15-17 August 2008
CEDAC organized the Leadership and Team Spirit Training for its staff at PICNIC Resort, Koh Kong province. Forty five staff members from different departments including: Training, Consulting, Communication and Publication, and Finance and Administration attended. The training aimed to identify traits and leadership skills in addition to developing participants’ team spirit in order to improve their capacity to enhance their daily work and lives. During this training, leadership skills were taught. This facilitated a discussion which followed the viewing of an Indian film titled 'Gandhi'. Many games were also played, including Blind Flight to help participants learn about the success and effectiveness of leadership. As a result, participants became more competent in recognizing the necessary traits, roles and responsibilities of good leadership, particularly the importance of team spirit for both work implementation and application to their own lives.

On 18 August 2008, CEDAC opened its new Natural Agri-Product (NAP) shop located at house No. 67, Street 230, Sangkat Teuk La-ak III, Khan Toul Kok, Phnom Penh. This is the second branch of NAP to be opened after its first which was opened on 07 July 2008 at house No. 13, Street 360, Sangkat Bueng Keng Kang III, Khan Chamkar Mon, Phnom Penh.
This new outlet is part of CEDAC’s plan to include more shops to its original successful shop located at House No.689B, Kampuchea Krom Boulevard. This latest NAP shop aims to:

• Improve consumers' access to healthy, organically and locally produced food.
• Ensure that small farmers receive higher prices for their organic products and obtain a share of the net income, which can then be used for community development and collective purposes.

12-14 August 2008
CEDAC organized refreshment training around being an effective researcher for its staff at CEDAC office, Phnom Penh. Twenty five staff members from CEDAC Consulting and Field Program attended this training. The training aims to improve research skills as well as data analysis and report writing skills of the CEDAC Consulting team, so that they can become good researchers. During the training, Mr. Prak Sereyvath, CEDAC's executive director and Mr. Prum Tola, an external trainer provided a number of lessons with practical examples related to research skills. They included: Research concepts and framework; Research methodology/tools; Research steps; Questionnaire development; sampling; report writing and Statistical package for the Social Science (SPSS) program. As a result, participants were asked to role play by dividing into three research groups and were clearly reflected.

01 March 2008- 28 February 2010
CEDAC is currently implementing a new pilot development project namely: “Agriculture Livelihood Project for the Sok San Indigenous Community” in four villages (Klang Lei, Anchor, Sre Thom, Chi Klob) of Sok San Commune, Koh Nhiek district, Mondulkiri province. This is a new project that CEDAC is working on with funding support from WWF-Cambodia. The overall objective of the project was to improve the livelihoods of indigenous people through ecological agriculture dissemination and local human resources development. In order to achieve this overall objective, the specific objectives include:

• Improving the food production of farmers through the dissemination of ecologically sensitive agriculture innovations such as System of Rice Intensification, upland rice, diversification of crops, ecological chicken raising, fish and frog raising.
• Building the capacity of indigenous local people to become key farmers on specific thematic issues for disseminating agriculture innovation as well as social group mobilization
• Building the capacity of indigenous youth, particularly women so that they become community leaders, or facilitators for development projects in MondulKiri province

On 07 August 2008, Mr. Nop Sotheara, Development Assistant Specialist for Infectious Disease and Avian Influenza accopmanied by CEDAC staff member, Mr. Kin Mengse visited the project field work in Chi Kreng district, Siem Reap province. The hosted visit took place at the target villages of AIBC3 (Avian Influenza Behavior Change Project), Kangan Pong and Romdeng village of Spean Thnot commune. The purpose of the visit was to monitor farmers’ understanding and practice on the messages of avian influenza (AI) and to check the progress of farmers’ practice on the technique of ecological chicken raising (ECR). As a result, farmers practiced ECR techniques of very well. They include: building fences fto contain chickens, providing mix feed, separating healthy chickens from sick chickens, cleaning to ensure good sanitation inside the chicken fences and chicken houses, using herbal plants to soak in water for chickens and making compost for chickens to scratch, etc”. However, farmers need tomake more of an effort in order to increase chicken production so that they can increase the family income. The alternative of setting up chicken producer groups should be conducted among farmers in these new target villages.

June 2008-December 2009
CEDAC is currently implementing a pilot development project namely “Improvement of Livelihood of the most Vulnerable Families for Prevention of Human Trafficking and Unsafe Migration” in 14 villages across three communes of three districts in Svay Rieng and Prey Veng provinces. This is a new project that CEDAC is working on and will involve migrant workers. The selected project sites were the places where many poorest people migrate to work as labor sellers along the border of Vietnam and Thailand. The project funding was supported by International Organization for Migration (IOM). The project aims to improve the livelihood of vulnerable people through dissemination of agricultural technical innovation such as system of rice intensification (SRI), ecological chicken raising, home gardening, awareness raising on agricultural pesticide and its impact and formation of producer groups for collective selling, etc. In order to achieve the above mentioned goal, the specific project’s objectives were indicated as follows:

• Increasing household food production and income generation capacity through ecological agriculture innovations and producer groups
• Supporting the establishment of self-sustained and member managed Village-based Farmer Association/cooperatives and networks

28 - 31 July 2008
Mr. Prak Sereyvath and Mr. Pel Chivita of CEDAC attended “REGIONAL FOOD SECURITY FORUM 2008: Toward Sustainable Food for All”. The forum was organized by the South East Asia Council for Food Security and Fair Trade (SEACON) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Representatives of civil society organizations in South-East Asia plus China, India, FAO, Asian Secretariat, and Malaysian Ministry of Agriculture attended this forum. The primary objectives of the forum were to:

• Create an interactive platform for food security and food sovereignty scholars, experts, donors, NGOs, civil society, the private sector, international and regional promoters, researchers, managers and citizens concerned with food security to share and exchange knowledge, experiences, expertise and new perspectives in creating a sustainable food security for all in Asia.
• Discuss the increased vulnerability to food insecurity
• Discuss strategies to protect our food supply
• Improve linkages between food security analysis, policy-making and implementation
• Strengthen the position, views and suggestions of civil society organizations, food producers, general public and consumers in the policy-making process.
• Forward a regionally synthesized position and conclusion of the forum to the relevant ministries, national governments and regional bodies.
• Convene a working group of CSOs to pursue the implement able action points that will be agreed on at the forum.

15-17 July 2008
CEDAC organize a follow-up training on Participatory Innovation Development/Participatory Technology Development(PID/PTD) at Provincial Department of Agriculture, Kampong Cham province. The participants were from nine provincial agriculture departments (Takeo, Kampong Speu, Kampong Chhnang, Prey Veng, Svay Reang, Battambang, Kampong Thom, Pursat and Kampong Cham), seven NGOs (CEDAC, Srer Khmer, NAPA, NAS, CCK, FIDAC, PDDAO), three Educational Institutions (Royal University of Agriculture, Kampong Cham National School of Agriculture and Prek Leap National School of Agriculture) and one commune council (Thlok commune), Takeo province. The objective of the training was to increase the capacity of lectures, research and extension on the process and methodology to work with experimenting farmers and their facilitation skills. As a result, participants reviewed the activities to what they had applied in the lessons they learnt in the previous time. They reflected also on both strengthes and weaknesses of the application of the methodology. On the other hand, all participants have increased their understanding and knowledge on farmer experience and local innovation through the exchange visit. Moreover, they gained a new knowledge on the processes and methodologies necessary to work with experimenting farmers facilitating skills, local innovations, methodologies, findings and recording.

On 01 August 2008, CEDAC with funding support from Natural Agri- Products (NAP) organized its 11th General Meeting on CEDAC's direction after 2008 at the Cambodian Japan Cooperation Center (CJCC), Phnom Penh. 253 CEDAC's staff attended the meeting. The objectives of the meeting were to reflect on CEDAC's work over the past 11 years (1997-2008), introduce CEDAC's direction after 2008, and intouduce CEDAC General Coordination/CEDAC Association. During the meeting Dr. Yang Saing Koma, CEDAC’s president briefly presented CEDAC's works/results within 11 years, what CEDAC's direction will be after 2008, and the roles of the three main departments to further expand its operations to achieve its core mission of improving Cambodian farmers' livelihoods. The three main departments of CEDAC are:

• CEDAC Development
• CEDAC institute of Local Development (CILD)
• CEDAC Enterprise for Social Development (CESDE)

August 2008 – July 2010
CEDAC is currently implementing a project namely, "Happy Mountain Bird: Ensuring Access to Primary Education for Children of Poorest Family (HMB3)". The primary goal of the project is to ensure that 1500 poorest families from 210 villages, Kampong Chnang province are able to overcome poverty as well as to increase parents’ and children’s awareness of the importance and necessity of education so that all children in the target village can go to school. To achieve the above goal, each poorest family is expected to earn enough income to feed the family and to support the basic education of their children. Increased production and income will be achieved through agricultural intensification, especially intensification of vegetable production in the homestead areas, intensive chicken raising based on natural principles, system of intensive rice production on small plot, intensive system of pig husbandry and small-scale aquaculture. Improved solidarity amongst villagers in supported poorest families will also be encouraged and will contribute to project success. It is crucial that all children receive primary education, especially the poorest children who have no chance to go to school and not able to study regularly. Since 2004, CEDAC has been implementing the Happy Mountain Bird project to improve primary education in the rural area, such as Takeo, Prey Veng, Kampong Speu and Svay Rieng. The project is funded by Mr. FUKUSHIMA Yasuhiro, a retired Japanese businessman.

