Three modern farming communities for cashew to be formed, says MAFF
Three modern farming communities for cashew to be formed, says MAFF
Three modern farming communities for cashew in Kampong Thom province will be officially formed in August or September, said a senior official for the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF).
The forming of new communities is related to the modern management of large-scale enterprises with a clear plan of ‘sell before planting’ to know where the market is before starting production.
Khim Finan, Undersecretary of State and Spokesman for MAFF, wrote in a post on his social media on Sunday that three modern farming communities for cashew will be formed soon in Kampong Thom province.
“Kampong Thom province will have three modern farming communities at the same time. The cashew community reached the stage of preparing its first congress to transform itself into a modern farming community,” he added.
The three modern farming communities including Kampong Thom Sala Visai with 88 members and 204 hectares of cashew cultivation area, Prasat Sambo with 97 members with 509 hectares of cashew cultivation and Tamring Kampong Thom with 76 members and 460 hectares of cashew production area.
According to the procedure, the newly elected committees of the three communities will work with the Ministry of Agriculture to finalise detailed business plans before launching them into a “modern farming community”.
Speaking to Khmer Times on Tuesday, Finan said that the ministry is currently working on a community business plan, and if nothing changes, during August or September, these three modern farming communities for cashew will be officially launched.
“The benefits of the modern farming community for cashew are not different from the general farming community, we have technical support, capital and marketing, which are the main benefits that help farmers to be able to reduce production costs as well as increase its competitiveness,” Finan said.
He further said that although just starting out on a small scale, this is the future of a major modernization of Cambodian agriculture that can ensure greater competitiveness of local agricultural products.
According to Finan, so far there is only one modern farming community that has been officially launched, the Neang Am community in Siem Reap province, while the other six communities are being prepared.
Chea Saing Dona, Director of the Ministry’s Community Development Department, said in the Agricultural Entrepreneurship Experience Sharing Program last Friday that in 2024, the Ministry will establish nine to ten pilot modern farming communities in Siem Reap, Kampong Thom, Takeo and Tbong Khmum province.
He said that these modern farming communities will focus on four main crops including rice, cashew, vegetables and pepper, which currently a modern farming community is operating and some will begin in the near future.
“In the 6th political priority program of the Royal Government of the 7th mandate, we will promote the modern farming community throughout the country and we hope that the farmers will join as members because the farmers will benefit due to the Royal Government will support a lot,” Saing Dona said.
“In particular, the Ministry of Agriculture will help with both technology and market linkages to prevent farmers from facing the same problems as in the past.”
The Royal Government of the 7th Legislature in Cambodia has taken a decisive step in addressing the issues faced by farmers by deploying Agricultural Technical Officers (ATOs) in communes and sangkats.
This move aims to develop the current agricultural community into a modern and sustainable one, ensuring food security and rural development, he said, adding this initiative was recommended by Premier Hun Manet.
It should be noted that a modern farming community for vegetables is ready to start by the end of July or next month in Tram Kak district, Takeo province, and another 40 families of pepper growers in Memot’s Tbong Khmum province have volunteered to form a modern agriculture community.
