Safe food, Healthy life in Cambodia

Phnom Penh residents start changing their behavior from eating normal vegetable and fruits which contained chemical residue to consume organic products. Though the prices of organic products are higher than the normal products, some people still prefer to eat since they know these products are good for health.

“The sales volume of vegetables and fruits has increased from 100kg a day to 300kg a day,” said Canady Mao, an Assistant Director of Khmer Organic Cooperative (KOC).

In respond to the increasing demand from buyers, KOC start doing contract farming with 20 local farmers in Kampot Province. This will help to improve the income generation of the farmers and to ensure the products quality meets the organic standard and the quantity meets the demand of the market. Until now, there are around 100 different types of organic products for sale at the KOC shop.

From left, Phen Chhunhak of Improvement of Livelihood and Food Security of Landless and Land-Poor Households, So Saody of ASEAN SAS, and Canady Mao of KOC

“Most buyers come here to buy organic vegetables even though the vegetables do not look good from the outer appearance and have higher price,” said Ms Mao.

KOC also has the strategy and plan to enlarge the scope from working with 20 farmers to many more farmers in other potential provinces. Moreover, KOC is also working collaboratively with community and non-government organizations to promote community’s products. Those products are composed of leafy vegetable, fruit vegetable and processing products.

“Applying organic farming method is not only a way to generate income, but it is also good for human health because we eat safe food,” said Mr. Ieng Sotheara, a Founder of KOC.

The story and photos are outcome of a workshop ‘Impact Story Writing and Basic Photography’ for project staff of Improvement of Livelihood and Food Security of Landless and Land-Poor Households, ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems (ASEAN SAS), and their partner, Khmer Organic Cooperative. The workshop was conducted in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from 14-17 February 2017 and attended by 14 attendees. ASEAN SAS Communication Officer provided the training.

By Phen Chhunhak and Lum Sereykut, Improvement of Livelihood and Food Security of Landless and Land-Poor Households and So Saody, ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems

02/03/201703/08/2017

You are ugly. But, I still eat you.

Organic products are in higher demand in Cambodia although they do not look as nice as the chemical coated produces.

According to a shop assistant at Khmer Organic Cooperative (KOC) in Phnom Penh, about 50 to 60 customers visit the shop to buy the organic products on a daily basis. Besides, four to 10 customers call to order the products per day, especially the leafy vegetables, said Ms. Seng Sophea, 23, the KOC shop assistant.

“Japanese bitter gourd and purple maize are most popular. Customers also ask for organic carrots, cucumber, onions and passion fruit, but they are under supply,” she said.

Visitors to the KOC include Khmers and foreigners. Usually, the Khmer customers come to buy fresh vegetable and fruit while the foreign customers shop for organic ingredients such as pepper and sugar palm, according to Ms. Sophea.

Ms. Sophea (right) on her duty and project staff of Improvement of Livelihood and Food Security of Landless and Land-Poor Households.

More than 100 types of products including fruit tree, leafy vegetables, tubers and other processed products and ingredients are offered at the shop. The major sources for the fresh produces come from KOC farms and contracted farmers.

Ms. Sophea said the KOC customers love the organic products because of its taste and benefits to health.

“Customers say it is tastier and they feel safe when eating,” said the shop assistant. However, the customers complain about the price which is two to three times higher than the general market.

Currently, there are two KOC shops in Cambodia, one in the suburb Chruoy Changva and the other in the central city of Phnom Penh.

KOC is a sister of Eco-Agri Co. Ltd (EAC) which is a joint initiative of GIZ Cambodia through ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems (ASEAN SAS) project. EAC is the agricultural input supplier. It sells seeds, local produced Biocontrol Agents and bio-fertilizer. And, soon it will import biological pest control solutions from ASEAN Member States to Cambodia.

The shop assisant is being interviewed by project staff of Improvement of Livelihood and Food Security of Landless and Land-Poor Households.

At present, KOC buys agricultural produces from farmer groups who are connected through EAC.

This story is based solely on an interview with Ms. Seng Sophea, the Khmer Organic Cooperative shop assistant. It is part of an activity in a workshop ‘Impact Story Writing and Basic Photography’ for project staff of Improvement of Livelihood and Food Security of Landless and Land-Poor Households, ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems (ASEAN SAS), and their partner, Khmer Organic Cooperative. The workshop was conducted in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from 14-17 February 2017 and attended by 14 attendees. ASEAN SAS Communication Officer provided the training.