07-08 July 2008 A team from the French-German ARTE TV conducted a film shoot in CEDAC’s new Natural Agri-Product (NAP) shop at No. 13, Street 360, Sangkat Bueng Keng Kang III, Khan Chamkar Mon, Phnom Penh. The team also went to the farm of Mr. Roh Mao, Chaom Pol village, Popel Commune, Tramkok District, Takeo province to conduct another film shoot of Mr. Roh Mao engaged in carrying out System of Rice Intensification (S.R.I) methodologies.
During their visit, Mr. Patrik Schulze-Heil and his camera man prepared several short documentaries on Cambodia. These will be shown during the evening news of ARTE TV. Another film which features CEDAC’s efforts to promote organic rice was also produced.

On 19 July, 2008, CEDAC Enterprise for Social Development (CESDE) organized its first general meeting with its shareholders at CEDAC office, Phnom Penh. 50 out of 110 CESDE members, including CEDAC's president and other CESDE leaders attended this meeting. The objective of the meeting was to present its first six monthly results, planning, and shareholder policies.
During the meeting, Dr. Yang Saing Koma, CEDAC's president briefed participants/ members on the background of CEDAC and its Agri-based Enterprise Support Program. Mr. Lang Seng Horng, program director, presented the concept of the enterprise and the shareholders/members policies. A presentation on the program achievements and financial results of CESDE were also made by Mr. Sim Kong and Ms. Nou Socheat. The meeting provided an opportunity for a stimulating discussion, especially on the shareholder policies.

13-15 July 2008
CEDAC, with funding support from Oxfam America (OA) organized Leadership Training on Social Change for the Saving for Self-Reliance (SfR) team at PICNIC Resort, Koh Kong province. Fifty two people, including CEDAC staff, the district coordinator, representatives of both the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and Oxfam America attended.
The training aimed to identify and develop the traits and leadership skills of participants in order to support and improve their capacity for building strong Saving for Self-reliance communities.
During the training, leadership skills were taught. This facilitated a discussion which followed the viewing of an Indian film titled 'Gandhi'. Many games were also played. For example, Blind Flightwas played to help participants learn about the success and effectiveness of leadership. As a result, participants learnt about the traits, roles and responsibilities of good leadership, particularly the way to determine long term goals/ destination for work implementation and for in their own lives.

01 March 2008 – 30 May 2008
CEDAC signed a contract with the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center as an implementing partner to provide technical inputs to initiate mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into the agriculture sector in Cambodia. The objective of this technical input was to support the Department of Agronomy within the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) in developing a road map for integrating disaster risk reduction into the policies, plans and programs of Department of Agronomy. The support of CEDAC was provided by facilitating consultation to engage officials from MAFF in carrying out the below activities:

• Document the impact of natural disasters on the agriculture sector (Department of Agronomy) over the last five years.
• Analyze the factors which increase the impacts of disasters on the agronomy sector in agriculture (factors contributing to the risk)
• Document the ongoing/planned initiatives of the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) to deal with natural hazards as identified in the Agriculture sector Strategic Development plan.
• Identify gaps and specific next steps for the agriculture sector programs related to crop diversification so that the impact of the disasters is reduced upon the sector.

1 July 2008 – 31 December 2008
CEDAC with funding support from Oxfam America is currently conducting an SRI Campaign through training and video launching (Do you speak SRI?) through out the country. The campaign aims to:

• Increase awareness, interest and enthusiasm among farmers and development organizations, the provincial department of agriculture, district agricultural offices, commune councils, and school teachers on SRI as alternative option to achieve sustainable rice intensification;
• Strengthen the mechanisms and networking of SRI development and dissemination among farmers, NGOs, the provincial department of agriculture, district agricultural office, commune council, and school teachers

On 09 July 2008, CEDAC organized a training session on “Avian Influenza Interpersonal Communication Skills” at CEDAC office, Phnom Penh. 34 participants including extension workers and animal health workers from CEDAC, CelAgrid, and FAO attended this one-day training. The training was facilitated by Ms. Berengere DeNegri and Ms. Cecile Latican from the Academy for Educational Development in Cambodia (AED-Cambodia). The objective of the training was to enable participants to learn and practice the 4 main interpersonal communication skills including the use of simple language, active listening, open-ended questioning and probing, and for using ‘Information Education Communication Material (IEC) ‘. As a result, participants discussed and practiced these interpersonal communication skills and were most interested in the training as it will help them in their future work and in communicating effectively with people.

On 30 June 2008, the Pilot project on Geographical Indication (GI) Protection in Cambodia organized its first workshop on Kampong Speu Palm Sugar Association Creation at Ministry of Commerce. 86 participants including 11 women from Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, CEDAC and various stakeholders and agencies attended this workshop. The objectives of the workshop were to:

• recall the GI concept and GI projects
• present the process of GI association creation
• analyse the palm sugar by sensory
• create a taskforce for the preparation of GI association’s statutes
• present the activities implemented, and inputs from the villagers on the Book of Requirementspresent the process of preparation of the Book of Requirements and Achievements
• discuss the Book of Requirements

January 2008 – December 2010
CEDAC is currently implementing a new project namely “Poverty Reduction among Subsistence Rice Farmers through the Promotion of Sustainable Livelihood System” in 260 villages of four districts (Samrong, Bati, Baseth and Kong Pisei) of Takeo and Kampong Speu provinces. The project funding was supported by European Union (EU) and a part of it was the contribution of EED and CEDAC.
The project aims to contribute to the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger MDG 1, through improved food security and enhanced livelihood options for Cambodian rural poor families, as well as to the achievement of MDG 7, by promoting the sustainable use of natural resources. The project’s specific objectives were to

• Enable subsistence rice farmers to significantly increase their food production and incomes by means of dissemination of agricultural innovations (intensification, diversification)
• Allow rice farmers to participate in genuine producer organizations and networks through capacity building for community-led saving and credit services.

On 27 April 2008, CEDAC and Nature Agri-Products (NAP) organized a Consumers field visit to Tmor Reap village, Pong Ro commune, Roleaphear district, Kaompong Chnang province. 14 customers from Phnom Penh including 11 women went to visit the organic vegetables and chicken farming of Mrs. Teav Chart, a farmer from Tmor Reap village. The customers field visits aimed to:

• increase mutual confidence between producers groups and consumer groups
• strengthen solidarity between producer group and consumer groups
• offer an opportunity to consumers to understand the production policies of farmers
• gain an understanding of producer group management
• visit the site of System of Rice Intensification (SRI) farming.

1 July 2008 – 30 June 2010
CEDAC is currently implementing a new project namely "Community Based Livelihood Improvement in Protected Area" in Kbal Teuk commune, Teuk Phos disrtict, Kampong Chhnang province. The project aims to contribute to poverty alleviation and climate change mitigation through the promotion of wood fuel efficient cook stoves and ecological agriculture. To achieve this goal, there are 3 main objectives:

• Objective 1: To increase the cooking energy efficiency of 500 households by 25% during the project lifetime through improved Samaki stove dissemination.
• Objective 2: To increase agricultural production and income generation of 500 farmer families by 30% during the project lifetime, and reduce climate change threats through ecological agriculture development and dissemination
• Objective 3: To conduct feasibility for rehabilitating one spill way in Chi Pok village in order to improve villagers’ accessibility to water supply for increasing agriculture production.

Final workshop of JFPR 9027-CAM project
On 19 June 2008, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) in collaboration with CEDAC, organized a final workshop on Improving the Livelihood of Poor Farmers in Southern Cambodia Project (JFPR 9027-CAM) at the Cambodiana hotel, Phnom Penh. 136 participants including H.E Ith Nody (MAFF undersecretary of state), Mr. Tadeo R. Culla (Asian Development Bank Associate Social Development Analyst), Dr. Yang Saing Koma (CEDAC President), JICA's representative, NGOs representatives, government officials from national and provincial institutions, district and commune authorities, project beneficiary representatives from five target provinces, CEDAC staff and 22 mass media representative attended this workshop. The workshop aimed to

• Present the results and impacts of the project.
• Share the experiences gained through during the 5 year period of project implementation with project stakeholders and other institutions.

On 1 May 2008 CEDAC started a new project called, ‘The Improving Livelihoods of Small Farmers in Kanh Chriech district of Prey Veng Province’. It is being implemented with the support of a Danish company, Oellingegaard and through the Nordic Agency for Development and Ecology (NORDECO). The objective of the project is to promote low external input sustainable agriculture in Cambodia, in order to improve local livelihoods and mitigate global climate change. The project will benefit 800 farming households across approximately 25 villages within Kanhchriech district.
The project will deliver capacity building and support in low external input sustainable agriculture and to the development of farmer’s organisations. The extension support from CEDAC to the farmers will include support to the:

• System of Rice Intensification (SRI).
• Production and use of organic fertiliser.
• Reduction in the use of chemical fertiliser.
• Increase in wood biomass through homestead gardens, agro-forestry, on-farm plantations and community forestry.
• Production and use of green manure.
• Use of fuel saving stoves.
• Other agricultural activities as found feasible for livelihood improvement.
• Farmer’s organisations including the development of farmer’s associations within the framework of the Farmers and Nature Network (FNN), producer organisations, saving and credit systems and other measures that are found to viably improve farmer’s organisations.

