Department of Agriculture
ASEAN GAP is a standard for good agricultural practices to control hazards during the production, harvesting and postharvest handling of fresh fruit and vegetables in the ASEAN Member States. ASEAN GAP is divided into four modules – 1. Food safety, 2. Environmental management, 3. Worker health, safety and welfare and 4. Produce quality.
ASEAN GAP is a standard for good agricultural practices to control hazards during the production, harvesting and postharvest handling of fresh fruit and vegetables in the ASEAN Member States. ASEAN GAP is divided into four modules – 1. Food safety, 2. Environmental management, 3. Worker health, safety and welfare and 4. Produce quality.
ASEAN GAP is a standard for good agricultural practices to control hazards during the production, harvesting and postharvest handling of fresh fruit and vegetables in the ASEAN Member States. ASEAN GAP is divided into four modules – 1. Food safety, 2. Environmental management, 3. Worker health, safety and welfare and 4. Produce quality.
The Special SOM-34th AMAF, held on 13-14 August 2013 in Pakse, Lao PDR agreed on the need to develop a vision, objectives and goals of the ASEAN Cooperation in Food, Agriculture and Forestry sectors towards 2020 (FAF), based on the review of the current Framework and Strategic Plan.
The Special SOM-35th AMAF, held on 18-19 August 2014 in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia agreed to adjust that timeline for the post 2015 Vision to 2016-2025 to align with the decision of the 26th Meeting of High Level Task Force on Economic Integration (HLTF-EI) on the adoption of a ten-year time period (2016-2025) for work plans under the AEC Pillar.
In the aftermath of the 2007/2008 food price crisis, the ASEAN Summit of 2009 pledged to embrace food security as a permanent and high policy priority. The attainment of food security has faced several recent challenges, such as economic slowdown due to the global financial crisis, as well as rising cost of living and of agricultural inputs due to escalating fuel prices. Emerging threats include the shift of arable land to biofuels with potential repercussions on food production, short-term impacts of natural disasters complicated by climate change, and other long-term pressures on food production, such as urbanization, conversion of agricultural land, and migration of labour from rural areas.
Following the 4th ASEAN Summit in 1992, the ASEAN Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) identified seven priorities for the agriculture sector (comprising the crops, fisheries, and livestock sub-sectors)and five strategic thrusts for the forestry sector. In 2007 the AEC Blueprint
Since Ms. Ing Sarun grows organic vegetables for Khmer Organic Cooperative, she smiles more often.
Ms. Sarun, 58, grows rice and vegetables on her family’s land of 0.92 hectare in Kampong Nung Village in Kampot Province, Cambodia. She cultivates rice and grows vegetables such as cucumber, bitter gourd, eggplant, pumpkin, and long bean for a living. She has six members in her family including her husband and four children, two boys and two girls.
The Khmer Organic Cooperative (KOC) buys organic vegetables from farmer groups in Cambodia and supply the fresh produces to its sister company, Eco-Agri Co. Ltd (EAC) in Phnom Penh. EAC is a joint initiative of ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems to provide green agricultural input suppliers such as bio-pesticides and bio-fertilizers to farmers and chemical free agricultural products to consumers in Cambodia.
Having been a contract farmer for three months for the KOC, Ms. Sarun has opportunities to attend different organic production trainings such as technical cultivation, compost making and pest and farm management. In complying with organic standard, she knows that she has to use organic fertilizer, compost, and natural fertilizer and insecticide. Ms. Sarun also participates in meetings with her farmer group and representatives of KOC to discuss about the production plan and fixing price of vegetables as well as sharing constraint in production to inquire possible supports from KOC regarding pest, seed and necessary techniques.
At KOC, Ms. Sarun enjoys her home grown vegetable such as cucumber at over a double price compared to general market. She can sell her cucumber at 0.75 US dollar per kilogramme while at a local market she will receive 0.3 US dollar per kg. From KOC Ms. Sarun will get payment for her produces about two to three times per month.
“I am very happy with the price and also technical supports from Khmer Organic Cooperative which assists me in improving my knowledge and vegetable growing techniques,” says Ms. Sarun. “Also, I learn now that growing organic vegetable is not only benefiting me but also consumer and environment.”
Being a farmer for more than half of her life, Ms. Sarun is proud to share her tips on when to best grow cucumber in Cambodia.
There are two seasons in Cambodia: rainy season (from May-October) and dry season (from November-April). From November till January the weather is cool which makes it a good season for growing vegetable while from February-April it is very dry and difficult to grow vegetable.
