Cambodia

An overview from the USAID Cambodia website.

Agriculture has the potential to be an engine for economic growth and food security in Cambodia, but the country must improve its production and post-harvest infrastructure, streamline the business environment, and increase capacity for financial services to reach rural entrepreneurs. Nearly 80 percent of Cambodians live in rural areas, and 70 percent rely on agriculture, fisheries, and forestry for their livelihoods. One-fourth of Cambodians are food deprived, which means they eat less than the minimum daily requirement of calories.

USAID’s Feed the Future program supports the Cambodian government’s development strategy by increasing the country’s agricultural productivity, improving the well-being of the rural poor, and promoting sustainable management of the country’s rich natural resources. The overriding objective is to support Cambodia’s achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, including halving the proportion of people who suffer from malnutrition and achieving sustainable use of environmental resources. We are developing agricultural solutions to a variety of challenges, including poor agricultural productivity, postharvest losses, food safety, lack of market access, environmental degradation and the effects of climate change.

To do this, [USAID is]:

Introducing new technologies through demonstrations on “lead” farmers’ plots with associated supply chain development for quality inputs through local suppliers
Providing regular and continuous technical assistance for two to three planting seasons in cooperation with local extension agents
Multiplying our projects’ reach through client-farmer outreach to neighbors, and when clients graduate, the project then focuses on new “lead” farmers
Strengthening the value chains through improvements in production, processing, postharvest, market access, and agriculture inputs.