07-12 June 2008
Mr. Sim Kong, the head of CEDAC Social Development Enterprise (CESDE) and three other CESDE staff: Ms. Chheng Nakry, Mr. Ear Oiy, and Mr. Chhay Song Leang, attended a regional training workshop on "Making Markets Work for Small Farmers: Understanding Marketing and Market Intermediation" at Tay Ho hotel, Hanoi, Viet Nam. The training workshop was organized by Linking Small Farmers to Market (LSFM) project with funding support from ASEAN Foundation. 70 participants from 11 Asian countries including Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Viet Nam and other international NGO representatives attended this training workshop. The objectives of the training workshop were to enhance the knowledge and skills of participants in marketing and market intermediation to become initiators, implementers, advocates and supports of initiatives that will link small farmers to markets. During the workshop, Mr. Sim Kong presented the Value Chain Analysis of Free Range Chickens that CESDE has chosen native chickens as the pilot crop for its market intermediation in Cambodia. The next regional training workshop will be held in Cambodia.

06-12 June 2008
Mr. Seng Phearun, CEDAC staff member attended an advanced training on "IMPROVED COOKSTOVE technical testing and monitoring" in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The training was conducted by Asia Regional Cook stove Program (ARECOP). 26 Participants from 7 counties including Cambodia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Philippines and Vietnam attended this training. The objectives of the training were to equip participants with the competencies to:

• evaluate the performance of improved stoves being disseminated by the national networks using stove testing protocols developed by Aprovecho and University of California, School of Public Health (UCB-PH).
• review factors related to the quality of improved cook stoves being disseminated by the national networks (stove production methods, facilities and user opinions)
• prepare recommendations and plans of action for stove quality improvements
• provide additional data and information for ARECOP Network Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E)

10-11 June, 2008
CEDAC and Farmers and Nature Net (FNN), with funding support from Agriterra organized a two day Special Assembly Meeting for the first time of its third mandate at CEDAC office. 52 Special Assembly members from thirteen provinces including 15 women attended this meeting. The objectives of the meeting were to:

• share and discuss issues around the situation of community farmer associations
• strengthen the role and structure of the network
• study issues relating to its demand and
• plan to support and strengthen the provincial association

On 27 May 2008, CEDAC organized the second working group meeting of PROLINNOVA Cambodia at CEDAC office, Phnom Penh. 21 participants including four women attended this meeting. The participants were from nine provincial agriculture departments (Takeo, Kampong Speu, Kampong Chhnang, Prey Veng, Svay Reang, Battambang, Kampong Thom, Pursat and Kampong Cham), three NGOs (CEDAC, Srer Khmer, PADEK), three Educational Institutions (Royal University of Agriculture, Kampong Cham National School of Agriculture and Prek Leap National School of Agriculture), one commune council (Thlok commune), Takeo province and Farmer and Nature Net staff. The objectives of the meeting were to:

• Present the experimentation proposal
• Discuss M & E template and methodologies
• Present and discuss the Local Innovation Support Fund phase II

03-04 June 2008
CEDAC and the Network of Eco-agriculture Development in Cambodia (NEDC) in cooperation with the Provincial Department of Agriculture (DPA) in Kandal province, organized a workshop and trade fair for Promoting Ecological Agriculture and Local products at Tarkhmaov district, Kandal province.
This event was funded by OXFAM GB, OXFAM America, GNO Forum and HEKS. The workshop was attended by 400 people from 13 provinces, including H.E. Chim Sokhun (Vice governor of Kandal province), Mr. Buntuon Simona (Chief of PDA in Kandal province), Dr. Yang Saing Koma (CEDAC President), 27 NGO staff, PDAs in Kandal, Pursat, Battambang, and Takeo province, Kampong Cham National School of Agriculture, students, farmers and donors. The workshop aimed to:

• Increase public awareness on support for policy of ecologically-based family agriculture and local products.
• Encourage farmers in the implementation of ecologically-based agriculture to produce healthy food.
• Strengthen the capacity of farmers/producers and NGOs network

26-28 May 2008
Two members of FNN, Ms. Leng Soknaram, Farmer Community Facilitator in Tramkak district of Takeo province, and Mr. Uon Sophal, the first Vice President of Executive Committee of FNN, attended the 22nd Execom Meeting in Quezon City in the Philippines. 20 participants including 7 women attended this meeting. Participants were from Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, Korea, Cambodia and Philippines. The purpose of the meeting included the following:

• Orientation and Leadership Development
• 22nd AFA Execom Meeting and
• Forum - Dialogue on the Rice Crisis in Asia: Farmers' Situation and responses

Proposed Strategies to Utilize the Potential of Rice Production in Cambodia
Rice is the most important staple food crop for Cambodians, and around 60-65 percent of Cambodians (out of 14 million people) are involved in rice farming or make their living from rice farming. Rice is also one of the major export commodities of Cambodia. During the 60s, Cambodia was one of the key rice-exporting nations in the world. But, as the nation has plunged into civil war and internal conflict, rice production stagnated, and the nation has become a net rice importer. Since the country has returned to peace and enjoys political stability, especially during the late 1990s and early 2000s, there has been a steady increase in rice production. For example, for the season 2007/2008, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has reported that the country produced 6.7 million tons of paddy, an increase of 50 percent compared to 1997/98, with a surplus of more than 2.5 million tons of paddy.
This trend of increasing rice production along with the recent large increases in the price of rice in world markets presents a new opportunity for rice farmers and the national economy. Recently the Cambodian Government announced the plans to expand rice production for export up to 8 million tons by 2015.
This policy note discusses the potentials of the rice sector in Cambodia, and how the country can utilize this potential for the benefit of small farmers and the national economy on a sustainable basis, particular with utilization of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI).
Read more...

On 17 May 2008, CEDAC organized a development dialogue on, ‘Poverty Reduction through Self-reliant Development Approaches’ at the Cambodiana Hotel in Phnom Penh. Funding support was provided by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and the European Union. Seventy two people, including Young Community Leader (YC), farmer organization representatives, local and international NGO\representatives, local authorities, government officials and CEDAC staff attended the dialogue. The objective of the dialogue was to share knowledge and best practices about self-reliant approaches to development. During the dialogue, the participants were divided into four groups to discuss the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), multi-purpose farming, animal raising, saving for self-reliance and community markets. A representative of each group then presented to all the participants what they had concluded and took questions. At the end of the dialogue, all the participants were strongly motivated, engaged and satisfied with the successful experiences they had discussed.

On 26 May 2008, Dr. Cecile Lantican, AI-BCC Country Coordinator for Academy for Educational Development (AED) in Cambodia, visited project field work in Tramkak district, Takeo province. The purpose of this visit was to see the progress of the project in terms of the behavioral changes of villagers after receiving the train ing on Avian Influenza (AI), (AI) project messages, and to see the techniques of ecological chicken raising (ECR) and their impact upon the family’s livelihood. During this visit, Dr. Cecile Lantican observed one-group training that was organized for the representatives of the chicken producer group at the district level and interviewed 3 farmers in 2 villages, Trapaing Ruon and Prey Chhnuol villages. As a result, villagers now understand more about the symptoms and prevention method of AI disease and ECR techniques which are the most appropriate methods for farmers to use. This enables farmers to generate more income for their families. Since 15 November 2007, CEDAC has been implementing the third phase of the project, namely “Avian Influenza Behavior Change” under the sub-contract from AED, and with project funding from USAID.

On 12 May 2008, CEDAC and Srer Khmer in cooperation with TWN (Third World Network) organized a Civil Society Organization (CSO) forum on Climate Change and Development at La Pharanda Hotel, Phnom Penh. In total 24 people attended, including government officers, local and international NGO representatives and climate change specialists. The forum aimed to:

• Raise the awareness of Cambodian CSOs on the key issues of climate change, as they impact developing countries in general and Cambodia in particular;
• Provide an overview of the international developments and negotiations on climate change, and discuss the implications of these developments on Cambodia;
• Discuss the needs and priorities of Cambodian CSOs and communities in climate change adaptation, to input into the Commission's meeting and the implementation of the National Action Plan on Adaptation (NAPA).

The End of Cheap Rice
Since the beginning of 2008, consumers in Cambodia and many other countries have noticed a sharp increase of the price of rice and other basic needs. Rice is the most important crop, accounting for roughly 90 percent of the cultivated land and rice is by far the most important food in Cambodia. It is also the main staple for more than half of the worldwide human population; reasons enough to take a closer look on what is going on in the rice sector. Read more...

On 15 May 2008, Mr. Kuroki, the Vice President of JICA, Mr. Kazuhiro Yoneda, JICA’s representative in Cambodia and staff of JBIC spent two hours visiting Chorm Pul village of Popel commune, Tramkok district. The aim of the visit was for the visitors to better understand the rural development activities of CEDAC and JICA; in particular supporting farmer associations and ecological agriculture. The delegation visited a multi-purpose farmer and had lunch at the farm of Mr. Ros Mao, as well as talking with the farmer association. They also observed SRI training which was being conducted by project staff.

