Page 33 - Agricultural innovation

• Contract Farming: Promote, discuss and share experiences on the national contract farming
mechanism and its role in modernizing, and support the government with the deployment of its
legal framework.
• Sustainable and Responsible Investment: Create an environment that enables responsible
investments in agriculture both at a policy level and by raising awareness within our network.
Investment in the agro-industry can support food and nutrition security, create jobs, tackle
poverty, and achieve other important sustainable developments in Cambodia when implemented
correctly. These are the reasons why CPSA began working in the field of responsible and
sustainable investments in the agriculture sector.

• Public Policy Engagement: Technology can help advance the agriculture sector, especially in a
country like Cambodia. CPSA aims to progressively become a focal point for Khmer agribusinesses
and partners; we have started to connect with key agriculture-technology (Agtech) experts in the
country and internationally as well as educate farmers on the different types of technologies and
their benefits to the sector.

4.2.3. Opportunites and challenges

CPSA has challenges with its working groups and local communities as following:
• Financial access of those three working groups is still limited: Lack of value collaterals to receiving
loans from financial institutions, while expenses on electricity, fertilizers and pesticides are high.
Moreover, users have little understanding regarding using those items.
• Human Resources (in communities): Lack of technical skill and cultivation techniques (land
preparation, misuse of fertilizers and pesticides), paucity of harvest management skill, inadequate
food security standard system.
• Products: The financial difficulties and lack of human resources bring many issues such as
producing non-quality products, posing a safety hazard to consumers and cannot compete with
other countries, especially neighboring countries in terms of prices, qualities and quantities.
However, CPSA really needs support from the Cambodian government and other stakeholders
since they can engage CPAS in their projects, policy dialogues as well as introduce CPSA to donors in
order to be involved in their program to work cooperatively. CPSA may be able to provide technical
training or consultation on project designs and for forth. CPSA has visions and plans to improve the
competitiveness of Cambodia’s agricultural sector and to improve the livelihood of Cambodia’s farmers.
In addition, as mentioned above, the three working groups are the core points of CPSA, therefore
CPSA wants these groups to be more independent, resilient and able to make decisions, initiate new
ideas, make policy proposals to the government, join agricultural policy dialogues with other relevant
parties on its own, not to wholly depend on CPSA. Furthermore, CPSA wants to increase its scope of
work and seek support from the government, strategic partners as well as other stakeholders either big,
medium or small-scale businesses.

4.2.4. Conclusions

CPSA along with its supporters and strategic partners work cooperatively to promote the agricultural
sector. CPSA tries to link all stakeholders (the producers and customers) and integrate them to be
more inclusive where businesses can work together at all levels. CPSA contributes to the development
of agriculture through various means, such as, training on technical skills, cultivation techniques
(the use of land and fertilizers, choosing crops, etc.), the digital literacy with respect to making use of

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