By:
• Isa Rohany

• September 8, 2024 , 4:34 PM

SIEM REAP — Farmers in Siem Reap province have been gaining access to a venue that enables them to sell processed products and boost their incomes.

Agrisud International Cambodia have set up a location so that the members of Green Farmers Siem Reap can sell their processed products before visiting Kulen Mountain. With the venue set up near the Sok An Phnom Kulen Orchid Research and Conservation Centre in the Phnom Kulen National Park, hopes are that this will enable tourists to easily have access and decide to purchase the various products of the farming community.

As Chao Sopheaktra of Agrisud International Cambodia explained, this venue was established in early 2023 to provide a marketplace for a diverse range of agricultural products.

“These products include dried spices, tea, turmeric powder, Phnom Kulen pepper, black ginger, lemongrass oil, as well as other various local items,” Sopheaktra said.

“The processing of these products plays a vital role since it enables farmers to sell them at higher prices than in their fresh form,” she said, adding that, although the venue facilitates local product sales and encourages customers to recognize these products, sales still need to increase. 

Since these are special Cambodian products and grown following organic norms, Agrisud International Cambodia remains committed to helping these farmers access broader markets, Sopheaktra said.   

According to Yap Vannak, first deputy of Tbeng commune in Banteay Srei district, the processing techniques these farmers use have helped them boost their sale prices.

“This initiative has expanded farmers’ knowledge of agricultural practices and contributed to economic development for their families,” he said. “For instance, processing agricultural products has led to higher market prices for their goods.”  More than 250 families in Tbeng commune have received technical agricultural support and formed an association to support their work, Vannak said.

For Sopheaktra of Agrisud, tourists' greater support of local products will benefit farmers and their families. She hopes that people visiting Phnom Kulen will continue to regularly buy the community’s products to help sustain farmers’ livelihoods, which would help people of farming communities not to have to move away to find work and earn a living.

Mean Konnga, a local villager who works at the Agrisud booth, said that local products sold at the Agrisud-funded venue are now gaining more support among local visitors as they are aware of the products’ high quality.

According to her, the most popular products among customers are lemongrass oil, black ginger, turmeric powder and turmeric honey pills.

Originally written in Khmer for ThmeyThmey, this story was translated by Rin Ousa for Cambodianess.