CEDAC has been active as a partner organization in the National Biodigester Programme (NBP) since March of this year, CEDAC’s role is to actively promote and extend the work of the programme. The Department of Animal Health and Production (DAHP) is the advisory and coordinating agency, the Netherlands Development Organization (SNV) provides technical assistance, while the Directorate General International Cooperation (DGIS) of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides the financial assistance. The NBP aims to develop a commercial, market oriented, biodigester sector in the selected provinces of Cambodia; this is to be achieved by disseminating domestic biodigesters as an indigenous and sustainable energy source.
Read more...

21 - 26 April 2008
The CEDAC Department of Training and Networking provided training on palm sugar stove construction improvement to Oriental Empire Co. Ltd, which is implementing a project in Pursat province. The training aimed to provide community members with the technical skills necessary to construct an efficient stove for palm sugar processing. The efficient stoves reduce firewood consumption and improve the palm sugar quality (granulated sugar) to enable the producers to sell their product for a higher price. There were 28 people who participated in the training; they included palm sugar producers and villagers from 10 villages in Krakor district of Pursat province. This training was conducted by Mr.Seng Phearun, a stove technician from CEDAC, Mr. Hem Hun, a stove builder from Kampong Speu and Mrs. Chea Chantho, a sugar producer from Kampong Chnang.

20-30 April 2008

Mr. Pho Sopheak (a farmer from Kampong Chnang), Mr. Tan Phly (a CEDAC trainee in Ratanakiri) and Mr. Sopha Phal (CEDAC staff) went on an exchange visit to France to learn about rural youth training. The main objective of the visit was to see and learn from the process of youth training in the Charente Maritim Department, Poitou Charente Region. From this the delegation learned much about the background of the Maisons Familiales Rurales (MFR) school, structure of MFR, education system, other services provided by the school and farming system in France. Since 2005, CEDAC has run a training program which focuses on the Cambodian rural youth, called Young Community Leader (YCL). So far 74 rural youths have completed the YCL training and 148 youths are in the process of being trained by CEDAC. This year CEDAC has set up a new program called the Young Agri-entreprineur (YAE) to stimulate business skills amongst young people in the rural districts.

On 04 May 2008, CEDAC in cooperation with farmer associations and the local authorities hosted the opening of the first farmers' market in Tram Kok district, Takeo province It was the first opportunity farmers had to sell their organic produce directly to the consumer; the market was funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Over 200 customers visited the market and both Cambodians and foreigners bought products. The objectives of the market were to support local organic products, create a chance for producer/sellers to meet the buyers and increase the understanding farmers and customers have of ecological agriculture products. Dr. Chan Sarun, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries admired CEDAC for this initiative. He expressed his strongest support and asked CEDAC to extend as soon as possible the number of local fair markets. Dr. Yang Saing Koma said as long as the farmer associations and local authorities keep working well together to offer publicly located venues, the fair markets will quickly extend throughout the country. Many journalists from a range of media, including local and international newspapers, radio and television visited the market and covered the event.

On 6 May 2008, the NGO forum on Cambodia, CARITAS Cambodia and the Cambodian Economic Association (CEA), in cooperation with CEDAC and other NGOs organized a discussion forum on inflation and poverty in Cambodia. It was held at the Cambodia Japan Cooperation Centre (CJCC) in Phnom Penh; approximately 300 people attended. They were local and international NGO representatives, farmers, construction/factory workers and experts from the World Food Program (WFP), International Monetary Fund (IMF), economic institutions, the National Bank and Ministry of Economy and Finance.
The forum aimed to:

• Raise awareness among NGOs and the general public about the inflation issues.
• Present community's and civil society's concerns and suggestions to the Royal Government of Cambodia and its development partners.
• Further seek commitments from the Government and its development partners to address the issues in the long run, and in a way that helps the Cambodian poor benefit from inflation through their agricultural base.

24 – 25 April 2008
Mr. Sok Kao (CEDAC), Ms. Sang Siem (Farmer), Mr. Cheng Dara (Rachana) and Mr. Luy Pisey Rith (Oxfam America) from Cambodia attended a conference on “Rice Farming and the Impact of Climate Change”. The conference was held in Metro Manila, the Philippines and was organized by the East Asia Rice Working Group (EARWG), in collaboration with the Rice Watch and Action Network. There were approximately 53 participants (NGOs and farmers) from the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam. The objectives of the conference were to:

• Clarify the effects and dire consequences of climate change on rice production.
• Take stock of the adaptation measures farmers are taking across the region to mitigate the adverse impact of climate change on rice farming.
• Meet with experts and better understand the scientific basis for specific mitigating measures adopted by NGOs and farmers.

A New Project for CEDAC
The Sustainable Livelihood Improvement for Small Farmers project will target Makark commune. It will aim to improve the living standard of small farmers, through increasing agricultural production and using ecological agricultural methods. The contract was signed on 4 March 2008 between CEDAC and the Provincial Governor, with the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The implementation of the project was assigned to CEDAC, the Provincial Department of Health, Provincial Department of Women Affairs, Provincial Department of Education, Youth and Sports and Provincial Department of Water Resources and Meteorology. UNDP will provide US$9,500 to implement the project, which is due to run until December 2008.
The objectives to be achieved are as follows:

• At least 200 families will benefit from the project.
• Within the community 6,000 trees will be planted outside schools and pagodas, along streets and around houses and ponds.
• A network will be established among the farmers to promote the conservation of the environment and management of natural resources. It will teach farmers to be aware of the dangers of deforestation and the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
• Cooperation between farmer organizations and local authorities will be strengthened, this is important because it is a crucial factor in the success of rural development.

On 24 April 2008, as part of the Kampong Trolach and Samki Meanchey project, CEDAC organized a general meeting for the beneficiary farmers of the project and an ecological trade fair. Both were held in Salarlekpram primary school, Kampong Tralach district, Kampong Chnang province; and were funded by the Latter Day Saints Charity. The objectives of the events were to present the achievement of the projects; provide an opportunity for farmers to meet and share experiences; and to display and sell their products to the consumers.Read more...

On 21 April 2008, thanks to funding support from Oxfam America, the Department of Agronomy and Agriculture Land Improvement (DAALI) in cooperation with CEDAC held a national workshop on the System of Rice Intensification (SRI). It took place at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) Conference Hall in Phnom Penh. The workshop was attended by 172 people, including Dr. Chan Sarun (Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries), provincial MAFF officials, Dr. Yang Saing Koma (CEDAC President), agricultural students, farmers and donors. The workshop aimed to:

• Sum up the progress of SRI in Cambodia to date.
• Present the improvements that have been made regarding SRI in the provinces.
• Enable successful SRI farmers to share their experiences.
• Show the results of research done on SRI
• Establish how the dissemination of information on SRI has gone and is going.
• Provide an opportunity for an experience exchange to improve the SRI knowledge of those attending.

Mr. Sam Vitou of CEDAC attended a workshop on the Local Innovation Support Fund project. It was organized by PROLINNOVA International and took place in Tamale, Ghana from 27 to 30 March 2008. Ten delegates from the eight developing countries involved in the workshop; four countries (Cambodia, Ethiopia, Uganda and South Africa) were funded by the Promoting Sustainable Development in Agriculture Research System (DURAS, a French NGO) to implement the pilot LISF project from 2005 to 2007. The workshop's aim was to review the existing methodology used to implement the pilot and write case studies for each country. As a result, different examples of approaches to LISF implementation were established for the new funding from the Rockefeller Foundation.
Mr. Sam Vitou next participated in the PROLINNOVA International Partners Meeting until 04 April 2008. The meeting brought together 33 advocates of Participatory Innovation Development (PID) from 22 countries, including farmers, NGOs, and staff of government ministries and extension agencies, research organizations and universities. The meeting extensively discussed experiences of PID from the countries involved, formulated lessons learnt and mapped out strategies to strengthen this important component in the PROLINNOVA program. To learn more about PROLINNOVA, visit www.prolinnova.net/Cambodia.

CEDAC has been implementing a rural development project entitled, “POVERTY REDUCTION AMONG SUBSISTENCE RICE FARMERS THROUGH THE PROMOTION OF THE SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOOD SYSTEM IN FOUR DISTRICTS (SAMRONG, BATI, BASETH AND KONG PISEI) OF TAKEO AND KAMPONG SPEU”. Read more...

On 10 April 2008, CEDAC organized the first quarterly General Meeting for 2008 at the Cambodian Japan Cooperation Center (CJCC), Phnom Penh. All CEDAC's staff, who now number over 200 attended the meeting. The objectives of the meeting were to reflect on CEDAC's work over the past year, introduce new strategies for 2008 and promote greater understanding between staff of each other's role within CEDAC. During the meeting Dr. Yang Saing Koma, CEDAC president presented what CEDAC's destination should be in 2008, to further expand its operations to achieve its core mission of improving Cambodian farmers' livelihoods. It will work to achieve these through three main programs:

• Agriculture and Social Development Program (ASDP)
• Agri-based Enterprises Support Program (AESP)
• CEDAC Institute of Local Development (CILD)

On 04 April 2008, CEDAC and the Network of Eco-agriculture Development in Cambodia (NEDC) organized a workshop on the Week of Rice Action (WORA) at CEDAC's Head Office in Phnom Penh. The workshop focused on building awareness of the impact of the Genetically Engineered (GE) rice, amongst young people, development practitioners, government officials and farmers, and to find common alternatives to GE rice. Taking part in the workshop were 58 people, including 11 women, they were government officials, NGO representatives, NEDC members, farmers and CEDAC staff.

