Participatory technology transfer in Cambodia improves rice productivity and incomes

In her presentation during the session “Good practices in agricultural technology transfer through participatory and community-based approaches”, Ms. Chantheang Tong, Senior Program Officer, Cambodian Centre for Study and Development of Agriculture (CEDAC), shared the CEDAC experience in promoting the system of rice intensification (SRI) in Cambodia. Approximately 70 per cent of the country’s population depends mainly on agriculture for a livelihood and 60 per cent are rice farmers. A major constraint to improving rice productivity is that 80 per cent of rice farms are rain-fed. Moreover, the average rice farming household has 1.2 ha of land, although 48 per cent of farm households own less than 1 ha. The average rice yield of 3.3 tons per hectare is less than the potential.

The SRI programme began in Cambodia in 2000 with 28 farmers and over 100,000 farmers have adopted SRI with CEDAC support since then. SRI has become a national programme, supported by the Ministry of Agriculture. Farms using SRI techniques have improved yield by 60 per cent, while reducing expenses on fertilizer and seeds.

Following successful dissemination of the SRI technology, CEDAC has been supporting farmers in marketing organic rice to earn higher incomes. About 2,000 organic rice producers have adopted SRI and more than 200 farmers have obtained organic and fair trade certification for international export.

CEDAC worked with innovative farmers in setting up a demonstration SRI farm and organized farmer visits there to learn about SRI. Intensive training in SRI techniques is being provided to farmers. The programme is flexible and allows farmers to choose the measures that they can implement. Follow-up visits and additional training is also provided. Successful farmers are selected to train other farmers.

The technology transfer process involves changing the mindset of farmers by demonstrating the benefits of simple and incremental changes in farming techniques such as planting, irrigating and weeding. Farmer-to-farmer training has been an effective method for technology transfer. However, technology alone is not enough and market linkages should be developed to bring more benefits to farmers.

Ms. Tong described the CEDAC Strategic Plan, which includes making farmers self-reliant and market-oriented. CEDAC is also strengthening networking between local leaders and rural entrepreneurs to promote learning and empower rural communities.

Reporter: Maame Ayegben, TID, UNESCAP