Mekong Organics and Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) co-work to enhance capacity for students to promote ecological-organic agriculture in Cambodia
Developing Ecosystems for ecological-organic Agriculture and Trade in Cambodia
Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, September 22nd to 24th, 2024
Mekong Organics has run its first organic course in Cambodia. There were 62 students, about a third online. We scaled up the successfully funded DFAT-AVEG Round One and Round Two projects for Mekong Organics to build partnerships for organic agriculture and trade between Australia and Vietnam in Cambodia. Mekong Organics co-designed the training program with the Faculty of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development of RAU to deliver the first training in developing ecosystems for ecological-organic agriculture and trade in Cambodia. We aim to enhance the capacity of undergraduate and postgraduate students in six faculties at RUA.
The course covered organic principles and certification, examples of organic farms in Asia, agroecosystem design, and conversion strategies. It also included visiting a GAP-certified farm (DPK Phnom Prasit Farm, on the edge of Phnom Penh. Mr Alan Broughton, the president of the Organic Agriculture Association (OAA) in Bairnsdale, Victoria, and the principal organic agriculture educator of Mekong Organics, led this training.
Students were mainly third-year and above in the Faculty of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development. The course was conducted in English, which most students were fairly competent in, without translation into Khmer. With permanent access to the presentations, they could review what they might have missed and follow up with the presenter. At the end of the course, the course presenter, Alan Broughton, gave out certificates.
Particular interest was shown in the details of the organic standards and certification process and the various options for multi-cropping. Low motivation for farmers to change and low awareness of the benefits of organic food among consumers were seen as obstacles to the rapid advancement of the organic movement in Cambodia, but this was not much different from many other places in the world.
There is likely to be further involvement of Mekong Organics in Cambodia in promoting ecological-organic agriculture.
