Cassava has become a ‘must have’ crop for many Cambodian smallholders; yet, the market is volatile and yields are uneven. Drawing on long-term fieldwork in Kampong Thom and Ratanakiri provinces, we analyse how farmers cope with volatility. We argue that multiple pathways have emerged: some farmers have ceased producing cassava;...

Hos Salop’s days always began very early. She would cook breakfast for her husband and her three-year-old grandchild before working on her family farm in the village of Pongro in northwest Cambodia. She collected vegetables, fed the chickens and a pig, cleaned her house and dropped her grandchild off at...

Insect pests are a serious problem for rice farmers in Cambodia, threatening livelihoods and food security. To protect their yields, farmers are dependent on broad-spectrum pesticides, which has led to a pesticide ‘lock-in’ scenario. Our study aimed to better understand farmers’ current pest management practices and the underlying knowledge and...

Women and men play important roles throughout the fish value chain, and also for the conservation of aquatic resources. However, there is little recognition of women’s valuable contribution to the fisheries sector. Women glean and collect seafood from the mangroves. Women clean and process the fish. Women sell fish products...

After a particularly complicated and violent period in its history under the Khmer Rouge regime, Cambodia can boast of having halved its poverty rate between 2014 and 2022. Even if extreme poverty is still far from being eradicated today, this progress proves that it is not inevitable.

The pace and scale of agrarian changes that have taken place in Preah Vihear in the last two decades are unprecedented. The province has exhibited transformations that are characteristic of dynamics observed widely across Cambodia. Central to these transformations is a process of agrarian expansion driven by boom crop export markets...

The post-COVID-19 lockdowns did not just hit fishing operations and markets in Cambodia but also resulted in nutritional insecurity for the most vulnerable small-scale fishers. By April 2021 Cambodia had recorded more than 2,500 cases of COVID-19 and 16 deaths. The government closed schools, discouraged mass gatherings and restricted travel from...

This case study reflects on the innovative poultry model, implemented in /Cambodia by the Green Innovet Cam and IFAD. They supported the development of an innovative semi-intensive rural poultry production model that enables smallholder producers, including poor and landless households, to enhance productivity through new sustainable practices.

The overarching objective of this report was to determine, from current evidence and experiences from the region, a view of co-management application and performance. Among the findings of the review are: (1) Co-management is associated with positive trends across a range of social, ecological and governance indicators; (2) While overall...

The Community Fisheries organizations in Cambodia form a vital framework for collective, rights-based fisheries management that persists and thrives in inland and coastal settings to this day. Flanked by two of the world’s largest marine fishing nations—Thailand to the west and Vietnam to the southeast—Cambodia’s relatively modest 435-km coastline has not...

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) today welcomed approval from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for five FAO-led projects in eight countries, totaling more than $46.6 million in funding.  The decision was made during the 60th GEF Council Meeting and the 30th Least Developed Countries Fund Council...

Tonle Sap Lake in northeast Cambodia is one of the most productive inland fishing waters in the world, due to flooding and monsoon. Fisheries are the backbone of country’s economy, with Tonle Sap contributing over half of the country’s fish production. Yet the lake’s 4.8 million residents are some of...

Chemical insecticides are usually used to fight pests and save crops from damage. However, chemical pesticides are harmful to farmers’ health and to the environment. An alternative to chemical insecticides is botanical insecticides, which are made from plants and are useful against insect pests without harming the environment or having...

This video presents issues facing Cambodian rural farmers and different approaches introduced by the GEF funded project namely Life and Nature. The project aims to improve adaptive capacity of rural communities to impacts of climate change and strengthen ecosystem services to support agriculture and to attain food security. The project...

Women are often among the most vulnerable and marginalized, with limited access to resources and assets, and face formidable barriers in adapting to climate change. Their vulnerability stems from a variety of sources, including basic gender inequality, distribution of rural work effort, and disproportionate access to economic, health and educational...

Artisanal and family fishing make a significant contribution to Cambodia’s economy and food security. Community fisheries are already empowered to manage local fisheries resources, but small-scale fisheries are often overlooked in policy making, partly due to a lack of reliable data. Developing a fisheries satellite account through the System of...

Contractors are finishing the construction of a chicken coop which was granted for young farmers in Cambodia who were chosen as beneficiaries of AFOSP-APFP projects Through the Federation of Farmer Association Promoting Family Agriculture Enterprise in Cambodia (FAEC), one of AFOSP-APFP partner farmers organization, this chicken coop was granted directly to select...

The objective of the Dapog nursery method is to help reducing risk in the face of droughts and floods in Cambodia due to its flexibility and its production of healthy and resilient seedlings.   Description Originated in the Philippines, Dapog nursery of raising seedlings was adopted in Cambodia in the 1990s. Through this...

Financed by the French Development Agency (AFD) and the European Commission, with a budget of 12 million euros, and orchestrated by Group for Research and Technology Exchanges (GRET), with scientific coordination by the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), the far-reaching five-year project Agroecology and Safe Food System Transitions (ASSET) will involve 27 partners in...

The impact of natural hazards on the agriculture sector can be devastating. To reduce the effects of climate change, farmers use strategies to counter-effect the influence of a natural disaster. For example, saving rooftop rainwater can help during a drought, and mulching helps maintain soil moisture. In this good practice,...