Cambodia

Achievements

Key indicators and performance for 2009-2010

Indicator: At least three CAVAC-program-defined research initiatives established to address critical constraints in rice-based farming systems in Takeo, Kampot and Kampong Thom provinces

Performance: A research initiative on water management issues in target provinces has been established, and two new research projects on improvements in rice establishment and productivity are operational.

A project on improved irrigation water management to increase crop productivity in Cambodia has been through development Phase 1 and is currently under Phase 2 development for implementation during 2010–11.

Indicator: Initial farmer field schools established under CAVAC in three provinces, with farmers trained and improved knowledge and skills applied, resulting in improved rice and vegetable productivity, market linkages and incomes

Performance: Farmer field schools were established for training and improving knowledge in increasing vegetable productivity, and similar schools on rice establishment and productivity will be a feature of a new project.

Indicator: Significant increase in cattle production demonstrated in at least 100 households that have adopted recommended systems for improved feeding, management and health in areas where cattle feed is severely limited by flooding during the rainy season

Performance: The number of adopting farmers exceeds 200, through the efforts of two ongoing projects on improving feeding systems for more-efficient beef cattle production in Cambodia and best practice health and husbandry of cattle.

Indicator: Disease surveys completed to determine the occurrence and economic importance of bacterial wilt in vegetables in Kandal province, and a manual developed to allow staff to perform disease diagnostic tests

Performance: In order to provide training in the identification of bacterial wilt symptoms and its cause, three surveys were conducted within Kandal province in 2008. Although the disease was not identified, continued monitoring within the province and the widening of surveys to other production areas was recommended.

A simple and effective identification system was successfully implemented, using the procedures of a laboratory manual and associated protocols to independently isolate and identify disease in plants and vegetables.

Pathogenicity tests were also undertaken to show due cause. These results allowed appropriate management advice for control and prevention of further infection.

Indicator: Biophysical and policy constraints to and opportunities for climate adaptation assessed at the farm level, and efficacy of agrometeorological and extension services in the context of climate change adaptation in Cambodia assessed

Performance:Constraints to and opportunities for climate adaptation at the farm level were assessed, including the country-specific aspects to climate change adaptation, and documented in the final project report of LWR/2008/015.

The efficacy of agrometeorological and extension services in the context of climate change adaptation in Cambodia has been assessed in a small research activity, and plans have been made in a national workshop for the assessment at farm level of biophysical and policy constraints to, and opportunities for adaptation once the main project is operational.

Achievements from the 2009-10 Annual Report

While most farmers in Cambodia keep cattle for draught purposes and wealth accumulation, some can see the potential of cattle production as a source of income. But providing feed for cattle is a major challenge for 8 months of the year, and this problem is compounded by labour demands (up to 8 hours daily) associated with feeding cattle. A project is helping to increase cattle productivity of smallholder farmers in Cambodia by improving feed availability and quality throughout the year and reducing the labour requirements associated with feeding cattle. It capitalises on the recent introduction of improved forages and fodder banks to Kampong Cham by CIAT.

The adoption of forages for feeding to cattle has exceeded expectations. Forages have been adopted in seven provinces beyond the initial focus of the project. The most common reason cited by farmers for choosing to adopt forages is ‘time saving’. Project scientists estimate that the average time saving is 2 hours/day and can be up to 8 hours/day. This has potentially profound social and community impacts, since fathers and children take responsibility for cattle feeding. This time saving therefore presents opportunity for increasing off-farm income and improving educational outcomes for school children through increased time spent studying rather than feeding cattle.

Data generated from on-farm validation of recommended feeding practices indicate that the feeding interventions double the value of cattle (from US$200/head to US$400/head) following a 4-month forage feeding period. In addition, the demand for these cattle, as a consequence of improved body condition, is significantly greater than for cattle not tended with the recommended feeding practices.