However, in the rainy season since the soil temperature is always cold and wet which is favorable for plant pathogen to grow and spread, the plant is infested, especially rotted root. Also, when the soil holds a large amount of water, it will cause water stress for plant causing downy mildew on leave and productivities decrease.
Still, cucumber grows better in the rainy season and it gives about 15 per cent higher yield. In the land of 180 square meter, Ms. Sarun spends about 53 US dollar to grow cucumber in the rainy season while in the dry season she spends 12 US dollar more for the total input’s cost in a two-month cycle of cucumber.
Ms. Sarun is an exemplary farmer and has a lot of experiences through her collaborations with NGO and government agencies. She shares that during the rainy season farmer should prepare higher bed and use plastic mulch to control weed and soil compaction, and invest in the plastic raining protection from pest and heavy rain.
She also says that cucumber cultivation in the dry season is harder due to water deficiency so the productivity is limited. Besides, the weather is too hot and the vegetable grows slowly while in the rainy season the vegetable grows faster and more productive.
By Saody So and Rojana Manowalailao, ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems
Fear of the adverse effects of chemically tainted food is seeing an increasing number of Cambodian people choose organic produce, despite its higher prices. The trend mimics that in major international markets such as the UK and US, as well as in Cambodia’s major trading partner China, which is now the world’s fourth largest market for organic produce with retail sales exceeding US$4 billion last year.
According to the Soil Association, the UKs main organic produce certifying body, sales of organic products rose last year by 4.9 per cent to almost $3 billion in the UK. In the U.S the organic market grew by 11.4 per cent last year to $43.3 billion, while in Denmark, the country with the highest organic produce market-share worldwide, organic produce used in food and beverages rose to 7.6 per cent in 2015.
While organic Cambodia rice is already carving a reputation for itself in international markets the lack of certification is holding Cambodia’s fledgling organic produce sector back from tapping into the increasing international demand for clean and green produce.
All this is set to change and soon a wider range of organically certified Cambodia produce could be gracing the kitchens of discerning restaurants and the plates of health-conscious diners globally.
Seeing the “huge potential” for the Cambodia organic produce sector GIZ Asean-SAS, the local office of Germany’s official overseas aid provider, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH., is ramping up assistance to help organic producers get their produce certified.
In a deal with local organic food retailer Khmer Organic Cooperative (KAC), which currently produces about 300kg (about 660lbs) of non-certified organic produce each week for its stores in Phnom Penh, GIZ will provide technical support to develop better organic vegetable production and assist the firm in obtaining certification for its products. The assistance programme will cover two farms, covering a total of 23 hectares (57 acres).
This is not the first programme run by GIZ to boost the quality and yield of organic produce in Cambodia. Claudius Bredehöeft, project coordinator of GIZ Asean-SAS, told the Phnom Penh Post that its existing certification programme for organic rice run in conjunction with the Cambodian Center for Study and Development in Agriculture (Cedac), had been expanded from three to six provinces, with more than 1,200 farmers trained in organic production techniques.
Having an institution guarantee that products meet recognised organic standards is essential to the marketing success of Cambodia’s organic produce sector. Certification will help farmers get more return for their products, with farmers globally finding that consumers are willing to pay higher prices for certified organic produce, Mr Bredehöeft said.
The misuse of chemicals and fertilizers in the Cambodia agriculture sector is a rampant problem. Many chemicals are imported from neighbouring Vietnam or China, often with no Khmer or English translation on correct usage or handling methods. The result is farm produce that contains high residual levels of chemicals, and fields that under produce due to chemical over use.
A draft law on food safety in Cambodia that would address the entire supply chain from farm to table is still waiting to be approved by parliament, more than two years after the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) started assisting with its development.
Speaking with The Phnom Penh Post, Leng Sotheara, KAC’s founder said: “Certification is important to build the confidence of consumers as it proves that fruits and vegetables are really organic”. Additionally, “We cannot export our organic vegetables, if they are not certified as organically grown”.
According to Keam Makardy, field operation program manager for Cedac, organic produce not only provides farmers with a good income, but also higher yields than chemically-grown crops. One hectare (2.47 acres) of land cultivated using organic methods can yield up to 66 per cent more than crops farmed using traditional fertilizers and chemicals he told The Phnom Penh Post.
The poor state of Cambodia’s agricultural sector is no secret. Vongsey Vissoth, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MoEF), recently told the Khmer Times that agricultural yield in Cambodia is so inefficient that about $200 million a year in produce is imported into the kingdom.
