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| Meeting with organic vegetable producer group |
On the third day of the SATNET intraregional visit for
smallholder value chain actors in Cambodia, the participants visited a
progressive lady farmer in Kampong Chnang province who started organic farming
in 2007 due to ill health resulting from exposure to chemical pesticides and
fertilizers. During an in-depth interaction with the visitors, she shared what
kind of practices she applies on her farm, and how she has successfully
established an organic vegetable producers group (comprising mostly of women).
By switching to organic farming, with the produce sold to CEDAC’s Agri-Product
Shops, she has been able to increase her income significantly and has achieved
better health. She also shared her learning on how organic farmers can maximize
the yield on their farms by utilizing liquid fertilizer made from cow urine,
having a planting schedule, and selecting high quality seeds.
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| At CEDAC's marketing outlet |
The participants also visited a warehouse and Nature
Agri-Product Shop of CEDAC in Phnom Penh which markets organic produce supplied
by farmers. This shop which runs on a cooperative model provides a very useful
marketing channel to the farmers and helps them realize prices for their
produce which are 20 – 30% higher than the usual market rates. Over recent
times, the demand for organic produce sold through these shops has outstripped
supply, giving a boost to organic farming.
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