The story and its photos are the outcome of the workshop.

By Chhet Socheata, Keat Pengkun, Khann Kanha, and Sok Lina, Improvement of Livelihood and Food Security of Landless and Land-Poor Households and Rojana Manowalailao, ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems

Improvement of Livelihood and Food Security of Landless and Land-Poor Households project staff taking photo with Ms. Seng Sophea, the shop assistant (second from the front) on the interview day.

24/01/201710/07/2017

Life of contract farmer in Cambodia: Growing organic, glowing income

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

27/12/201604/08/2017

AEC News, 27 September 2016: GIZ Programme to Boost Cambodia’s Organic Produce Sector

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.

Organic Certification

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.

Cambodia Organic Rice Output Growing

Photo: John Le Fevre File photo: Certified organic Cambodia rice output is expected to come in at between 1,000 and 1,500 tons this year

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.

23/12/201617/07/2017

Horticulture trade held in Cambodia promotes self-sustainability and extra income among the locals

Public and private partners based in Cambodia shared their efforts to promote the better livelihood of local farmers as well as consumers through horticulture trade at a fair in Preah Vihear. About 600-700 visitors visited this one-day fair in Cambodia.

The Horticulture Trade Fair held on 30 November 2016 showcased knowledge products of approximately 20 institutions from international development cooperation, government, non-profit organisations, inputs retailers, vegetable traders, agriculture cooperatives and financial institutes based in Cambodia. About 31 booths were exhibited with a number of 108 exhibitors.

The fair was hosted by Cambodia Horticulture Advancing Income and Nutrition (CHAIN) and co-organised by the German supported ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems (ASEAN SAS) project, Action Against Hunger Organization, World Vision Cambodia, Private Sector including Ankor Green company, Eco Agri Co., Ltd, KENVOS company, Sinamyang company, SOKHAPOL company, HLM company, Micro Finance Institution, Idemistu Saison Micro Finance and ACELEDA Bank.

Its aims were to showcase the Cambodia’s horticulture sector and inform farmers on financial availability for agricultural investment and opportunities to expand their production area as well as to promote safe food and nutrition to farmers and consumers and give a platform for stakeholders for business dialogue and business matching.

Ms. Marieke Van Schie speech about CHAIN project

CHAIN project through SNV Netherlands Development Organization focuses on improving the value chain in horticulture on vegetable and fruit in order to improve livelihood of Cambodia’s farmers. It implements in four provinces in Preah Vihear, Steung Treng, Kratie, and Ordor Mean Chey.

The project works with all supply chain actors, but at the end of the day, Ms. Marieke Van Schie, team leader of CHAIN expressed her strong hope to see farmers being able to produce vegetable for their own consumption and make extra money from the surplus of family consumption. She said she hoped farmers got better access to agricultural supplies and inputs and turn their agrifood products to additional money through processing, packaging and grading.

“CHAIN has been implemented for two years and I observed the farmers have been changing, and private sector and new company have shown their interests in participating in horticulture. Also, traders have confidence to work together with farmer to improve horticulture in Cambodia,” said Ms. Van Schie.

Since 2015, Provincial Department of Agriculture has cooperated with CHAIN in seven districts in Preah Vihear province including districts of Preah Vihear, Tbaeng Mean Chey, Choam Khsant, Kuleaen, Chhaeb, Rovieng, and Chey Saen in oganising farmer groups for training, following up on technical support, providing demonstration on vegetable seed and assisting in market linkage.

Deputy of Provincial Department of Agriculture Mr. Kan Salorn said at the opening of the fair SNV supported the sustainable production of vegetable and fruit to increase income and nutrition for the local Cambodians.

During an opening remark, H.E Chek Heng, Deputy Governor of Preah Vihear told that in the province almost 90 per cent of its population mainly relies on agriculture sector and in that 82 per cent is rice farmers, 5 per cent is vegetable and fruit growers, 0.15 per cent is fisherman, 0.05 per cent raises animals such as chicken, cow, ducks and pig and others rely on forest product.

The total population of Preah Vihear province is approximately 170,000.

Deputy Governor said Preah Vihear is an upland area, therefore, the main challenge of growing vegetable and fruit is water. She asked CHAIN project to continue to tackle the water issue in agriculture by providing well or pond to the farmers in order to increase crop productive in the province.

