Promoting Climate Resilience in the Farming Communities of Cambodia

Sharing Thailand's experiences for increasing the productivity of climate-resilient fruit and vegetable crops in Cambodia

Towards a Solution

In order to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts, the ‘Thailand-Cambodia Development Cooperation’ project was initiated. Its aim is to share best practices in the climate-smart agricultural technology from Thailand to increase environmentally friendly fruit and vegetable crop productivity in Cambodia. The project seeks to adapt farming systems to climate change with a focus on off-season fruit production in Battambang province and vegetable production in Siem Reap province in Cambodia.

The objectives of the three-year project are to enhance the ability of farming communities to adapt to the impacts of climate change and to strengthen cooperation through intensive capacity-building programmes on research and development in select agricultural communities. The project’s outputs include guidelines on climate change resilience and adaptation, capacity-building for various stakeholders and relevant agencies, demonstration plots in selected provinces, and a standardized climate adaptation practice in Cambodia.

Study visits are being conducted to collect and synthesize data on farming systems in both Thailand and Cambodia. Once adequate data have been collected, a series of training courses and workshops are organized. They are tailored to fit the context of agricultural practices in Cambodia, with a view to developing national guidelines for climate change adaptation.

As a result, capacity-building programmes are designed for all relevant stakeholders, including Government officials, smart farmers and heads of farming communities. Stakeholders also participate in developing the content and training plan, as well as the training of trainers activities and on-site training for targeted communities in Cambodia.

In addition, demonstration plots are being set up in Battambang and Siem Reap provinces. Experts are dispatched to conduct surveys, select farms and set up the demonstration plots for fruit and vegetable production. Thai experts, alongside Cambodian stakeholders, formulate an operational plan for the demonstration plots, monitor its implementation and synthesize lessons learned in applying the climate change adaptation guidelines. Using these guidelines, climate adaptation practices and a monitoring and evaluation system will be expanded to other communities in Cambodia.

The climate-smart agricultural technology for fruit and vegetable production shared by Thai experts uses mini-sprinkler irrigation systems to save on water and labour, which is good for long-term investments. Moreover, the experts have applied a biocontrol agent, the entomopathogenic nematode, to control insects and pests in organic vegetable crops to improve health and safety in a way that is environmentally friendly. After setting up the demonstration plots and greenhouses in targeted communities, Cambodian farmers were able to use local materials to lower costs for organic vegetable production. Thai experts also shared post-harvest, processing and marketing methods. Furthermore, the project helps establish participatory guarantee systems to allow products to break into the organic vegetable market and be sold in supermarkets in Cambodia.

Local agricultural officials have been able to apply the good practices of climate-smart agricultural technology for fruit trees and vegetable crops developed under this project to other communities in Cambodia. There are five demonstration plots for three fruit crops in Battambang that focus on improving productivity and off-season fruit production. Twenty-five additional scale-up plots were established: 6 plots for citrus orchards, 14 plots for mango orchards and 5 plots for longan orchards. There are 7 vegetable demonstration plots and over 30 scaling-up plots in Siem Reap and Battambang combined.

As a result of the project, farming communities in Cambodia were able to adopt climate-resilient farming practices. The project helped strengthen resilience and promote mechanisms to increase capacity in effectively responding to climate change in Cambodia, as indicated in the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13. The activities enhanced development cooperation to implement programmes and policies to end poverty (SDG 1), and to protect the health of farmers and consumers (SDG 3). Under the project, productivity was doubled, costs were lowered and a sustainable food production system was ensured (SDG 2). The outputs also enhanced partnerships for sustainable development by sharing knowledge and best practices developed in Thailand with partners (SDG 17).

The ongoing project in Cambodia is scheduled to be completed in 2020. The smart farmers plan to continue off-season agricultural production in their communities, in accordance with the climate change adaptation guidelines. The project’s key success is the sense of ownership among farmers in the communities. The project was scaled up from the original 12 participants to 57 farmers who are applying the sustainable farming techniques and methods shared during the project, thereby increasing the possibility of replicating these techniques in other communities across Cambodia. This also paves the way for future cooperation between Thailand and Cambodia on food security, value chain and climate change adaptation in the coming years.