On Wednesday, the Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), together with TROPICAM Fruits and Vegetables, inked an agreement to boost the safe production of vegetables and fruit and develop a centre for safe fruit and vegetables at Banteay Dek Agriculture Research Station.
Last year, Cambodia had 57,262 hectares of vegetable and fruit sites across the country, producing about 682,012 tonnes of food. However, the demand for vegetables is 1 million tonnes year – 2,500 tonnes to 3,000 tonnes per day – according to a report from the general director of the General Directorate of Agriculture (GDA) at the Ministry of Agriculture.
Chhay said the GDA is now attracting investment from the private sector to develop a value chain of safe fruit and vegetables under a public, private and producer agreement via contract farming. He added that the memorandum of understanding with the private sector has reflected the effort of the Ministry of Agriculture to encourage the private sector to join and promote safe fruit and vegetables.
