Food Security and Agriculture

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Background
Nearly 80% of Cambodians live in rural areas, and 70% rely on agriculture, fisheries and forestry for their livelihoods. One fourth of Cambodians are food deprived, which means they eat less than the minimum daily requirement of calories. Agriculture has the potential to be the engine for economic growth and food security in Cambodia, but the country must improve its production and post-harvest infrastructure, strengthen its adaptive research capacity, improve the business environment, and increase its capacity for financial intermediation.

Objectives
USAID’s Feed the Future program will support the Cambodian government’s development strategy by increasing the country’s agricultural productivity, improving the well-being of the rural poor, and promoting sustainable management of the country’s rich natural resources. The overriding objective will be to support Cambodia’s achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, including halving the proportion of people who suffer from hunger and reversing the loss of environmental resources.

Approaches
• Develop agricultural solutions to:
          • Poor agricultural productivity
          • Postharvest losses
          • Food safety
          • Lack of market access
          • Environmental degradation
          • Effects of climate change
• Emphasize quick impacts and results

Methodologies
• Introduce new technologies through demonstrations on “lead farmer” plots
• Regular and continuous technical assistance for two to three planting seasons
• Emphasize the multiplier effect through client-farmer outreach to neighbors
• When clients graduate to sustainability, the project then focuses on new “lead farmers”
• Strengthen the value chains through improvements in processing, postharvest and market access