PHNOM PENH – Vegetable production in a modern farming community in Takeo province is expected to increase supplies for the local market with 100 new nethouses. 

They will be provided to Tram Kak Modern Farming Community by a government working group for Kep, Kampot and Preah Sihanouk provinces headed by Deputy Prime Minister Say Samal, said Khim Finan, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Agriculture.

Finan said the nethouses will help strengthen the stable supply of vegetables from the community to the local market while building the competitiveness of Cambodian vegetable production against imported vegetables.

Currently, the community can produce 1.5 to 2 tonnes of vegetables per day. With 100 nethouses, the production volume will increase to four tonnes per day, Finan said.

Finan, who oversees the establishment of modern agriculture community initiatives, said this significant step will be an important foundation for expanding operations of the modern agricultural community in Tram Kak district and will directly and indirectly benefit thousands of farmers.

“The donation of 100 nethouses from the government’s working group to members of Tram Kak Modern Vegetable Farming Community will add another level of strength to the stability of the supply of vegetables from within the community to the local market and build the competitiveness of our vegetable production with imported ones,” he said.

Modern Farming Community is part of an effort to implement large-scale collective production in the agricultural sector which started in 2023. Fifty or more families can form a community.

In 2024, the ministry established 10 modern farming communities working on crops including cashew nuts and rice. 

The initiative aims to transform agriculture from a family-based to enterprise-based with high integration, economies of scale and the ability to compete on quantity, price and quality. 

It also helps farmers achieve greater profits through reduced production costs, access to low-interest loans, access to markets and technical support.

Finan said the Tram Kak community also received a grant to supplement investment capital from the Cambodian Agricultural Diversification Project worth of $162,150 and a 5.5km asphalt road worth $1.5 million to enhance transportation. 

He said the community will expand the irrigated area and embark on a water distribution system for 1,500 hectares of cultivated land which is planned to cost about $2.38 million.
 

Originally written in Khmer for ThmeyThmey, this article was translated by Torn Chanritheara for Cambodianess.