GROWING OPPORTUNITIES

New Markets for farmers in Cambodia

- Stuart Taylor

The twin rusted cylinders sprout from Prak Sareth’s vegetable field like the chimneys of a de-commissioned ship that has spent many years at sea. A few flecks of the original blue paint still cling to the otherwise mottled brown metal.

After a brief inspection, I realize that this is what remains of Sareth’s original treadle pump, purchased six years ago. He assures me that it is still in fine working condition; he keeps the pistons and treadles back at the house when it is not in use. However, I can see the line of plastic tubing running from his garden to a small petrol motor a couple hundred yards across the field. Sareth laughs as he follows my gaze across the rows of vibrant green tomato plants.

“Yes,” he says through an interpreter, “Life is much easier now.”

Six years ago, Sareth was making around $200 per year from his small plot of cabbages, cucumbers and leafy greens. It was not enough to ensure that his family could afford basic foodstuffs or to keep his four children in school.

Then, in 2001, his neighbour introduced him to a technology he had not seen before. “I saw my neighbour had a treadle pump installed,” he recalls. “I went to the local dealer. Because it was a new product, the dealer was offering a $2 rebate to farmers who would install the pump and show their neighbours.” Sareth jumped at the chance and scraped together the $13 he needed to purchase a pump.

After one year, he says, the income from his vegetable garden jumped to $750. Irrigation had become so much more efficient, he was able to expand his production into the fallow land surrounding his small plot. “I was carrying sprinkler cans from that stream,” he says, pointing across a small embankment 300 yards away. “With the pump, I was getting water right next to my vegetables.”

Within two years, Sareth had saved enough money to buy his petrol pump; at $130 it was ten times the purchase price of his treadle pump. He continued to grow his vegetable operation and also expanded into dry season rice.

The disastrous Pol Pot era is still a painful living memory for many Cambodians, including Sareth. Everyone has a tale of suffering, atrocity, and often heroism, to tell. Now, as the country moves forward from the chaotic ‘80s and ‘90s following the downfall of the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia is posting impressive economic gains. The challenge for farmers like Sareth is how to cash in on the promise of a brighter future.

For many farmers, vegetables and spices represent a market opportunity. Currently in the eastern provinces like Prey Veng, up to 60% of the commercial vegetable market is being supplied by nearby Vietnam. “There is no reason that the Cambodian farmer can’t produce these vegetables,” says IDE Cambodia’s director of operations Ros Kimsan.

Last year, Sareth started producing chili peppers – a high value crop that IDE has been promoting in this area. He has just finished installing his first drip irrigation system, with the assistance of local IDE field staff. He is keen to see how this will further boost his vegetable production in the coming year.

Further down the dusty road, Saroeun is also growing chilis. She was introduced to chili cultivation by a local extension agent trained by IDE. The agent paid monthly visits and provided seed on credit. In her first season, Saroeun sold $50 of chilis to a wholesaler in town, allowing her to pay off the $13 value of the seed and inputs from the private extension agent.

“The agent has visited us regularly,” she says. “He showed me how to get good results with the chilis. Now I can tell my husband what to do!” she laughs. Her husband smiles quietly and says he is proud of what his wife has accomplished with the family vegetable plot.

The extension agent also introduced her to fertilizer pellets – compressed tablets of fertilizer that she pushes into the soil at regular intervals through her rice paddy.

IDE’s Kimsan explains how the pellets increase yields. “The pellets slowly release fertilizer into the soil,” he says. “You don’t lose much in the rains.”

“We have seen very big changes in yield,” he continues. “In the wet season, people are getting 50% more rice and in the dry season, they are harvesting 70% more.”

At his home a couple of kilometres from Saroeun’s house, the private extension agent, Sok Thol, explains his business. He is a vet who regularly travels from village to village. IDE trained him as an extension agent and now he is able to offer both agronomic and veterinary services to the 250 households in his area. For him, it means an additional source of income.

The IDE technologies that he sells – including drip irrigation and the fertilizer pellets – come bundled with visits to the customer’s field to provide technical and agricultural advice. For farmers in the area, it means that they have a local and accessible source of information on new crops, potential markets and affordable technologies.

Back at her home, Saroeun says she is very happy with the advice and service that she has received from the extension agent. She beams as she pats her nine-year-old son on the head. “Now he isn’t hungry and I am happy,” she says.

For farmers like Prak Sareth and Saroeun, that rusty treadle pump, pointing from soil to sky, represents change and growing opportunity.