During the trade fair, Eco-Agri Co. Ltd (EAC), an environmental friendly agricultural input provider, an initiation supported by ASEAN SAS, also displayed various types of vegetable seeds, biological crop protection Trichoderma, and organic fertilizer.

EAC staff urged the visitors about the effect of chemical food, and suggested organic agriculture for both production and consumer. In Cambodia the demand for organic products has become higher.

By Saody So, ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems

16/12/201610/07/2017

Sustainable Rice Platform Standard: The world’s first sustainability standard for rice

Sustainable Rice Platform Standard:
The world’s first sustainability standard for rice

Sustainable Rice Platform Certified Rice

Thailand’s Rice Department, Better Rice Initiative Asia project, OLAM International, and Bayer have jointly initiated pilot testing of the Sustainable Rice Platform Standard with farmer groups in the north-eastern province of Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand.

The Sustainable Rice Platform Standard on Sustainable Rice Cultivation can be regarded as the world’s first sustainability standard for rice.

To strengthen Southeast Asia’s rice sector, Better Rice Initiative Asia (BRIA) project, a sister project of ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems, has facilitated various interventions in collaboration with different stakeholders. Beyond the project implementation, the BRIA Regional Secretariat engages in various rice forums which can support the project in achieving its objective of raising the livelihoods of rice smallholder farmers.

The Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) is one of the most prominent of these forums, in which GIZ-BRIA is also a member. With a mission to promote resource efficiency and sustainability in the global rice sector, SRP aims to offer the global rice supply sector a proven set of instruments to facilitate wide-scale adoption of sustainability best practices.

The SRP Standard on Sustainable Rice Cultivation – the world’s first sustainability standard for rice, defines an overall framework for climate-smart sustainable best practice in any rice-based system. The Standard was developed by a dedicated SRP Working Group and launched in October 2015. At the same time, a set of Performance Indicators (PIs) developed by IRRI (International Rice Research Institute), was launched as a quantitative tool to measure impacts of adoption of the Standard, or indeed any other farm-level intervention towards sustainability. SRP is now focusing on a multi-country field validation programme of the Standard, PIs, and assurance system, an activity to which BRIA is also actively contributing.

BRIA has supported the development and adoption of the SRP Standard in the four BRIA pilot countries, apart from on-farm activities for farmer empowerment. BRIA has been conducting pilot studies as part of the SRP’s multi-country field validation programme to assess the applicability, relevance and acceptability of the Standard to BRIA farmers as well as piloting the implementation of assurance schemes including the Internal Management System (IMS) for farmer groups in key rice producing countries. BRIA works with local authorities and private partners in these interventions.

BRIA Thailand and BRIA Indonesia have been actively participating in the SRP pilot testing. In Thailand, the pilot testing covers an assessment of the applicability of the standard, farmer training, establishment of an IMS, and a group assurance system. In Indonesia, BRIA is conducting a farmer survey to assess compliance of BRIA farmers to the SRP Standard.

Thailand’s Rice Department (RD), BRIA, OLAM International, and Bayer have jointly initiated pilot testing of the SRP Standard with farmer groups in the north-eastern province of Ubon Ratchathani. RD, Olam, Bayer are among the 55 SRP members. Besides, Olam, a major commodity trader, is also a partner in BRIA’s market linkages component. The pilot testing of the standard in Thailand is also considered as one of BRIA’s interventions to improve market access for rice farmers in this area.

This year, pilot testing of the SRP standard in Thailand has been verified through a 3^rd party audit. The audit results demonstrated improvements in farm performance compared against the baseline. Twenty-eight farmers from Bua Ngam Community Rice Centre (CRC) and 43 farmers from Klang CRC have been verified as “working towards sustainability” (as provided for in the SRP’s Communication and Assurance Guidelines (Pilot Phase). According to this independent 3^rd party assessment, the farmers’ compliance levels to the SRP Standard average 84% against the SRP Sustainable Rice Cultivation Standard. Since improvement at farm level may not be enough, BRIA believes the Standard will offer innovative business models to help strengthen business relationships among rice value chain actors and to enhance market linkages.

In Indonesia, an assessment survey was carried out by a local university at the end of August to early September. BRIA farmers from the three districts of Serdang Bedagai, Langkat, and Deli Serdang in North Sumatra Province, have been selected. According to this self-evaluation, BRIA ID farmers have complied at an average score of 68.7% against the Standard. The result of this study will later form the basis for further assessment by the Ministry of Agriculture on adoption of the SRP Standard in Indonesia.

