Soil and Land Management

Strengthening soil knowledge and capability in Cambodia to support sustainable upland agricultural development

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Map of Cambodia

Overview

This project aims to identify and develop sustainable soil management solutions to priority soil constraints and soil degradation risks in upland agro-ecological systems in Cambodia.

Building on the work and partnerships of the ACIAR project 'Land suitability assessment and site-specific soil management for Cambodian uplands' (SMCN/2016/237), the project will continue to strengthen knowledge and capacity for managing soil resources in Cambodian uplands. 

It will introduce analytical techniques and scientific methods that focus on sustainable upland agricultural development and support the development of a soil information system and an upland soil strategy.

Smallholder farmers in extensive areas of the upland regions of Cambodia are particularly vulnerable to soil degradation. At the same time, traditional farming systems and limited knowledge of soil constraints and crop management technologies exacerbate the problem. Improving soil management to increase crop yields and returns for diverse crop options is critical to developing resilient, profitable, and sustainable upland farming systems in Cambodia.

Activities

  • Understand the main forms and risks of soil degradation in upland soils of Cambodia and identify practices to prevent and mitigate soil degradation in upland cropping systems.
  • Identify soil and crop management interventions required to achieve sustainable and profitable management for upland cropping systems in Cambodia.
  • Facilitate access to soil information and data, promote harmonisation of methodologies, and support development of a government-led soil information system and upland soil strategy. This work will start by investigating the soils organisational network in Cambodia, including the breadth of soil information managed within key stakeholder agencies and the existing local capacity and expertise of soil specialists.
  • To enable adoption of improved soil management in upland cropping systems, the project will work to strengthen soil knowledge and strengthen linkages between research, extension, and farmers to facilitate uptake of sustainable land management practices.