Nurture Veg: Climate-Smart Farming in Northwestern Cambodia
Now expanding to Oddar Meanchey and Preah Vihear provinces, the Nurture Veg project introduces smallholder farmers in northwestern Cambodia to climate-smart vegetable cultivation techniques for better livelihoods.
Implemented by East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer Foundation with support from Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, HEKS/EPER, and Caritas Switzerland, Nurture Veg began in August 2023, bringing improved vegetable farming techniques to farmers in Battambang and Banteay Meanchey provinces.
During the first phase of the project, 3,874 farmers—65% of them women—learned agroecological techniques such as organic fertilization, drip irrigation, biopesticides, cover crops, and crop diversification to reduce environmental impact and increase productivity.
By the end of Phase 1, 62% of farmers had adopted at least 3 of the techniques demonstrated by the project, with an average 65% increase in yield and a 36% increase in income. An additional 5,324 farmers were exposed to climate-resilient practices through EWS-KT networks and vegetable collectors, and more than 34,000 farmers gained access to high-quality horticultural advice through social media, EWS-KT networks, trained agro-input dealers, and printed crop guides.
“Since I joined the project, my daily life is getting better. Before, I couldn’t even afford an old motorcycle, but now I have a better one for my family to use. I can also buy necessary farming materials for both my vegetables and my rice field, all because I’ve succeeded with growing vegetables.”
– Moul Thea, who farms with his wife Lok Thary
Building on this success, Phase 2 of Nurture Veg began in April 2025, with a goal to directly reach 4,500 farmers across the four provinces.
This phase of the project emphasizes climate-resilient and agroecological techniques for year-round vegetable production and promotes crop diversification and agricultural side ventures (such as seedling production) to improve economic stability. To increase profitability and facilitate farm expansion, the project includes farm business planning and a new farmer certification program.
Phase 2 also focuses on building strategic partnerships across the vegetable value chain, including buyers, processors, and agro-input providers, as a collective effort to drive sustainable market development and deliver impactful outcomes for communities.
Since partnering with the Nurture Veg project, Soeum Dina’s agro-input business has become an important resource for the community.
Rather than simply selling products, Dina (left) acts as a trusted advisor, providing detailed guidance that empowers his customers to make their own decisions about the products they need. His store also stocks free educational materials from the project, including QR codes that farmers can scan to access information about growing specific crops.
Through the Nurture Veg project, rural farmers and others in the vegetable sector are seeing new opportunities for more resilient and sustainable livelihoods in northwestern Cambodia.
