Overview
This project aimed to increase the adoption of new technologies for sustainable intensification and diversification (SID) in the lowland rice system in north-west Cambodia, contributing to increased income for farmers and stronger businesses that are more sustainable and resilient.
North-west Cambodia is home to nearly half a million farming families, with mostly small or medium-sized farms. Generally, one rice crop is grown per year in the region’s rainfed lowlands. Where irrigation is available, two rice crops can be grown per year.
Low rice yields and frequent crop failures have disheartened many farmers in the region, forcing them to seek employment in towns and cities. But by intensifying and diversifying farming in the rainfed lowlands, farmers could increase crop yields and produce high-value crops such as vegetables.
The project looked at the many challenges holding back adoption of innovative intensification and diversification of crop production methods. These include biotic and abiotic crop yield constraints, inadequate availability of rice seed of suitable varieties and lack of market access for non-rice crops, plus compounding capacity constraints on skills, knowledge and training.
