CAPFISH-Capture boosts fish processors with EU backing
CAPFISH-Capture boosts fish processors with EU backing
Local fish processing enterprises have shared their success stories through the CAPFISH-Capture, implemented by the Fisheries Administration (FiA) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), which is transforming small family businesses into sustainable and hygienic operations.
The CAPFISH-Capture: Post-harvest Fisheries Development Project is part of the Government’s CAPFISH programme, co-funded by the European Union (EU). The project aims to support local fishery enterprises in improving their operations.
On Friday, a high-level official field mission visited CAPFISH-Capture-supported enterprises and Modern Agriculture Cooperatives in Kampong Cham and Kampong Thom provinces, joined by a group of local journalists.
During the trip, the journalists explored Thoeurn Srey Ny’s dried fish enterprise in Kampong Cham province before visiting a Modern Agriculture Cooperative located in Prasath Sambor district, Kampong Thom province, and the Prasath Sambo Rong Reoung Modern Agriculture Cooperative in the same province.
Thoeurn Srey Ny, owner of the dried fish enterprise in Kampong Cham province’s Choeung Prey district, said she started her business in 2004 by selling fresh fish.
“At that time, when I had leftover fish, I didn’t know how to process it, but I would process it in small amounts,” she said.
With support from the project, she focussed more on standardising and improving hygiene in her fish processing, which attracted more customers, especially those passing through the area. She highly appreciated the support from the project, particularly the material and technical assistance.
She said currently her fish product is supplied to supermarkets in Phnom Penh, as well as orders from consumers living abroad.
Through CAPFISH-Capture, her fish processing enterprise, received Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Good Hygiene Practices (GHP) certifications from the Fisheries Administration (FiA) in 2022, as well as Cambodia Quality Seal (CQS) in 2023. Dried fish is the main product of the enterprise. In addition, the enterprise also processes fermented fish products.
Speaking during the interview, Gunther Beger, Managing Director of the Directorate for SDG Innovation and Economic Transformation at UNIDO, noted the “real success story” of the fish processing enterprises and Modern Agriculture Cooperative.
“We see how fish is processed, how fish is packaged, this modern technology, this is a lot of progress also for both entrepreneurs,” he said. “They started with very basic technology and now, through this CAPFISH project, they are supported with modern technology, also with modern approaches, and very importantly, the story of income generation. This processed food, this packaged food, brings much more income for this enterprise.”
According to Beger, the enterprises visited during the trip are not the only ones supported by the project, which is fully financed by the European Union Commission.
“We are working with more than 40 such enterprises. And of course, this is a broad fish processing and fish industry, and we just discussed yesterday and the day before with the government of Cambodia to extend this kind of programme to other commodities,” he added.
Last week, the CAPFISH-Capture: Post-harvest Fisheries Development project officially awarded 23 post-harvest fishery enterprises support through the project’s Investment Support Facility (ISF) and Value Chain Investment Support (VCIS) scheme.
More than half of them are women-led enterprises. The ISF, administered by the Credit Guarantee Corporation of Cambodia (CGCC), was launched in 2024 with the goal of assisting over 100 enterprises in achieving sustainable growth.
The CAPFISH-Capture project, through its ISF, represents a pivotal effort to bolster Cambodia’s fisheries sector, ensuring that local enterprises thrive in a competitive global market. This initiative ultimately contributes to the nation’s economic resilience and public health.
