Cambodians consumed an average of 540 tonnes of vegetables a day last year, while the country was only able to produce just 400 tonnes of vegetables a day in 2018 according to a recent report from the Ministry of Agriculture, who urged farmers to boost production to meet rapidly growing domestic demand.
Veng Sakhon, the Minister of Agriculture, on Friday said vegetable production has increased substantially in recent months, but added that the country is still reliant on imports from from Vietnam, Thailand, and China reported khmertimeskh.com
The minister called for greater production of local vegetables that meet quality and safety standards.
“Due to strong economic growth, an increase in living standards and the influx of tourists, demand for quality and safe vegetables is rising fast,” he said.
In September 2017, a government project to boost the production of chemical-free vegetables took-off. The project, called Boosting Food Project, has a budget of $20 million.
It is being implemented in Takeo, Kandal, Prey Veng, Kampong Speu, Kampong Cham, Pursat, Kampong Chhnang, Battambang, Siem Reap, and Tboung Khmum.
In the next five years Cambodia plans to increase vegetable production by about 20 to 30 percent. They are focusing on building irrigation infrastructure to produce vegetables all year round.
The Ministry of Agriculture recently launched a national seed strategy, which aims to regulate and standardise the seed industry to protect farmers and bolster the seed market.
The seed strategy, the first of its kind for the country, outlines a set of national strategic actions for the production and marketing of seeds for rice and other major agricultural crops.