Market access remains a concern for Cambodian farmers. Many small-scale farmers report facing debt due to unsold crops. Agricultural development is a priority of the government, but the market connection in the supply chain requires improvements. To tackle this, public and private institutions are enhancing crop production value, information, and market opportunities via education, administrative and technological initiatives.
Poverty and Agriculture in Cambodia
Agriculture employs more than 49% of the Khmer population and makes up 22% of the nation’s GDP. The government also seeks to continue to develop the industry to drive growth and reduce the country’s poverty rate of 17.8% under the national poverty line. However, efforts to enhance the productive capacity of farmers via infrastructure and financing can become stagnant without appropriately matched markets.
CamboJA News, an independent journalist’s alliance in Cambodia, illustrated farmers’ struggles. Many farmers report unsold produce, which has led to additional debt for following harvest seasons and migration from Cambodia. Microfinance institutions have issued $1.34 billion in debt for agricultural purposes, and farmers whose crops do not sell are forced to keep borrowing.
Farmers claim their difficulties arise from low prices, driven downward by import competition. Local authorities have discouraged farmers’ attempts to vocalize these issues online, though the government claims they have tried to reduce market frictions, according to CamboJA News.
Innovations in Access to Agricultural Markets in Cambodia
In May 2023, the World Food Programme (WFP) and Cambodian Agriculture Cooperative Corporation (CACC) announced their collaboration in a $3 million initiative to improve agricultural markets in Cambodia. The CACC is a private partner that also purchases food crops from cooperatives, which pool skills, knowledge and production scale. The goal of the initiative is to reach 1,200 families in northeastern Cambodia and provide them with education and help them create valuable organic food products, which compared to the farming staple of rice offer higher prices and profits. The project also emphasizes sustainable farming practices, gender equality and nutrition.
In November 2020, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved the Agricultural Value Chain Competitiveness and Safety Enhancement Project, targeting 27,000 households. The ADB is focusing on transport infrastructure, building roads of which only 5% in rural areas are paved. They are also supporting agricultural businesses and cooperatives with credit and market ties.
Grocerdel is a grocery delivery app that provides consumers with fresh food from local farmers in zero-plastic packaging. With its technology, farmers are more closely connected with market demand. In addition to food, the platform also offers local-brands and wholesale goods. They work with more than 300 smallholder farmers and service the capital Phnom Penh, facilitating urban-rural connectivity. Originally catered towards expats, the platform is reporting increasing local users.
These multidimensional initiatives strengthen value chains and market access for smallholder farms, providing them with greater opportunities for profit outside of international, large-scale agribusiness.
– Imme Koolenbrander
Imme is based in Beijing, China and focuses on Business and Technology for The Borgen Project.
Photo: Flickr