Cambodia Agricultural Value Chain Program (CAVAC)

ACIAR is managing the Research and Extension component of the new 5 year, $ 42 million Cambodia Agricultural Value Chain Program (CAVAC), which is anticipated to commence in early 2009. CAVAC’s goal is to accelerate growth in the value of agricultural production and smallholder incomes in selected provinces (Kampong Thom, Takeo and Kampot) through improved productivity of rice-based farming systems.

Under CAVAC’s Research and Extension component, co-funded by AusAID and ACIAR, will:

• Fund and manage programs of priority research activities that address constraints in selected value chains
• Implement a farmer extension program among participating water user and agribusiness groups
• Enhance the capacity of extension providers to transfer improved technologies and information to farmers
• Develop and implement a partnership program linking researchers, extensionists, farmers and agribusiness
• Assist in sustaining the operational capacity of the Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute.

ACIAR-managed work will integrate with other CAVAC components to start in mid-2009 that address agribusiness development, water management and irrigation and the business enabling environment.

More effective and needs focused research and extension is essential to overcome problems that arise and ensure that farmers have the best available information on which to base their management and cropping decisions. This intermediate outcome will specifically contribute to both productivity and competitiveness through innovative and participatory multi-partner integrated approaches. The research and extension activities described below will be implemented in a coordinated and integrated manner that facilitates a two-way exchange of knowledge between farmers, extensionists, agribusiness and researchers. This transfer is designed to achieve a sharper focus on real, highest priority problems by researchers, coupled with effective communication of R&D outcomes to intended end-users. There will be a strong operational linkage between this component, and CAVAC agribusiness and water management components.

Further details on the subcomponents follow.

CAVAC Research activities will be implemented under one of two arrangements.

‘Pool A’ small projects competitively selected through annual funding rounds following established Cambodia Agricultural Research Fund (CARF) procedures. The majority of 'Pool A' funding will target and benefit CAVAC targeted value chains in the three provinces. The range of activities funded will potentially involve a wide range of research providers, including government, NGOs and industry organisations. Funded activities are expected to be strongly market-oriented; and to be designed to produce results that are ready for adoption. Activities will typically be implemented over a 1-3 year period.

The Cambodian Agricultural Research Fund commenced in 1992 and has been jointly-funded by ACIAR and AusAID since that time. Details of the past and current projects are available here.

Summaries from each round of submissions are available below:

• Round 1 CARF summary
• Round 2 CARF summary
• Round 3 CARF summary
• Round 4 CARF summary
• Round 5 CARF summary
• Round 6 CARF summary
• Round 7 CARF summary

‘Pool B’ large projects are larger, more complex research projects designed to address wider-ranging issues and areas in which international collaboration will benefit the Cambodian partners. Funded activities will also typically be longer-term in nature (2-5 years); and more expensive. These activities will generally be identified and commissioned by the Program, following priorities already established in the Cambodia Agricultural Research Master Plan as well as other priorities identified by CAVAC / ACIAR and other Cambodian stakeholders. Given the relatively long gestation period of most research activities, it will be important to anticipate research needs associated with value chains that might come under the Program at a later date (e.g. other crops, livestock and possibly aquaculture) and to initiate these activities as early as possible. Detailed research proposals will be developed by the Program in conjunction with stakeholders (public and private sector) involved in the extension, irrigation and agribusiness components. All activities are designed not only to produce research results that address key constraints associated with target value chains but to build local research capacity.

The Program will provide limited additional budgetary support to CARDI to sustain its core research capacity in rice-based farming systems. This support will be used to supplement recurrent operating costs. The Program will also support CARDI to undertake an audit of its research and administration functions identifying options for further cost savings and income generation; develop an operational revenue and expenditure plan; and assist the Royal Government of Cambodia to develop a plan to sustain research capacity in rice-based farming systems.

The extension program will be working to improve the capacity of farmers to engage in and benefit from improvements in the target value chains.

