Kampong Chhnang, Cambodia – Kraing Leav Commune, Rolea Pa’ear District, Kampong Chhnang has an unfortunate farmer history under the French Colonial in 1925 during the uprising against Resident Badez due to the oppression of farmers for their inability to pay tax on paddy fields. To this day, residents of Kraing Leav District depend mainly on paddy rice farming for a living. The farming practices vary from one family to another. Some families can have enough yield for their own consumption, while others lack supplies for six months due to their sole dependence on rain for their farms.

On 15 September 2012, Kraing Leav Agricultural Cooperative was created and registered officially by Kampong Chhnang Agricultural Department with 97 members of whom 61 were female and with a total capital of KHR 10 million (Cambodian riels) (USD 2,418) with a par value of KHR 20,000 (USD 5) per share. As of June 2019, the members of the cooperative increased to 232 (81 are female) with a total of 847 shares at KHR 38,800,000 (USD 9,383).

The initial objective of the cooperative is to (1) help provide loans to farmers in their farming with a joint share investment (one share is KHR 20,000), and; (2) produce organic paddy for domestic supplies and overseas export.

Through the cooperative, members received training on agricultural techniques, specifically on the production of organic paddy, from a number of organizations including the Farmer and Nature Net (FNN) through the AFOSP-MTCP2 Programme, and Neang Kangrei Organization through PIN and Kampong Chhnang Agricultural Department.

“To achieve the organic paddy production target, Kraing Leav Agricultural Committee established production groups. We select 40 volunteer families to produce this organic paddy for the community. They are provided with good quality paddy seedlings and then buy back the paddy yield from them,” Mao Sarim, Chairperson of the Cooperative Board, explains.

Chim Soky, community committee in charge of training and a member of organic paddy production, says, “Before joining the cooperative, I also did organic paddy farming but it didn’t provide much yield. Before, two hectares of land yielded only 4 tons, but now it increased to 6 tons. I can sell the paddy to the cooperative at a higher price than that offered by middlemen. When the cooperative buys paddy from me and sell it for profits, I also gain from the profits through dividends.”

She adds, “Joint investment with a cooperative is better than sole investment because we have the chairperson, treasury, committee in charge of each area, we have members and we can get the information from the outside markets so the middlemen cannot price down our paddy.”