These claims have been verified by the UK-based think tank the Center for Policy Studies’ (CPS), whose own study found that up to 400 tons of vegetables and produce are imported daily from nearby countries, putting the total value of imports at up to $250 million annually.
While 60 per cent of Cambodia’s organic rice harvest is shipped abroad where it commands a premium price, the balance is sold locally according to Mr Makardy. Despite prices for organic produce being up to 30 per cent higher than their non-organic counterpart demand is increasing, he said.
Mr Makardy said it is hoped certified organic Cambodia rice output will come in at between 1,000 and 1,500 tons this year. Last year certified Cambodia organic rice producers doubled output from 400 tons in 2014 to more than 800 tons, he said.
It’s not only yield rates that are up for those farmers choosing organic. In a separate interview with The Phnom Penh Post Yang Phirom, CEO of Organic Farm Enterprise (COFE), the primary distribution arm for Cedac said that Cambodia farmers growing organic rice are guaranteed of earning KHR 1,650 (about $0.41) per kilogram (2.20lbs), about double the current market price for unmilled.
With help from Germany’s GIZ, Cambodia’s fledgling organic produce sector could soon be garnering a much bigger name for itself internationally, while also providing a much needed boost to the earning capacity of Cambodia’s rural sector.
GIZ & Swiss Re workshop with Asian government representatives in Jakarta
More than 90 representatives from eleven Asian countries participated in an executive consultation forum and capacity building seminar in Indonesia to learn and share their experiences on mechanisms how to deal with financial risks resulting from climate change.
The event was organized by the “Strategic Alliance on Climate Risk Transfer Solutions” (Strategic Alliance) which is a Public-Private-Partnership project between GIZ and the international reinsurer Swiss Re with the objective to improve access to smart climate risk transfer solutions at sovereign and sub- sovereign level for selected Asian and African governments. It was the first of its kind in the Asian region organized by the two partners and took place between 17 and 21 October in Jakarta.
Asia is one of the most disaster-prone areas in the world has experienced the highest number of natural disasters worldwide in the last 115 years. Since these damages have strong peaks over the years resulting in large economic, social and financial losses, the question arises how states can financially deal with those very strong disasters.
In his keynote presentation Dr. Alexander Jaeger, the Project leader of the Strategic Alliance at GIZ, emphasized that the financial impact of climate change represents a growing financial burden for societies across Asia and that climate risk transfer solutions such as insurance is one promising option how governments can address this worrying situation.
The overall objective of the event, therefore, was to enhance the understanding of government officials on sovereign risk financing and risk transfer mechanisms with regard to climate change risks as well as to increase their technical capacities. Participants represented a wide variety of government institutions (e.g. Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Finance), the private sector (e.g. insurance companies) and development partners (e.g. ASEAN and the World Bank), which further increased learning and knowledge sharing.
Members of ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems (ASEAN SAS), Better Rice Initiative Asia (BRIA) and Remote Sensing-based Information and Insurance for Crops in Emerging Economies (RIICE) teams supported the organization and facilitation of the workshop as their field of work and the partners they cooperate with are strongly linked with the participating audience.
Mr. Suriyan Vichitlekarn, Regional Project Director of BRIA moderated the whole event. Ms. Susan Gille, Project Manager of RIICE facilitated a group work session on Developing a Sovereign Climate Risk Financing Strategy in which country groups with participants from different government institutions jointly work on their specific country issues, looked at existing gaps and developed ideas how to strengthen the disaster risk insurance framework in their countries.
The activities of the RIICE project complement the goal of the “Strategic Alliance on Sovereign Climate Risk Transfer’s”: Providing governments with smart climate risk transfer solutions. RIICE can play an important part in an integrated disaster risk management approach, consisting of risk identification, assessment, prevention and mitigation and adaptation (risk transfer) by providing the underlying technological backbone. For the future, RIICE intends to strengthen its collaboration with the “Strategic Alliance on Sovereign Climate Risk Transfer” and Swiss Re in Southeast Asia.The RIICE project has supported partner countries in Southeast Asia in developing and operating an innovative remote sensing technology which enables them to regularly monitor their rice production and to assess damages in case of natural disasters such as typhoons, floods and droughts. The European Space Agency’s Sentinel radar satellites are the backbone of the RIICE technology. This risk management tool enables policy makers to better respond to the impacts of natural catastrophes in particular when it is embedded in new or existing crop insurance programmes. In 2016/17 the first crop insurance pilot which integrates satellite-derived information is conducted under the umbrella of RIICE.
Further information:
By Benedikt Lemnitzer, Remote Sensing-based Information and Insurance for Crops in Emerging Economies (RIICE)