The results of the pilot studies in this year will be collected and provided as feedback to SRP in order to improve the Standard and refine the assurance system. All in all, it can be concluded that the Standard has been proven as a helpful tool to assess sustainability performance of rice farmers and as an impact monitoring tool identify the risk and areas for improvement.

By Kamol Taukitphaisarn, Better Rice Initiative Asia

13/10/201604/08/2017

Cambodia’s Minister supports environmental friendly plant protection in promoting sustainable agriculture

H.E Veng Sakhon, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) recently received a visit of agricultural representatives from five International development cooperation projects and organisations to discuss constraints in promoting the sustainable agriculture systems in Cambodia.

The six representatives came from the German International Cooperation (GIZ), ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems in cooperation with SNV Netherlands Development Organization CHAIN project, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) through the Ecologically-based Participatory Integrated Pest Management for rice in Cambodia (EPIC) Project, Virigina Tech and World Vegetable Center.

The aim of the meeting was to discuss gaps and receive the Minister’s advice on how to promote the regulation, use and trade of biocontrol agents in Cambodian agriculture. The group met on 4 October 2016 at the Minister Hall of Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in Phnom Penh.

Referring to the meeting, there is a lack of specified registration and management regulations for environmental friendly crop protection which is seen as a barrier to trade and farmer to access to the biocontrol agent products.

The ASEAN Guidelines on Regulation, Use and Trade of Biological Control Agents (BCAs) which was supported by the ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems (ASEAN SAS) project although have been approved by the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) and translated into Khmer language, it needs to be finalized and adapted to fit the Cambodian context and regulation.

The application for registration of biocontrol agents is now drafted with supports of GIZ and in a process of seeking approval from the MAFF.

Agriculture is an important economic sector in Cambodia and plays a key role in the fight against poverty and hunger. However, its productivity is impeded due to the misuse of chemical inputs which cause poor soil conditions and lead to high incidences of pesticide resistances. Cambodia’s products are still competitive on the world market because they are acknowledged for having low chemical residues. But, the regulatory management of synthetic pesticide and fertilizer application need to be strengthened in order to keep this reputation.

Biocontrol agents are known as effective organism and are used for over hundred years throughout the globe to improve agricultural productivity, especially nowadays in Integrated Pest management (IPM) approaches to minimize the use of chemical inputs. There are a lot of research shown that biocontrol agents do not have a risk to human health and environment.

In Cambodia, there is an increased interest from the farmers to work with biological plant protection methods. And already a number of Cambodian companies offer biocontrol agents for plant protection and fertilization. However, the companies have experienced obstacles in the registration of such products, slowing effective distribution. The registration will also help farmers and users because currently some companies claim their products as natural even though they are actually chemical.

The followings were agreed among the international development cooperation projects and organisations for their urgent implementation in promoting the sustainable agriculture systems in Cambodia

Enhancement and improvements of knowledge and capability of official at department of agricultural legislation and general directorate of agriculture by providing training, exchange studies and field demonstration with biocontrol agents on different crops.
Working closely with private sectors in term of quality control and dissemination.
Establish working group to draft and finalize Cambodian regulation on use and trade of Biocontrol Agents (BCAs).
Evident-based to apply and see effectiveness of BCAs for controlling root rot disease in black pepper farm, Kirivong district, Takeo province by involving General Directorate of Agriculture and other experts

By Mr. Samorn Channa, ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems

06/10/201604/08/2017

Food safety project manager says the government body would complete her missing jigsaw.

Food-safety-project-manager-of-the-ASEAN-SAS-shares-her-experiences-on-her-fruit-juice-pr

‘I have missed but I have gained…’ Food safety project manager reflects on her past to better the future.

A question raised at a market linkage workshop I recently attended in Indonesia made me look back and ask myself: What could I have done better in my finished project ‘Improved product safety and quality for the Thai fruit juice industry’?

Ended in April 2015, this project gave consultancy to six Thai national fruit processing factories to improve their product’s hygiene, safety and quality assurance, as well as authenticity in complying with the European self-control standard of Sure and Global Fair or SGF based in Germany. The pilot factories were mostly pineapple juice manufacturers. Thailand is the world largest exporter of pineapple juice concentrate.

