Cambodian farmers carrying rice in a field in Kampong Speu province in 2010. (Source: AFP) Phnom Penh (VNA) – The Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, andFisheries on December 25 launched a five-year strategic plan which focuses on making the agriculture sector morecompetitive and resilient to climate change.
The 2019 – 2023 plan aims to develop farmingand push the agriculture sector to modernise, become more competitive andresilient to climate change and, in particular, to move on from labour-intensivetraditional practices.
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry andFisheries Veng Sakhon said the strategy provides an important roadmap toenhance farming and its products and the way they are delivered to consumers.
The Cambodian government wants to upgradeagriculture from traditional practices to an advanced agribusiness, withenhanced productivity,diverse potential cropsand products meetingmarket needs, Sakhon said.
It would take into consideration,sustainability, globalisation and use of modern technology, he added.
He wenton to say that throughthe strategic plan, the ministry urges the establishment of agricultural cooperatives andwants farmers to cooperate with the private sector under an agriculturalpublic-private partnership.
Farmer-businesscontacts will help stablise the farming market, he said.
Thestrategy supports small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) and developmentpartners to invest inthe agriculture and processing sector to ensure sustainable, local productivity, stable markets andvalue-added products while promoting quality, sanitation and safety standardsin order to comply with the demands of domestic and international markets, he noted./.
VNA