On 28 March 2008, CEDAC and the Network of Eco-agriculture Development in Cambodia (NEDC) organized a general meeting at CEDAC's head office in Phnom Penh. Attending were 19 people from 18 organizations, including four women. The objectives of the meeting were to prepare the NEDC’s campaign to support local agri-products, conduct the Week of Rice Action (WORA) workshop and draft the annual action plan for NEDC. As a result, the network decided to conduct the WORA workshop on 4 April 2008, and the campaign will run from 20 to 30 April 2008 at Kampong Cham province.

08-14 March 2008
The Global Institute For Tomorrow's Global Young Leaders Programme (GYLP), with funding support from Asian Development Bank (ADB), lasted seven days on site visit in Phnom Penh and Takeo Province for its module 2 training program. Working with GIFT’s NGO partner in Cambodia, CEDAC on its new Cambodia Social Enterprise (CSE), GIFT aims at developing a business plan on organic rice which is the core product of the Cedac Natural-Agri-Product. The drafted and presented business plan is not only the training output but also input for CEDAC business plan. The plan will be continuously reviewed by CEDAC and GIFT before their presentation to potential investors. The module 3, the implementation of the plan, will be the last process of the program. If CEDAC and GIFT can convince a social investor, a donor/ investor workshop will be probably help in the next three months.

On 03 March 2008, WWF-Cambodia provides a fund support to CEDAC for implementing a project named “Agriculture Livelihoods for Sok San Community in Mondulkiti province”. The main target of the project is Sok San commune which consists of 4 villages. With two year period from March 2008-April 2010, the project has objectives as following:

• Improving food production of farmers through dissemination of ecologically sensitive agriculture innovation such as system of rice intensification, upland rice, diversification of crops, ecological chicken raising, fish and frog raising.
• Establishing village-based farmer associations and capacity building of indigenous local people to be key farmers on specific thematic issues for disseminating agriculture innovation as well as social group mobilization
• Establishing community finance savings groups (savings, credit and mutual help fund)
• Building capacity of indigenous youth, particularly women so that they could be community leaders or facilitators for development projects in Mondulkiri province.

28 February- 03 March 2008
Mr. Eun Sophal, a representative of Farmer and Nature Net (FNN), Mr. Jurn Vannlouy, young farmer representative and Mr. Lim Sokundarun, from CEDAC attended the Third General Assembly of Asian Farmer Association on the theme of “China’s Development, Climate Change and Asian Farmers' Realities: Old Problems, New Challenges for Farmers’ Organizations in Asia” in Seoul, South Korea . There were approximately 40 delegates from countries such as Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan Korea, Philippine, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and other partner representatives of AFA such as IFAD, APNFS, FFTC, WRF, AsiaDHRRA. As a result, some crucial things approved were:

• We approved to FNN and TFDA are AFA’s regular members and ExeCom.
• We agreed to the amendment of the AFA’s regulation/by-law that proposed since 2nd GA conducted in Cambodia.
• We have selected new person are lead AFA in 2008-2010 as follows:
  • Chairperson: Sorkorpor (Thailand), Ms. Sudaporn Sittisathapornkul
  • Vice chairperson: API (Indonesia), Mr. Sambito
  • Treasurer: Pakiskama (Philippine), Mr. Vicente Fabe and
  • Secretary general: (Philippine), Ms. Esterlla Penunai

On 18 February 2008, Mr. Bruce Shoemaker, The Program Consultant of the McKnight Foundation forSoutheast Asia Grants Program visited Indigenous Community-Led Agriculture Development in Rattanakiri Province Project (ICAD-RTK). The objectives of the visit were to see the progress in the target village and to discuss with CEDAC’s staff as well as Indigenous People for Agriculture Development in Cambodia’s staff (IADC). As a result, two indigenous village, Loam village and Chaong Ket village were visited with a long site tour to the dry season vegetable growing and fish raising. Mr. Bruce Shoemaker appreciated the result of IADC as it has already registered as one local indigenous NGO with the clear vision and being a good partner of CEDAC.

On 26 February 2008, three delegations from ETEA Foundation visited Indigenous Community Marketing Network Project in Rattanakiri province. The objective of the visit was to see the farmers growing dry season vegetable and the village shop in O Chum village, O Chum commune, O Chum district. As a result, the delegations were very interested with the village shop which is mobilized by the farmers themselves. Moreover, through this initiative, the district governor has provided strong support and motivation through participating as member of the group and also allocated one land for the group to run this business.

21-25 February 2008
Mr. Sim Kong, Mr. Oum Savin and Mr. Ear Ory from CEDAC, with funding support from AsiaDHRRA, attended the regional workshop to launch the, "Linking Small Farmer to Market" (LSFM) project in Manila, the Philippines. There were approximately 10 delegates from countries such as Cambodia, the Philippines and other partner representatives, such as PhilDHRRA and AFA. During the workshop the delegates:

• Reviewed the two year project targets
• Formulated an operational plan for 2008
• Discussed the expected outputs
• Considered strategies to achieve these outputs
• Were briefed on the periodic reporting process, including the financial utilization
• Visited some of the marketing outfits in the Metro Manila area.

On 18 March 2008, CEDAC and Oxfam America launched a new instructional video titled, ‘Do You Speak SRI?’, at the Cambodian Japan Cooperation Center (CJCC). Around 100 people, including SRI farmers, representatives of NGOs, government officials, members of the media, and students attended the launch. The objectives of this new video launch were to give Cambodian farmers new ideas about farming, and to assist them in their implementation of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI).
Read more...

18-19 February 2008
In the framework of the Improving Livelihoods for Small Farmers in Tramkak (ILFARM-TK) project, Phase II with funding support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA); CEDAC organized its 3rd General Meeting of cooperating farmers and agriculture products exhibition in AngTar Sorm, Tram Kork district, Takeo Province. The objectives of the events were to present the achievement of the projects, as well as to provide an opportunity for farmers to meet and share experiences, and to display and sell their products to the consumers. Around 900 farmers from 223 villages in Trammkok district attended the events, which was presided over by the Minister of Agriculture, Forests and Fisheries, Dr. Chan Sarun. The event was very successful, especially due to the great interest the consumers had in the organic products. As there is an ever increasing demand from consumers, CEDAC plans to organize a farmer’s market every week from May 2008 onwards.
Read more...

On 19 February 2008, CEDAC with funding support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) organized a field visit to Tram Kak District, Takeo province for a group of journalists. Nine journalists from a range of media, including local and international radio, newspaper, magazine and television, visited CEDAC's Organic Products exhibition. It was conducted by the Improving Livelihoods for Small Farmers (ILFARM) in Tramkak project, Phase II in AngTar Sorm Pagoda, AngTar Sorm Commune, Tram Kork district, Takeo Province. The objective of this field visit was to offer a chance for journalists, to meet and see the local organic products and chemical-free produce, that local farmers in TramKak district, Takeo province are producing. So the journalists could interview and publish news articles that would promote the farmers nationwide. As a result, many topics were covered by the journalists from all different angles, including live reports, documentaries and feature stories.
Read more...

On 14 February 2008, CEDAC and Prolinnova Cambodia organized a stakeholder's consultation meeting on the Innovation System in Cambodia. Twenty two people including four women, who were government officials, Farmers and Nature Net's representatives and two representatives from the Philippines attended the meeting. The objective of the meeting was to further understand the innovation system in Cambodia. At the end of the meeting, all participants gained new knowledge on research for implementation, and the reasons why number of local farmers accepted innovation is limited. More over, the participants understood more clearly the innovation system in Cambodia; and the relationship between all the institutions which are working to promote innovation in Cambodia.

1-22 February 2008
CEDAC is hosting three French students for their internships with a rural development project called IlFARM-PV; it has been implemented by CEDAC in Prey Veng province. The three French students are from LEGTPA Le Mans, a French agricultural college based in the city of Le Mans. During the internship, they will learn about:

• The agriculture of Baphnom and Kampong Trabek districts.
• The situation of small farmers and the agricultural production they practice, as well as farm management.
• How project intervention is improving farmers’ livelihoods in the area.

21-22 January 2008
CEDAC with funding support from the ASEAN Foundation organized a two day meeting for the AsiaDHRRA delegations. Three AsiaDHRRA delegations, three CEDAC staff and a representative of Farmer and Nature Net (FNN), Mr Oun Sophal, attended this meeting. The meeting introduced a new project on Linking Small Farmers to Markets (LSFM); and aimed to establish links with relevant agencies and groups. The project’s goal is to contribute to the reduction of rural poverty in Southeast Asia, through strengthening the capacity of small farmers and their organizations. Thus enabling them to engage the market and other institutions, so having an impact on rural development. During the meeting, CEDAC Social Enterprise was also introduced, and was strongly appreciated by the delegation. As the result of the meeting, the project partnership agreement between CEDAC and AsiaDHRRA was signed. The two parties clarified the next major steps for first quarter of project implementation.

