His Excellency Chan Saruth Visits EWS-KT Farmers in Cambodia

KAMPONG CHAM PROVINCE, CAMBODIA – The East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer (EWS-KT) team in Cambodia was honored to welcome His Excellency Chan Saruth, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and Chairman of the Conservation Agriculture and Sustainable Intensification Consortium (CASIC) Executive Board, on 19 March.

Chho Nonin, EWS-KT Knowledge Transfer Manager for Cambodia, and Girlie Frando, EWS-KT Farmer Extension Manager, led a field tour for Dr. Saruth and introduced him to smallholder farmers involved in our knowledge transfer activities in Trapang Thom Village, Prey Chhor Commune, Kampong Cham Province.

Through this visit, the EWS-KT team sought to familiarize Dr. Saruth with the technical training in climate-smart vegetable cultivation that we provide to farmers. He was able to hear directly from farmers about their experiences with sustainable vegetable farming and marketing, as well as the challenges they faced. He also engaged in discussions with vegetable collectors in the village.

In keeping with his interest and expertise in agroecology, Dr. Saruth offered recommendations to the farmers and EWS-KT team, especially concerning cover crops.

“Cover crops such as sunn hemp are beneficial for the soil,” Dr. Saruth said. “Farmers do not need to wait 45 to 55 days to plow them underground. Instead, they can grow them alongside other crops and plow them when they reach a height of 20 centimeters. This practice provides natural green manure, saves time and eliminates the need to wait for sunn hemp to mature before plowing.”

The EWS-KT team has been training farmers in other provinces on how to use cover crops to improve soil health and reduce the use of inorganic fertilizer, and we were encouraged to hear Dr. Saruth’s advocacy for this agroecological approach.

EWS-KT is highly committed to supporting government efforts of this kind to promote sustainable food and farming systems. Our new program to intensively train smallholder farmers and Commune Extension Officers on agroecology is scheduled to start later this year. This capacity-building initiative will accelerate the widespread adoption of agroecological practices, ultimately leading to increased farm productivity and income while safeguarding the environment.

We sincerely thank His Excellency Chan Saruth for his visit, his guidance, and his in-depth discussions with the smallholder farmers we work with.