The greenhouse protects his cauliflowers from damage by heavy rain during the rainy season and reduces heat stress for his crops during the dry season. He has also installed a drip irrigation system connected to a well to reduce water use during the dry season. He plants flowers to distract bugs from the cauliflower, while using natural composted and biomass fertilizer only on his farm.  

Mr Sopheak as well as nineteen other farmers in the village are contracted to supply organic produce to Khmer Organic Cooperative (KOC), who later sells the produce in their organic stores in Phnom Penh. With such an arrangement, Mr Sopheak and his fellow farmers are able to plan their farming ahead and ensure a stable price for their products, protecting them from market price volatility.

After three years of commitment to organic vegetable farming, Mr Sopheak is eligible to apply for an organic certificate with support from KOC. With the certificate, he will be able to widen his markets and improve control over prices.

"The certificate is important for consumers to distinguish between organic produce and non-organic produce," he said.

 Thanks to Mr Lim Naluch, who helped to set up the visit, facilitators and advisors for the Youth Nutrition Camp learnt about the differences between Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and certified organic production, about contract farming and market access. They also learned about relevant stakeholders in the business of delivering safe produce to the table of consumers.

Ms Khim Sreypov, a young staff from the Council for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD), and Ms Kong Vouchsim, from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), joined with the Youth Nutrition Champions from Helen Keller International to learn about these challenges and contribute to the discussion. 

At the end of the visit, the facilitators and advisors thanked Mr Vith Sopheak for his time, and presented him with vegetable seeds enabling him to continue producing organic and healthy food.

On the way back, the team also had an opportunity to briefly speak to Ms Dy Sona, contract farming officer at KOC, about the demand for organic produce in Phnom Penh. According to Ms Sona, this specific demand is closely linked to consumers' increasing awareness of food safety and the health benefits from consuming fresh and safe vegetables. Ms Dy Sona is based in Kampong Nong to assist farmers with organic vegetable production techniques. Her office also serves as a collection point for organic produce from the contracted farmers to ensure their genuine origin, before delivery to Phnom Penh for retail at KOC's organic stores.

The Youth Nutrition Camp is supported by CARD, Helen Keller International, the EU-FAO FIRST Programme, UNICEF and WFP to accelerate progress towards the achievement of Cambodia SDG 2, under the joint priorities for Food Systems Improvement and Healthy Diets of the National Strategy for Food Security and Nutrition 2019-2023; and to contribute to the Youth and Nutrition Accelerators for the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for Cambodia 2019-2023. The initiative builds on the successful sequence of Youth Forums for Nutrition in Cambodia during 2019 led by CARD, HKI and the WHO.