Phnom Penh, June 11, 2024: His Excellency Dith Tina, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, hosted Beverley Postma, Executive Director of Grow Asia, along with high-ranking officials, including the Secretary of State, Undersecretary of State, and other dignitaries from various levels of government. The meeting centered on Grow Asia – Cambodia Partnership for Sustainable Agriculture (CPSA)’s ongoing activities focused on creating inclusive and sustainable food systems in Cambodia.
Following the presentation on the outcomes of Grow Asia – CPSA programs, Minister Dith Tina expressed his appreciation and satisfaction with the seven-year collaboration. He underscored the Ministry’s priority activities aimed at enhancing food security and promoting economic and environmental sustainability. Key initiatives include reducing production costs, deploying commune agriculture officials, and strengthening modern farming cooperatives. These efforts are designed to provide timely and effective support to farmers, addressing technical issues, market access, and capital needs.
Minister Dith Tina emphasized the strategic importance of enhancing mechanisms for exporting key agricultural products such as rice, mango, cashew, and pepper to international markets to increase their value. He also encouraged investments in processing and packaging facilities to boost agricultural exports.
Furthermore, the Minister highlighted the necessity of low-interest loans to improve agricultural production through investments in infrastructure like greenhouses, nets, and irrigation systems, which would benefit farmers economically.
Beverley Postma responded by reiterating Grow Asia – CPSA’s vision to align its activities with Cambodia’s strategic agricultural development plan. She emphasized the importance of mobilizing stakeholders to support and cooperate in developing a sustainable agricultural sector. Ms. Postma committed to attracting more investment, accelerating agricultural innovation, and building a strong enabling environment for modern agricultural cooperatives, in line with the Royal Government of Cambodia’s pentagonal strategy.
Leav Kimna, Country Director of CPSA, provided an update on the implementation of the general action plan, which focuses on five working groups: rice, cashew, vegetables, fruits, and pepper, as well as agrifood SMEs. These groups play a crucial role in supporting the fifth and sixth priority strategic policy programs by promoting agricultural production, finding markets, implementing contract farming, and maintaining agricultural prices and cost through agri-business training and farming technique.
Grow Asia is a multi-stakeholder platform established in 2015 by the World Economic Forum and ASEAN to cultivate more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable food systems. Grow Asia – CPSA collaborates closely with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF), other relevant ministries, the private sector, NGOs, farmers’ organizations, and financial institutions to connect producers with markets.
Currently, Grow Asia – CPSA supports four working groups (Cashew, Pepper, Vegetable and Fruits, and Agrifood SMEs with over 124 partners, focusing on key programs such as Agri-Food Innovation, Women’s Economic Empowerment, Responsible Investing, and Climate Change Resilience.