Dr. Yang Saing Koma, President of CEDAC, was invited to be one of the panelists at the launching of the World Development Report 2008: Agriculture for Development. The event was organized by the World Bank and held at the Intercontinental Hotel, Phnom Penh on January 31, 2008. The topic of his presentation was: Agricultural Development from a Grassroots Perspective: What is happening in Cambodia’s Villages. His presentation mainly focused on sharing CEDAC’s experiences with System of Rice Intensification (SRI), on marketing support to producer organizations, and community led saving and credit groups (Saving for Self-Reliance). During the presentation, he commented that ‘WDR should not focus only on completing the Green Revolution, but should also consider the SRI revolution’.

12-14 December 2007
CEDAC and Prolinnova Cambodia, with funding support from DGIS, organized a three day National Platform Workshop on ‘Promoting Local Innovation in Cambodia’. It was held at Mlop Svay Thom restaurant in Kampong Thom province. Ninety eight people, including farmers, government officials, lecturers, NGOs and CEDAC staff attended this workshop.
Read More...

A Working Group Meeting on the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) was held on 4 January 2007, at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) in Phnom Penh. It was organized by the Department of Agronomy and Agricultural Land Improvement (DAALI), in cooperation with the Cambodian Center for Study and Development in Agriculture (CEDAC), with funding support from Oxfam America (OA). Seventy six people, including SRI farmers, MAFF officers, representatives of relevant NGOs and students attended the meeting. The objectives of the meeting were to share the progress of SRI research and adoption around the world, and to share methods and preliminary results of SRI adoption in Cambodia. It also provided an opportunity for the participants to improve their knowledge and understanding of SRI. H.E Ith Nody, Undersecretary of State of MAFF and Mr Lord Reasmey, Deputy General Director of MAFF, chaired the meeting. Professor Norman Uphoff, Cornell University, was one of the key speakers during this meeting; according to Prof Uphoff, SRI is now practiced in 28 countries around the world. CEDAC's president, Dr Yang Saing Koma, said that there are now over 80,000 rice farmers or equal to 5% of total rice farmers in Cambodia adopting SRI practices. As a result, many farmers have now improved their livelihood through practicing SRI.

20-21 December 2007
The Regional Consultation Workshop on ASEAN at 40: Challenges to Asian Farmers Posed by Charter and Economic Blueprint and 21st AFA ExeCom was held in Bangkok, Thailand. Mr Oun Sophal, a representative of Farmer and Nature Net (FNN), and Mr Yim Bunlong, from CEDAC attended. In total forty two people attended the workshop, they came from Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Taiwan, Korea and the Philippines. The workshop was organized by the Asian Farmers' Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA), with funding support from Agriterra. During the workshop some of the crucial issues discussed were:

• Agriculture in ASEAN: Performance Record and Current Challenges
• Analysis of the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint: "Single society, single market and production base" vision of ASEAN
• Analysis of the ASEAN Charter
• AFA advocacy plan on ASEAN reviewing
• The dialogue with ASEAN Secretariat Officials

03-04 January 2008
CEDAC organized a two day meeting for the Saving for Self Reliance (SfR) team. Twenty six CEDAC staff including ten women attended this meeting. The objectives of the training were to reflect on previous work done, find new methods to support the team so they can work more effectively, motivate staff and set targets that staff and the team should pursue in 2008. The outcome of the meeting was the Saving for Self Reliance team gained more knowledge of the strategic plan for 2008, were informed of the new guidelines on what to pursue and accomplish in the year to come.

26-27 December 2007
Two hundred and fifteen people attended a two-day General Assembly, organized by CEDAC at International University, Phnom Penh. Those attending included CEDAC staff, recently graduated students, FNN representatives and members of CEDAC advisory boards. During the meeting details of activities and results from 2007, were presented from the following departments of CEDAC:

• Field Program
• Training and Networking
• Research and Development (R&D)
• Publication and Communication (P&C)
• Natural Agri-Product Marketing Project (NAP)
• Finance
• Administration and Human Resources

On 8 December 2007, CEDAC with funding support from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) and the European Union (EU) organized a Development Dialogue, on ‘Poverty Reduction through Self-reliant Development Approaches’ at the Cambodiana Hotel, Phnom Penh. Ninety six people, including farmers, local and international NGO representatives, local authorities, government officials, school principles, teachers, students and CEDAC staff attended the dialogue. The objective of the dialogue was to share knowledge and best practices about self-reliant approaches to development. At the end of the dialogue, all participants were strongly motivated, engaged and satisfied with the successful experiences they had discussed, for example the establishment of farmer associations, self-help saving groups and the application of ecological farming techniques, by the farmers and teachers in Takeo, Prey Veng and Kampong Cham provinces.

December 20-21, 2007
CEDAC and Farmers and Nature Net (FNN), with funding support from Agriterra organized a two day Special Assembly Meeting for its members at CEDAC office. Fifty Special Assembly members from ten provinces including ten women attended the meeting. The objectives of the meeting were to sum up the progress of out standing activities of FNN, to clear the financial report in 2007 and show draft plan of financial policy for the year 2008, to improved network statute and prepare network general assembly plan for the year 2008, to show CEDAC Business Enterprise and to discuss about new structure of FNN beyond 2007 and the cooperation between FNN and CEDAC.

CEDAC organised a three day training course for members of a chicken producer working group. Nineteen CEDAC staff including four women attended this training. The objectives of the training were to prepare strategy to form chicken producer groups, across network of old villages and new villages. As well as develop modules to train these producer groups, and raise awareness of avian influenza. During the training, Mr Lang Seng Horng, as the training coordinator and Mr Lim Sokun Darun with Mr. Kin Meng Se, offered participants all the different topics of the working group for discussion. At the end of the course it was clear some key results had been achieved. The chicken raising group gained more knowledge of the strategic plan to form new groups, campaigns were planned to increase the awareness on avian influenza, and more was learnt about cooperation with other related projects.

CEDAC and Farmers and Nature Net (FNN), with funding support from Agriterra organized two days of training on strengthening the capacity of the Farmer Organisation’s national farmer-trainers from eight provinces of Cambodia. Thirty four national farmer-trainers including five women attended this training. The objective of the training was to reinforce the explanation, dissemination and training capacity of farmer-trainers to train others; as well as to increase its members and to introduce them to ways to work with other NGOs. During the training Dr Yang Saing Koma, as the training coordinator and Mr Tath Sok, offered individuals an opportunity to practice their presentation skills to the class. The presentations were filmed and played back, so the group could reflect on how they went. The training produced some key results, national farmer-trainers had improved explanation, dissemination and training skills to use in their work for the Farmer Organisation. They had become more confident about working to develop their own communities as well as working with other related NGOs.

On 10 December 2007, the Development Weekly newspaper published a news article entitled ‘CEDAC: 'Community Markets' empower villagers’ in its 171st publication. CEDAC is promoting the creation of 2,000 'community markets' from now until 2010. The organization's ‘community market’ initiative enables villages to create small market association through the sharing of local capital and expertise; reducing dependence on foreign aid and promoting local cooperation and interdependence. To date, 140 community market associations in 15 provinces have been created.

Mr Chan Sothea, a member of the Farmer and Nature Net (FNN), and Mr Yim Sok Sophors, from CEDAC attended the International Conference on Climate Change in Bali, Indonesia. There were approximately 200 delegates, including peasant, farmers, women, indigenous people and fisher folk from countries such as Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Norway, Spain, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Mozambique. The conference was organized by La Via Campesina, The Indonesian Federation of Peasant's Union (FSPI), Indonesian People’s Movements Against Neo-Colonialism and Imperialism (Gerak Lawan). The purpose of the conference was to find alternative solutions for climate change. One possible method being sustainable agriculture based on the family farmer system, which can be achieved through agrarian reform and food sovereignty.

On 5 December 2007, CEDAC with funding support from the JFPR/ADB project organized a field visit to Kampong Cham province for a group of journalists. Eleven journalists from a range of media including radio, newspaper, magazine and television visited CEDAC's target farming communities, in Khvet village, Tang Krasang commune and Bathey district. The farms visited were involved in a range of activities from producing organic rice to chicken raising, community-based business centres, saving for self reliance, infrastructure and conservation. The field visit was deemed very fruitful with some excellent material collected, including positive interviews and impressive shots. As a result, many topics were covered from different angles by the journalists, including live reports, documentaries and feature stories.

On November 22, 2007, CEDAC and Farmers and Nature Net (FNN), with funding support from AFA and Agriterra, organized a training course on Community Business for community representatives from nine provinces of Cambodia. Sixty one local community representatives including seventeen women attended this training. The objective of the training was to summarize results of the Community Market and Community-based Business Center preparation, to discuss issues around investment policy and CEDAC's loan policy and to register the Community Business. During the training, Mr. Tath Sok, as CEDAC’s training coordinator, offered participants an opportunity to share local community information and their own experiences regarding Community Business with the class. At the end of the training some key results were evident. Local community representatives gained more ideas related to the techniques of a successful Community Business and reported that they felt more confident to undertake Community Business.

