Project Overview

1. Introduction:
Accelerating Inclusive Markets for Smallholders (AIMS) is a joint project of the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). As its name suggest, it intends to accelerate the inclusive growth of markets and for higher value agricultural products and the development of associated local clusters through which poorer smallholder producers can benefit alongside others.

  • AIMS is a six year project, effective from 28 February 2017 with an expected completion date of 31 March 2023.
  • AIMS is implemented by RGC, led by the Ministry of Commerce, with various implementing partners and is expected to have total combined funding from RGC and IFAD equivalent to approximately USD45 million(IFAD loan of USD36.3).
  • The project will have the mandate to operate in all parts of the country, with actual locations determined by the selection of priority value chains and the associated areas engaged in the value chains from production to the market.
  • AIMS’ primary target beneficiaries will be smallholder farm households, including poor and near poor farmers. In addition, secondary target groups are the other primary and secondary actors in the value chain, including, inter alia: agricultural cooperatives; farmer organisations, MSMEs; agribusinesses; service enterprises, and; industry associations.
  • AIMS will have initial starting set of value chains confirmed as:
    1. Vegetables
    2. Backyard chicken
    3. Quality assured rice
    4. Cassava and
    5. Raw silk.

New value chains will be considered in year 2 if they are found to have sufficient production and market demand.

2. Beneficiaries:

  1. Primary Beneficiaries: AIMS’ primary target beneficiaries will be smallholder farm households, including poor and near poor farmers, participating in the supported value chains who voluntarily collaborate in project activities (at least 75,000 households).
  2. Secondary Beneficiaries: Secondary target groups are the other primary and secondary actors in the value chain, including, inter alia: agricultural cooperatives; farmer organisations, MSMEs; agribusinesses; service enterprises, and; industry associations. These secondary target groups are not necessarily poor and can be in better off category. However, most of them can be market makers for smallholders and the poor, and are the driving force of the value chains. They are to help smallholder farmers (including poor farming and women-headed households) to move beyond subsistence and become commercialized, if conditions are right and an enabling environment is in place.

3. Project Management:
Ministry of Commerce (MoC): Is the Lead Project Agency for AIMS and also lead Component 1 on the basis that it is in charge of business development and agriculture marketing in the RGC framework and in view of AIMS’ majority focus on market-linkages, facilitating investment along the value chains and on domestic and export trade and in recognition of AIMS’ mandate in achieving a genuine multi-stakeholder approach with active participation of government agencies at national and sub-national levels, agri-businesses and farmers. MOC will host an AIMS Project Management Office (PMO), which will include the Component 1 management team led by the AIMS Project Director. The AIMS PMO will have two main functions:

  1. Operations: Provide for by Department of International Cooperation (DICO) and will be responsible for financial management, procurement, M&E, KMC and reporting.
  2. Value Chain Development: Lead by Department of Private Sector Development (DPSD) who has the mandate to support the private sector to engage in trade and inclusive market development.

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