Farmer Field Schools (FFS) will initially be the main extension method supported by the Program, supplemented with field days and field demonstrations to aid lateral spread to other farmers. After the first year, this may be extended to other extension methods (particularly those that involve farmer-to-farmer training). FFSs will be offered to water user groups operating under the CAVAC water management component. For irrigation scheme rehabilitation activities, active participation in FFSs will in fact be a precondition to investment by the Program in rehabilitation activities. FFSs will also be offered to those farmer groups working with CAVAC supported agribusiness, but who are located outside of the CAVAC water management irrigation areas. Organisation of FFSs in all cases will emphasise working with an established and functional farmer organisation such as a water user committees, and/or production/ marketing group.

The objective with all FFSs will be to progressively transfer funding and management responsibilities to the farmer organisations concerned. This should be facilitated by the fact that all extension activities will have a clear focus on improving farmer incomes and therefore their capacity to contribute to the cost of these services. For each group, the Program will fully fund FFSs (and associated extension activities) during the first year, reducing (through provision of cash or in-kind resources such as labour and inputs) to 50-75% funding in the second year, subject to satisfactory prior performance. The group will be expected to be financially self-supporting (perhaps with assistance provided under the Commune Investment Plan) by the fourth year. Informed by the ongoing research and extension activities the Program will support the development and production of farmer extension materials that support extension activities under the Program.

CAVAC will support a comprehensive training program to develop a cadre of professional extension workers and farmer assistants capable of implementing a wide-ranging FFS-based extension program. This training will take place at two levels. Foundation training for professional extension workers will be conducted through a semi-permanent training venue to be established in each province, staffed by two master trainers selected from DAE/ PDAs. Trainees will be drawn from government, NGO and other private sector extension providers where these exist. The training curricula will cover participatory extension methodologies and skills, as well as more technical aspects of crop, livestock, soil and water management. Course duration is expected to be around 16 weeks, with 25 trainees per course and two courses per province per year. All professional extension workers who wish to become involved in CAVAC’s extension program will be required to complete this foundation training, which will be structured to incorporate a strong practical ‘learning by doing’ element. Refresher training courses will be conducted as required.

Farmer trainers (or village extension workers) will be trained to assist the professional extension workers organise and run FFSs at village-level. Approximately six farmer trainers will be trained for every professional extension worker trained, selected from the villages in which they will operate. Female as well as male farmer trainers will be selected. Training will be provided by an additional two master trainers, who will work together with the trained professional extension workers to provide on-the-job training in association with implementation of initial FFSs in each area. The master trainers will also provide follow-up supervision and support to the professional extension workers and farmer trainers as they proceed to organise and implement FFSs in their area.

A Partnership program linking researchers, extensionists, farmers and agribusiness will support a range of activities designed to increase interaction and information exchange between researchers, extensionists, farmers and agribusiness so that research activities are of increased and more immediate relevance to real needs, and adoption is facilitated by having end-users directly involved during the research process. Examples of such activities include:

• Direct involvement of extensionists, agribusiness and farmers in the identification of research priorities and development of research program proposals.
• Adoption of Action Research approaches, involving collaboration between researchers and other VC participants in execution of research activities. For example, use of participatory trials in farmers’ fields is generally practised as an indispensable part of most modern research-extension systems, but has fallen into general disuse in Cambodia.
  • Use of field days and field demonstrations to keep stakeholders informed on the progress of various research activities.
  • Participation of stakeholders in piloting promising research results (preliminary ‘roll-out’) to test the appropriateness of emerging recommendations.
  • Development of TIPs and related extension materials for distribution to public and private sector extension providers.
  • Participation in the development of curricula for FFSs implemented under the extension subcomponent.
  • Conduct of training-of-trainer activities for key extension staff.
  • Preparation of articles for communication via mass media (radio, TV, magazines).
  • Preparation of articles for publication in the Cambodian Journal of Agriculture.

  The Program will support follow-on activities of this nature, to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Where an activity develops beyond action research into a commercial venture, the Program will actively promote the establishment of a fee-for-service relationship between agribusiness and extension co-operators.