Fruit growers who supplied raw materials to the pilot factories were trained on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). Market surveys on Thai fruit juice safety and authenticity were conducted. Workshops to update the trends including issues and challenged of the fruit juice industry were organised and attended by roughly 100 participants from laboratories, associations and private companies.

“Market Linkages” as described by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is “a physical connection between the producer and the ultimate consumer.”

Mr. Somneug Wantem, Factory Manager of Pranburi Hotei in Kuiburi

But, none involved government agencies.

During the post monitoring and evaluation assessment in August 2016, two pilot factories in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province were visited and found that they increased their quality and assurance measures in meeting the international required standards and as a consequence wider their market accesses.

“Having internationally accepted standard guarantees trust with buyers,” said Mr. Somneug Wantem, Factory Manager of Pranburi Hotei in Kuiburi, “It eases trade barriers, increases market opportunities, and reduces economic loss from rejected products.”

Six pineapple growers from three families were met, and they said they received knowledge updates from the pilot factories through a regular visit. Some of them received funds from the factory for a two-year certificate study in a local agriculture college.

Mr. Amornthep Phummun (right) and his wife, Ms. Lookjieb Yimnoi, Pineapple Farmers in Kuiburi, Thailand

Mr. Amornthep Phummun, Pineapple Farmer in Kuiburi, Thailand said: “The manufacture asked if we were interested in learning about the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), and, we did. So, my wife went back to school through the financial support of the factory. Since then, my wife and I have had good experiments in applying what she learnt from her classes with the knowledge we gained from our parents, and grandparents.

“Within the same plot of land we produce more pineapples but in less cost. We get better quality fruits and reduce the unnecessary chemical inputs. The soil quality becomes better, and we do not have to worry too much about the chemical exposure,” said the father of three.

Upon the meetings with the factory managers and farmers, everything seemed to fall into place, except the worried-free future. Due to drought and irregular pattern of climate, constantly high demand of concentrate fruit juice from the oversea markets, and lack of regulation and management plan overseen by the government authority, the sustainability of pineapple industry is still too far to reach.

Ms. Prathumporn Kitthakerng, Vice President of Takerng Pineapple Industrial, one of the pilot factories in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, said: “Thailand should have agricultural crop zoning system for pineapple farming, including farmer registration, contract farming, and allocation of farming and food processing quota in order to foresee supply, quality and price of pineapple fruit.

“This will make everyone in the supply chain enjoying their lives better. Farmers and manufactures then do not have to worry about the fluctuation or shortage of pineapples, neither nor the high nitrate or low nitrate residues in pineapples, or the incredibly rocket prices or bottom flat prices of the fruits,” she said.

What did I miss?

To answer the question, “What could I have done better in my finished project ‘Improved product safety and quality for the Thai fruit juice industry’?”, I wish I had involved the government authorities in the project to work more closely together in finding solutions on the issues and challenges the farmers and manufactures had.

I wish I contacted them since an initial stage to plan the project and develop activities together to better the situation in increasing the livelihoods of the farmers and manufactures.

Thanks to the In-house Workshop on Market Linkages to make me ponder about the missing links and key responsible actors who could support and make the fruit juice project delivered with better outcome and impact.

I have missed, but I do not regret. I have gained more careful visions to think a 360 degree to look for options and solutions to complete the gaps in the supply chain.

About 30 participants from Better Rice Initiative Asia (BRIA), ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems (ASEAN SAS) and private sector attended the ‘In-house Workshop on Market Linkages’ from 30 August to 2 September 2016 to exchange experiences and discuss lessons learnt to better develop the market linkage strategies. The event was organised by BRIA Regional Secretariat, in North Sumatra, Indonesia.

The ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood System project implemented the market linkage concept through the Public and Private Partnership project entitled “Improved Product safety and quality for the Thai Fruit Juice Industry”, a partnership between SGF and GIZ.

Ms. Napaporn is the project manager on food safety of ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems.

By Napaporn Rattanametta and Rojana Manowalailao, ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems

30/08/201610/07/2017

Standard is needed to lift Thailand’s agrifood trade, says exporter

The outbreak of fatal mad cow disease found in red meat and other dairy products in 1999 in Belgium had fired up the food safety issue among the consumers not only in Europe, but around the world. This effected directly to Thai exporters and manufacturers, who export products especially perishable agricultural goods to the continent.

