Vanilla, a vining orchid, is arguably the second most expensive spice in the world, behind saffron, and seen by most farming communities as an extremely lucrative crop. Even though its commercial variety does not flower well in Cambodia, the country has recently looked into cultivating it – under highly-controlled environments and with the use of advanced technology.
On a 16-hectare plot in the Cambodian coastal town of Sihanoukville, Dara Chan, a Cambodian-American who recently relocated back to his home country, is developing a “vanilla research lab” to commercially propagate the crop. In addition, he told Eco-Business that he is prototyping smart farm technology for irrigation, as well as temperature and humidity sensors that can automate turning on and off pumps and fans.
Chan is part of a growing community of start-up entrepreneurs excited and optimistic about the prospects of agritech in Cambodia, propped up by strong investor interest. Even as official data on agritech developments are still lacking – a last-known set of statistics point to how the number of active agritech startups has more than doubled from 2018 to 2021– and not updated, industry observers point to the major international investment deals that emerging Cambodian-based agritech startups have been able to clinch in recent years as positive signs.
