A farmer’s life is precarious, dictated by fickle markets, pestilence, drought and flood.
But if families band together, a village can pool its resources and produce better, cheaper products and compete in global markets.
That is the message Sok Siphana, undersecretary of state for the Ministry of Commerce, carried to the countryside recently, when he urged villagers to adopt a “One Village, One Product” policy.
If farmers focus on producing large quantities of high-quality goods, he said, the government will find a way to sell them.
He also told farmers their success would depend on their ability to form farming communities and produce goods for trade. He warned them to stop thinking about receiving grant aid from the government or aid groups.
Mao Phirun, second deputy governor of Kompong Cham province, favors creating “farmer communities” to hike production.
“I think in my province it is necessary,” he said. But although it’s easy to form farming groups, he said, “I want to make sure my farmers will be able to sell what they produce.”
He said farmers in Kompong Cham have been growing crops based on a traditional style, and if the Ministry wants better agricultural products, it needs to provide the technical advice, funding and a market in which to sell them.
Kompong Cham is well-known for producing tobacco, soybeans, rubber and paper, but recently farmers have lacked markets to sell those goods.
Tobacco production is 10,000 tons a year, down from 30,000 tons, Mao Phirun said, citing low prices.
He said farmers grow what Vietnamese and Thai traders buy.
Sok Siphana said farmers should worry about producing, and he will worry about selling.
“If the farmers are interested, let them create teams to grow these things,” and the Ministry will bring buyers , he said.
Commerce and trade is a key to easing poverty, he said.
The ministry already has found Thai traders to buy 20,000 tons of castor beans a year for $220 per ton, while the Russians want to buy paper, ginger and onions from Cambodia, he said.
But good marketing isn’t enough, Kompong Chhnang Governor Suo Phirun said.
Though his province is known for pot making, the pots are not of high quality. People need to have enough funds to produce high quality goods, he said.
The pots can break easily while being transported to markets, Suo Phirun said, and “they can’t compare with plates and pots from abroad because those are factory produced.”