Mr. Chusak Chuenprayoth, founder of Thailand’s Kamphaengsaen Commercial Co., Ltd. or known as KC Fresh, who exported fruits and vegetables to Europe since 1993 had also been affected tremendously by the so-called issue.

Since the outbreak, the European Union required the international exporters to follow the standard classified in the EU white paper’s ‘Good Agricultural Practice’ (GAP) and this gave Mr. Chusak and his partner quite an astonished time.

The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) uses GAP as a collection of principles to apply for on-farm production and post-production processes, resulting in safe and healthy food and non-food agricultural products, while taking into account economical, social and environmental sustainability.

“When we started, we just bought the vegetables from the market, packed and sold [export]. GAP was quite new to Thailand and not many Thai people had the knowledge about it at that time,” Mr. Chusak said.

His first attempt was to educate himself about this sustainable production. He contacted Kasetsart University, which was well known in agricultural education in Bangkok, in order to translate the EU’s GAP from English to Thai for his better understanding.

At a step by step, he redesigned and reconstructed his export business system taking into consideration the concept of sustainability in the three dimension areas mentioned. Instead of buying fresh vegetables and fruits from the local markets, he established his own ‘family farming system’ under his close monitoring on a use of chemical pesticide and fertilizer. Mr. Chusak made farming contracts with local farmers in Kanchanaburi, Nakornprathom, and Suphanburi.

“Farming contract is a deal on the paper, but what is more important is building trust. I see my farmers as partners. We communicate a lot to make sure that farmers are happy with us and the offers,” he said.

In the ‘family farming system’ farmers share lands and work together in a group as a one big family. In Dontoom Farm, Nakornprathom, for example, 30 contracted small-holder farmers from 13 families grow vegetables together in the shared cultivation area of 125 rai (20 hectare). They grow Chinese morning glory, green asparagus and sweet basils which bring them a net annual income of Baht 211,500 (Euro 5,430) per person. For the Chinese morning glory alone, the farmers at the Dontoom Farm harvest 1 ton (1,000 kilograms) per day continuously for 365 days for export and domestic markets.

On average, KC Fresh delivers 75 tons per month to the oversea markets and 20 tons per month within local markets from the three farms.

“In the beginning I had a lot of headaches,” Mr. Chusak said. “We had to design and calculate how we could harvest the required numbers of the fresh produces daily for every 365 days in GAP qualities.”

In the early days Mr. Chusak had experts from Kasetsart University and also other local agriculture universities visiting the farms on a regular basis to train and educate farmers about the GAP and how to keep up the farming system with the global standard.

It took Mr. Chusak almost 10 years to develop the standardized and sustainable family farming system. He put the special thanks to Kasetsart University and advices from an agricultural expert from South Africa, as well as his farmers and good partnership with supermarket chains in the United Kingdom, where he mostly imports his fresh vegetables and fruits to.

“We will never be successful without the qualified human resource,” Mr. Chusak said, “It is very important to help the people in our supply chain developed as we possibly as we could.”

Mr. Chusak also developed a packing house system and made sure that all the fresh produces were checked, recorded, washed, pre-graded and packed to be in accordance with the certified food safety and standard measures.

KC Fresh is currently certified with ThaiGAP, Q-GAP and GLOBALG.A.P. ThaiGAP is the voluntary private standard while Q-GAP is the government standard belonged to Thailand’s Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. GLOBALG.A.P is the global GAP certifications.

“Standardization is a basic rule and we have to comply,” he said.

Mr. Chusak also put high priority on logistics management to make sure that customers receive quality fresh produces.

The vegetables and fruits are picked in the early morning and sent directly to the packing house within half an hour. At the Dontoom farm where it is quite a distance from the main packing house he built a packing room to secure freshness. After all the packing processes, the products are delivered by the cool truck and always kept in the cool storage room or containers during shipment. For local markets, the products are guaranteed delivery within 24 hours after harvesting while the oversea supermarket chains will receive the goods within 48 hours.

In case of exporting, Mr. Chusak said good communication and support from reliable airlines were needed.

“We have our pride and we have to maintain our reputation,” he said.

After over 20 years in the agrifood business KC Fresh now becomes one of the successful export companies in Thailand with chains of partnership in Asia and Africa continent. Only in the first half of 2016, the company reached a sale volume of 20 million Pound.

When asked if he found anything left challenging, Mr. Chusak said he wanted to name Thailand the food safety and food standard country.

