PHNOM PENH, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) and the Cambodian Agriculture Cooperative Corporation (CACC) have launched a new project targeting over 1,200 smallholder farmers and their extended families in northeast Mondulkiri province.
With funding from the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program and CACC, respectively 1.79 million U.S. dollars and 1.1 million dollars, the project aims to enhance the resilience and livelihoods of smallholder farmers through organic agriculture and access to markets, said a WFP's news release on Monday.
It also seeks to promote improved nutrition and gender equity through social behavior change approaches, designed to generate demand for healthy diets and tackle harmful social norms, the news release said.
"The project was designed in the COVID-19 context and adopted an innovative public-private-producer partnership approach, underscoring the need to leverage private-sector investment, strengthen policy dialogue, secure the necessary know-how and support more environmentally sound, socially equitable and economically viable development," WFP representative in Cambodia Claire Conan said.
CACC will build an inclusive and integrated organic food value chain and incentivize smallholder farmers, including women and indigenous population, to switch to the organic farming approach, using only natural fertilizers and pesticides, coupled with other climate-smart practices, the news release said.
"Our goal is to increase the participating farmers' incomes by up to 20 percent, compared to typical farm gate returns," CACC managing director Kunthy Kann said, adding that CACC will facilitate market linkages. ■