On November 19, 2007 thirty seven rural youth, including twelve women from ten provinces of Cambodia attended a one-day workshop on National Youth Network Organizing. The workshop was conducted by CEDAC and Farmers and Nature Net (FNN), with funding support from Agriterra at CEDAC's head office. The workshop aimed to share the local work experiences of youth, to illustrate the situation of youth in Cambodia and to elect a core team for the National Youth Network. As a result, the Rural Youth Network and thirteen governing boards were elected from the ten provinces.

On November 20, 2007, CEDAC and Prolinnova Cambodia, with funding support from Agriterra, organized a National Workshop on Supporting and Promoting Local Innovation at Prek Leap National School of Agriculture along the National Road 6. Approximately 200 hundred people, including farmers, government officials, NGOs, lecturer, students and CEDAC staff attended this workshop. The objective of the workshop was to share experiences among the farmers in promoting and implementing local innovations, facilitating discussions on farmers’ supportive strategy in promoting them to initiate, create, experiment, implement and share their successful experiences with others. During the workshop, each farmer was given an opportunity to present their own experiences in implementing new agricultural techniques. As a result, three brilliant farmers including Mr. Ros Mao, Koy Samorn and Hor Sarith were recognized. CEDAC highly appreciates and rewarded their contribution.

CEDAC has launched its second, one-year Professional Training Program on 'Agricultural Enterprise Management and Rural Development'. CEDAC will provide an opportunity for rural high school graduates, especially those from poor farmer families who are interested to work in rural communities in preparation for their careers as community-based rural development professionals and agri-entrepreneurs. For the year 2007-2008, CEDAC will provide training to 120-150 graduates from 15 provinces of Cambodia including Takeo, Kampot, Kampong Speu, Kandal, Kampong Chnang, Pursat, Prey Veng, Svay Rieng, Kampong Cham, Kampong Thom, Kratie, Stung Treng, Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, and Siem Reap.

Within its Eco-tourism Program, CEDAC organized a package tour for a group of 33 French tourists to visit Cambodia. The group arrived in Phnom Penh on November 18, 2007 and spent 12 days visiting tourist sites and those rural villages supported by CEDAC’s Development Program. Under the facilitation and guidance of Mr. Prak Sereyvath, CEDAC’s Managing Director, and Mr. Michel Cottebrune, the tour leader, this group visited and met with farmer groups in more than 10 villages in provinces including Prey Veng, Kampong Cham, Kampong Thom, Takeo, and Kampot. The group also visited popular tourist sites in Phnom Penh, Phnom Chisor, Phnom Chheukach, the temples complex at Angkor in Siem Reap, and sea side areas of Sihanouke Ville and Kep.

From November 18 to 29, 2007, CEDAC hosted the French Institute of Farmer Leader Training (IFOCAP) for 15 delegates. The purpose of the study visit was to explore the current situation of Cambodian Agriculture and Rural Development, particularly those development projects funded by French cooperation. Under the facilitation of Mr. Prak Sereyvath, CEDAC’s Managing Director, IFOCAP ‘s Mr. Jean-Louis Ichard, the delegation met with the Ministry of Agriculture, the French Ambassador, French Development Agency (AFD), Department of Demography and Development of Apsara Authority, and other NGOs. The delegation also conducted field visits to meet with farmers in Prey Veng, Kampong Cham, Kampong Thom, Siem Reap, Takeo and Kampot provinces.

On 22 October, 2007, CEDAC organized the General Meeting of representatives from the Organic Rice Producer community at CEDAC's head office, Phnom Penh. 152 farmers from eight provinces of Cambodia participated in this workshop including 22 women, CEDAC staff, and journalists. The workshop objective was to reflect upon, and summarize community works for 2007, prepare a strategy for the National Federation of Organic Rice Producers for the year ahead, and establish the federation management structure. Since 2003, CEDAC has supported organic rice producer groups which have supplied only 10 tons of organic rice to the Phnom Penh market. To date, the federation has expanded its capacity to 434 communities with more than 3,600 active members and has supplied more than 1,300 tons of organic rice to the Phnom Penh market.

From October 23-24, 2007, CEDAC and Farmers and Nature Net (FNN), with funding support from Agriterra, organized a training course for local community representatives from nine provinces of Cambodia. Forty five local community representatives and seven members of CEDAC staff, including eighteen women, attended this training. The objective of the training was to share information and exchange experiences on Community Market and Community-based Business Center Development and Management. During the training, Dr. Yang Saing Koma, as the training coordinator and Mr. Tath Sok, offered participant an opportunity to practice their presentation skills in front of the class. The video camera captured participants' presentations which were later replayed for group reflection. At the end of the training some key results were evident. Local community representatives gained more ideas related to the techniques of a good facilitator and the importance of Community Market and Community-based Business Center Development for their local communities.

From October 25-26, 2007, CEDAC and Farmer and Nature Net (FNN), with funding support from Agriterra, organized a two day National Women’s Forum for Rural Women representatives at CEDAC's head office in Phnom Penh. 90 women from nine provinces of Cambodia, including representatives of the Women’s Commune Council, Provincial Women’s Department, AFDI, LVC, staff of NGOs, Young Graduate students, and CEDAC staff members attended this forum. The objective of the forum was to share experiences of support to women’s groups to improve the living conditions of women farmers in rural areas and also to discuss an effective strategy to establish the Rural Women National Network and the election. As a result, the Rural Women National Network was established. The network consists of 15 members of the governing board and 5 members of the interim committee.

Learning from the findings of CEDAC’s internal evaluation in 2006/07, CEDAC’s beneficiaries have greatly improved their household incomes from agriculture, namely, increased incomes from rice harvest, chicken raising and vegetable growing. However, CEDAC has also learned that the incomes obtained are still considerably different among SRI-Users and Non-SRI-Users. To understand the reason of adoption and non-adoption of SRI, CEDAC has searched for funding support to conduct an in-depth assessment. Oxfam America is interested in supporting this initiative and providing funding to conduct this study. The study will commence in early November 2007. It is expected that the results of this study will be found and available at the end of February 2008. Then, CEDAC plans to conduct a public seminar to share the results and findings of this study during March 2008.

From October 17-18, 2007, CEDAC in Cooperation with Oxfam America, organized a two day General Meeting for Saving Group Animators (SGAs) at Cambodia-Japan Cooperation Center (CJCC), Phnom Penh. Participants in this meeting included 348 SGAs from eleven provinces of Cambodia; 98 women, 29 Rural Development Trainees (RDTs) and 40 CEDAC staff.
The objective of the meeting was to offer an opportunity for SGAs to increase their knowledge and learning, to share the experiences related to the coordination of community saving group with each other, to set a strategy to support SGAs, and to set a shared vision for the work of SGAs. To date, CEDAC has supported 2,420 saving groups which include 36,000 active members in eleven provinces of Cambodia.

On 17-19 September 2007, CEDAC hosted the Swedish Environmental Secretariat for Asia, or Swedish Chemical Inspectorate (SENSA/KemI) project Partners Meeting. Sixteen participants including six women from six different countries including Cambodia, China (Yunnan), Germany, Japan, Malaysia, USA and Vietnam attended this meeting.Read More

From 25-26 October 2007, CEDAC and Farmers and Nature Net (FNN), with funding support from Agriterra, are conducting the National Forum on Women Farmers. Eighty four participants, including women farmer representatives, Government, NGOs, FNN, and CEDAC staff are expected to attend this forum. The objectives of the forum are to share working experiences related to CEDAC’s support for the improvement of rural women farmers, to choose women farmer representatives from the National Women’s Farmer Network, and to discuss issues relating to the National Women’s Farmer Network Creation Strategy.

In early 2007, CEDAC conducted the internal evaluation of its Development Program in order to measure the impact of CEDAC’s Development Program upon the improvement of the rural livelihoods of its beneficiaries. 2,304 farmer families were randomly selected, and subsequently interviewed. As a result, we know that CEDAC’s Development Program has contributed significantly to poverty reduction in rural Cambodia. Farmer families have increased their agricultural incomes from 1,690,000 riel per household in the year before the project operation, to 2,218,000 riel per household in 2006/07 (an increase of approximately 528,000 riel; or around US$ 130, on average). The study also found that poor and poorest households have largely benefited from CEDAC’s Development Program. Read More...

On September 19, 2007, CEDAC and Farmers and Nature Net (FNN), with funding support from Agriterra, organized a training course for local community representatives from nine different provinces of Cambodia Forty five local community representatives and seven members of CEDAC staff, including eighteen women attended this training. The objective of the training was to share information and exchange experiences on Community Marketing and Community-based Business Center Development and Management.

From 17 September to 03 October 2007, CEDAC will conduct an exchange visit to France for the leaders of Cambodian farmers and local authorities in the framework of CEDAC/FNN and AFDI collaboration for the year 2007. It is the 7th mission organized by CEDAC under the facilitation of Mr. Prak Sereyvath, Managing Director of CEDAC, inviting Cambodian farmer leaders to France since 2003. For this mission, Mr. Uon Sophal (chief of provincial network of farmer associations in Kampot province); Mr. Mao Eang Governor of Baphnom district, Prey Veng province and Mr. Nou Kathul, former commune council member were invited to participate. The purpose of the visit is to gain experiences from France in the thematic of farmer leaders’ capacity building program and to strengthen relationships between farmer organizations, local authorities and agro-ecotourism.