Now that he also chairs at Thai Chamber of Commerce as Deputy Secretary General, he is working on a setup of primary GAP, which is the voluntary private standard, as an entry point for Thai farmers to acquire the higher level standard of ThaiGAP and Q-GAP.

“If we want to develop the [agrifood] industry, we need to set the standard,” he said, “But it is hard to push when people are not yet ready. The farmers need to grow one step at a time. It is like before students pass to secondary schools, they have to go through primary schools first. The benchmark of global GAP is high and to get the Thai national GAP is also not easy. Government may wish to subsidize the cost to implement the Thai national GAP. The farmers need a lot of coaching and training.

“Without the certified food safety and standard, who will trust products from Thailand?,” Mr. Chusak said.

By Rojana Manowalailao and Thitirat Uraisin, ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems

23/08/201607/08/2017

Calling for public-private partnerships in developing green agriculture

Sustainable Agrifood Systems urges for more public-private partnerships in improving environmental friendly food production in agriculture.

Nineteen representatives from eight ASEAN Member States and ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems (ASEAN SAS) project recently met at the 7th Steering Committee Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand to report on progress and seek advice on the project’s strategies and future activities.

Dr. Matthias Bickel, ASEAN SAS Project Director said a lot still needed to be done in reaching green agriculture and teaming with public and private companies would deem necessary.

During the Meeting, Mr. Quy Duong Nguyen, Deputy Director General of Plant Protection Department from Vietnam addressed an overuse of chemicals in agriculture in the country and suggested further trainings for both farmers and chemical retailers to be responsible pesticide users to achieve sustainable agrifood production.

Supported by Croplife International in Vietnam, ASEAN SAS cooperates with the Can Tho University and the Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute to develop training modules for farmers and retailers in a programme called “Promotion of Integrated Pest Management to address plant hopper outbreaks in Rice”. It is expected that a minimum of 15,000 farmers and 300 pesticide retailers will be trained in agro-ecological practices and the effective use and safe application of pesticides.

“Pest is the huge issue in the ASEAN countries, and so does the education for the pesticide dealers. We should take this [further] to PPP [public private partnership], because this PPP allows us to tap on additional funds and investments from the private sectors, whose concerns are also raised exactly on that kind of point,” said Dr. Bickel.

The ASEAN SAS steering committee also discussed a potential improvement of a Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) system in Myanmar particularly on Mango and other crops besides the project’s priority crops (rice, vegetable, and fruit) and facilities for pesticide residue examination which was suggested by Mr. Aye Ko Ko, Deputy Director General of Department of Agriculture from Myanmar.

To improve the GAP system in Myanmar, Dr. Bickel again emphasised the role and cooperation of the private sector would deem significant. In addition, internal discussion would be further conducted upon Myanmar’s request regarding guidance on technical knowledge and facilities for the pesticide residue examination.

“To link the various activities to PPP…that is exactly the approach we are trying to take stronger and stronger to incorporate the biocontrol, farm economies, nutrient management in supply chain.

“[Also] By being able to test the residue level on spot is to make longer sustainable chain, upgrading the supply chain, enabling the farmers and all the traders to really check on spot, and avoiding the cargoes to be rejected. That’s one of the most important issues in ASEAN region,” said Dr. Bickel.

Mr. Aye Ko Ko, Deputy Director General of Department of Agriculture from Myanmar

Mr. Aye Ko Ko from Myanmar also showed interests in improving crop insurance mechanism in the country. He said around 800,000 acres of rice field were destroyed by the change of climate last year.

Ms. Wilma Cuaterno, Chief of Crop Pest Management Division, Bureau of Plant Industry, Philippines shared a story about the crop insurance in her country. She said the crop insurance covered not just crops, but also fish and livestock, and it is being subsidized by the government.

“Two years ago, we talked with the insurance companies, and they doubted that they wanted to erase insurance on pests and diseases because they said that there were some strategies and technology that could really control our management in pests and diseases, and they just wanted to concentrate on natural calamity, because Philippines were very prone to disaster,” she said.

The 7th Steering Committee Meeting of the ASEAN SAS was held on 17 June 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand and attended by steering committee members (focal points) from the eight ASEAN countries with the exception of Brunei Darussalam and Singapore and representative from Project Coordination Unit (PCU) of ASEAN SAS project as members of Project Steering Committee.

Malaysia will host the 8th Steering Committee Meeting in December 2016.

By Rojana Manowalailao, ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems