Homegrown initiative

In Sambour District four farmers decided to combine their skills and equipment to work together so they can improve their current situation.

“Food Security and community Resilience” is one of the project implemented by CRDT and funded by The Charitable Foundation in Sambour District. This project has two main objectives: firstly, to improve water management for agriculture activities by building small irrigation system, secondly to increase agricultural production through providing capacity building on agriculture techniques.

Vegetable growing is one of the livelihood activities in Cambodia, especially for rural communities, and this project intends to increase their production. Most of the poor Cambodian people have a small farm nearby their house where they grow vegetables just to feed their family. But they lack skills, lands and collecting water methods to extend their activity. Moreover, climate changes make this more and more difficult for them.

CRDT has been working with more than 400 farmers in six villages of Sambour district to try to deal with these problems. Thus, the project has provided them agricultural skills and livestock raising techniques during 3 years. As 2016 is the last year of implementation of this project, it seems to be the best moment to observe its effects.

To illustrate that we would like to take the example of Vanna, Touch, Mot and Ty. Four farmers from Bay Samnum Village who decided to work together to face their difficulties.

Ms. Denton Vanna is 49, she is a cooperative farmer owning a large land for vegetable farm but she doesn’t have specific skills or equipment.

Mr. Ton Touch, 45 years old, father of 5 children, is one of the project’s cooperative farmer and the proud owner of a water pumping machine. Only he doesn’t have any land.

Mr. Om Mot, 62, is also a cooperative farmer but he is very poor and lives on a small land not proper for farming. However, thanks to the project he received some technical skills training and farm equipment.

Ms. Seng Ty, 62 years old, has never grown vegetables because she lacked techniques but she is very motivated to have a new activity.

All together they decided to combine their skills, equipment and land to solve their problems. Helped by the farmer promoter of the village, Mr. Lim Sokhort, the four of them started to grow vegetables on Ms. Denton’s land.

Due to this arrangement they are now growing enough vegetables to feed their families but also to sell some, and they currently generate a revenue of 15USD per month.

Thanks to CRDT’s project these farmers had the chance to train themselves and to create new opportunities for their livelihood activities. But it is their sense of solidarity and this decision to work together which allowed them to take the better advantage of that chance and create an example to follow.

 

By Bin Dim,

Project Manager in Sambo District