From 27 August to 06 September 2007, CEDAC hosted a delegation from the French Agricultural Cooperative in the framework of CEDAC/FNN and AFDI collaboration. The mission was undertaken by Mrs. Gilles Cottebrune; Bertrand Venet and Marc Gandon, leaders of 3 different agricultural cooperatives and a farmer union. Mr. Prak Sereyvath, Managing Director of CEDAC facilitated this delegation.
The purpose of the mission was to discover the real situation regarding the Cambodian Farmer Organization, especially farmer cooperatives, and to facilitate a sharing of French experiences with them. For this purpose, the delegation visited different farmer associations and cooperatives in Prey Veng, Takeo, Kampong Speu, Kampot, Kampong Cham, Kapong Thom and Siem Reap provinces. Furthermore, this delegation was invited to be guest speakers at a conference on “Job Employment Opportunities for Rural Youth” organized by CEDAC, in Siem Reap province.

From September 03 to 12, 2007, Ms Oem Sarann, a women peasant leader, and member of the Farmer and Nature Net (FNN) in Perk Bang Orng village, Trapaingthom Khangchoeung commune, Tramkak district, Takeo province, and Ms Kong Sokchhoin, a CEDAC staff member joined the International Forum on Seed in Seoul, South Korea.
The forum was organized by Korean Woman Peasant Association (KWPA) and funded by La Via Campesina (LVC), International Farmers Movement. All participants were women who came from eight countries throughout Asia.
The purpose of the forum was to offer an opportunity for woman peasants from Asian Countries to share their own experiences on seeds, local seed protection, and to realize seed and food sovereignty. During the forum, films on farmers’ struggle against WTO in Hong Kong, and other issues related to seed and food sovereignty were shown. There was also a local seed exchange between the participants of each country

From August 29-30, 2007, CEDAC and Farmers and Nature Net (FNN), with funding support from Agriterra and Afd organized a two day workshop on "Job Employment Opportunities for Rural Youth" at Southeast Asia University, Siem Reap province. 119 people, including 71 representatives of rural youths and young farmers attended this workshop. Other participants in this workshop included 23 members of the FNN committees, 10 people from CEDAC, four representatives of NGOs and 3 representatives of AFDI. The objective of the workshop was to review the experiences and impact of CEDAC’s Rural Youth and Young Farmers’ support program as well as to inform the process of CEDAC’s future plans.

On 13-14 August 2007, Mr. Suon Seng, CEDAC’s R&D Director was invited as a keynote speaker to share his experiences on “ The M&E Systems and Practices in CEDAC” at the National Seminar on Indicators for Monitoring and Evaluation of Agriculture and Rural Development Programmes. The seminar was jointly organized by FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), World Bank (WB) and MoP (Ministry of Planning) at the Golden Sea Hotel, Sihanouk Ville, Cambodia. The seminar aims to develop the conceptual framework for M&E in Agriculture and Rural Development at the national level. The preliminary findings on the existing M&E systems and practices were presented by national consultants and validated by the inputs of the seminar.

Dr Yang Saing Koma, President of CEDAC, was interviewed by Voice of Democracy on the outbreak of brown plant hopper (BPH) in some parts of Cambodia. The interview was aired on Tuesday, 21st August 2007 from 18:45 to 19:00. During the interview, CEDAC urged farmers to take collective action to control BPH outbreaks and not to use pesticides because that practice is not helpful in controlling this outbreak. He also suggested that the government and local authorities take action to protect frogs as this will help to prevent and control these pests (BPH). The government and local authorities should formulate a long-term strategy to prevent further outbreak occurring in the next season.

From August 13 to 14, 2007, CEDAC organized two days of training for the farmer-trainers of Farmer Organization from nine different provinces of Cambodia. Thirty six farmer-trainers including eight women were invited to participate in this training. The objective of this training was to reinforce the training capacity of farmer-trainers to train others and to increase their understanding regarding 'Community-based Business'. Read more...

From July 18 to 30, 2007, a group of three musicians from Baphnom High School's Traditional Music Group in Prey Veng province, Cambodia and four artisans from Future Light Orphanage, coordinated by Mr. Heang Suo Soravorn, CEDAC's staff, joined the 34th Folklore Festival in Gannat, France.
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CEDAC is presently organizing the celebration of its 10 Year Anniversary to be held on 1st August 2007 at Chenla Center, Phnom Penh. Around 900 people, including CEDAC staff, farmers, local authorities, government officers and representatives of development partners are expected to attend this ceremony. During the ceremony prizes will be awarded to both Best Farmers and Best Villages.
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23rd July, CEDAC signed an agreement with CIVES MUNDI, a Spanish NGO on the execution of a rural development project in Steung Treng province. This project aims to contribute to increased food production and income as well as improved social conditions for 600 subsistence rice farmer families (3,000 people) in 15 villages through agricultural intensification and diversification, sustainable use and management of natural resources, community led marketing and saving and farmer organizations and networks.

During April 09 to 18, 2007, CEDAC hosted a visit for the Myanmar delegation; the GRET project in Myanmar. The main objective of the visit was to study how CEDAC was to implement its development projects and to manage its organization as well as to study how CEDAC projects impact upon rural people. During the mission, the delegation team (Dr. Salgarolo Patrice, Dr. Dr Htet Kyu, Mr. U Hla Min, Mr. Pierre Ferrand and Mr. Soe Min Oo) visited two of CEDAC’s projects, ILFARM-TK and SCIRIP where they were able to learn about farmer organizations, saving for self-reliance, multi-purpose farms, ecological chicken raising and vegetable gardening. The Myanmar delegation expects that from this visit they will form a LNGO in Myanmar to provide technical development services to their people in Myanmar.

As of March 2007, CEDAC has been active in supporting about 60,000 farmer families in 1,786 villages (about 13% of villages in Cambodia) of 15 provinces in Cambodia. Around 1,060 village-based farmer associations with 28,095 members were established with support from CEDAC. These associations are linked together under the umbrella of the Farmer and Nature Net. In addition, there are around 2,024 ‘village-based saving groups with 30,000 members’ and 204 ‘village-based, organic rice producer groups’ that are now operating under the technical assistance and capacity building support from CEDAC.

On 19th Feburary, Dr Yang Saing Koma, CEDAC President attended the inauguration of the Farmer Resource Center in Boeng Tranh Khang Tbong Commune, Samrong District, Takeo Province. The center was set up under facilitation support from CEDAC with funding contributions from Danida IPM and the community.

On 19th February 2007, H.E. Mr. Fumiaki TAKAHASHI, the Ambassdor of Japan to Cambodia visited farmers in Tipat Village, Cheang Torng Commune, Tramkok District, Kandal province. The visit focused on understanding more about the rural development activities of CEDAC and JICA in supporting farmer organizations and System of Rice Intensification.

With the support from JICA, CEDAC and cooperating farmers in Tramkok organized a one day General Meeting of cooperating farmers for the project “Improving Livelihoods of Small Farmers in Tramkok” on 14th March 2007. The meeting focused on sharing the progress and experiences of agricultural development activities in Tramkok district. Around 1700 farmers attended this event, which also included an agriculture trade fair. The Minister of Agriculture, H.E Chan Sarun, presided over the opening ceremony. His speech focused on encouraging farmers to adopt organic agriculture and working together by forming self-help groups, associations and cooperatives. He also promised to support the process of official registration of farmer cooperatives at the Ministry of Agriculture.

From 4th to 12th February CEDAC president, Dr Yang Saing Koma led the first “Cycling for Change” tour around the Tonle Sap in order to raise public awareness on current environmental issues which are affecting the sustainability and effective functioning of Tonle Sap Lake. The cyclist team also took this opportunity to learn more about the current local, environmental and social issues from the local people. The cyclist team consisted of 22 Cambodians who are currently working with various organizations. The total cycling distance covered was 810 km. During the cycling tour, the team was able to meet about 8,000 students from 13 schools and one university and 1,000 villagers from 32 villages.

Since February 1998, CEDAC has conducted a program called “Young Graduate or Apprentice program” on the topic of Agriculture and Rural Development in order to provide the new graduate with an opportunity to learn more through actual practice; the method by which they can be really transformed into a rural development professional. The objective of the course is to provide important knowledge, skills, and new techniques as well as experiences in field practice; in particular, they will be taught the significant behavior for carrying out agriculture and rural development and community development projects effectively and sustainable. Up to December 2006 there are 13 groups equal to 139 young graduates who have been trained and have completed their study. Among them, there are around 70% who work at CEDAC. In January 2007, the new group of young graduates was selected (YG 14). There are 15 people who have been selected among 120 applicants. The course commenced on January 15, 2007 and it will finish at end of July 2007.

On 10th January 2007, the US ambassador to Cambodia, Mr. Joseph Musomeli, the country director of USAID, the country representative of PACT Cambodia and his colleagues spent a half day field visit in two targeted communes of LAAR program which is executed by CEDAC in Tramkak and Samroang District, Takeo Province. The main objective of this visit focused on learning about the project activities of Local Administration and Reform program (LAAR), in particular, to observe how council works with CBOs to address problems in their communes.

• Final Report-SRI Adoptation Study (July 2008)
• SRI prize 2007 report
• Proposed Strategies to Utilize the Potential of Rice Production in Cambodia
• SRI report 2000-2007
• Impact Assessment of CEDAC’s Rural Development Program