Several communities in Kampong Cham Province, with about 101 households of a cassava producer cluster have successfully signed a contract with Shing Kimheng Cassava Enterprise for approximately 6,000 tons of wet cassava for the next 6 months in 2020, which will be cultivated in around 350 hectares of productive land in Lpeak Village, Srok Commune, Kampong Siem District. Cassava will be sold to the company at a higher price than the market price, giving hundreds of farmers a chance to earn a better living. This group was trained on technical aspects of cassava cultivation by AN Fertilizer Company, one of the input supplier partners in the province. Many smallholders in the cluster and nearby communities are now using the techniques they learned to improve their production. About 26 out of 101 total households have higher commitments to expand their investments in cassava cultivation by borrowing additional capital from KREDIT, AMRET, AMK MFIs, and Government-owned Rural Development Bank (RDB) amounting to an estimated US$40,000. This additional capital has been utilized by the smallholder farmers in expanding their production capacity and purchase good input supplies such as fertilizers, seed materials, and others. Currently, the members of this cluster are strongly drawing their attention in cluster and MSP meetings to get additional techniques in cultivating cassava and solving current issues and challenges in marketing, as well as in meeting the terms and conditions in the contract farming arrangement. For more information, see the link