Project partners CARE and Heifer International have both identified the introduction of forages for feeding to cattle as priority activities, and have recommenced activities with ACIAR’s project. Cooperation with other ACIAR-funded projects has been critical to the success of this project and, in particular, for driving the adoption of forages to provinces beyond the initial scope of this project.

A project to understand livestock movements in the Greater Mekong subregion is fundamental in developing a regional strategy to control foot-and-mouth disease in South-East Asia. Outbreaks in South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan, all of which featured a South-East Asian strain of the virus, have emphasised the importance to Australia of continuing to support disease control programs in the region in order to reduce the biosecurity threat posed by its northern neighbours.

Major data collection activities were completed in Cambodia and Laos at the end of 2009. Followup efforts to obtain missing livestock movement records and livestock price data from various Cambodian and Lao provinces, and analysis of these data, will proceed throughout 2010 to determine if market prices are clearly predictive of animal movements.

The effort to work with traders has been a outstanding success, generating valuable descriptions of trade routes and volumes, trader networks and trading practices within Cambodia and Laos. The development and delivery of trader education in various formats will be trialled during 2010 and 2011 as a means of reducing disease spread. It is hoped that a better understanding of disease behaviour may discourage some of the high-risk trading practices that were identified during interviews with the livestock traders. The ongoing contact with Cambodian and Lao trader networks that will be provided by the project’s trader education activity is also intended to increase the opportunity for the Cambodian and Lao governments to consult with this important stakeholder group when developing policy and protocols associated with the livestock trade.

A risk pathway workshop was co-hosted by the project at the 8th Meeting of the Lower Mekong Working Group in November 2009. This workshop built on information collected from traders about trade routes, trading practices and trader networks. Important risk pathways have consequently been identified, together with ‘critical points’ along those pathways where disease reduction interventions might be attempted.

Increasing the range of crops grown under rainfed lowland conditions by promoting non-rice crop technologies that provide efficient water use and high financial return to the growers is the major focus of a project. This aim is being achieved by adding a non-rice crop after the main wet season rice crop. The key research issue is water—how to select the appropriate soil and water environment in the wet season for the follow-on non-rice crop (particularly peanut, soybean and mung bean) and how to ensure adequate water for the crop. The intended target group of the project is smallscale lowland rice farmers with favourable on-farm water availability. Limited amounts of water may be available from underground or on-farm ponds as supplementary irrigation to non-rice crops. Assessment of cropping risks and economic evaluation of new technologies are two key aspects of the project.

In the first year (2007–08 dry season) the project team identified that Prey Khmer soil was most suitable for legume crops after rice in lowlands, followed by Prateah Lang soil, which is the most common soil type in the lowlands of Cambodia. The team also found that peanut was the most suitable crop in terms of vigour and yield, followed by mung bean, among the three crops examined. The team also noted a number of constraints for achieving high legume yield, including: adverse effects of low soil fertility; requirements of furrow and bed planting for some soils; potentially large impacts of insect pests and diseases; and difficulty in providing a sufficient amount of irrigation water to maintain optimum crop growth.

Some of these issues are strongly connected to labour availability and cost of appropriate field maintenance. The team capitalised on these observations in developing a series of experiments that were conducted in the 2008–09 dry season to determine the best options for legume growing in terms of irrigation water requirement, effect of mulch, time of planting, and use of fertiliser and soil amendment. The project also maintained two model farms that had been developed in the first year with farmer owners—one in Kampong Thom and the other in Takeo—and developed an economic analysis of model farm activities. A cost–benefit analysis of legume cropping after rice in lowlands was also undertaken. The analysis clearly indicated the adverse effect of labour cost on profitability of growing legume crops, particularly for watering by hand, which is common in the area.

From the results of experiments and economic analysis, the team has developed the bestbet technologies for growing mung bean and peanut crops. In the 2009–10 dry season 20 demonstration farms have grown these two crops as well as tomatoes using the best-bet technologies. Anecdotal evidence suggests that some of the farmers are producing very good crops of mung bean and peanut. The team also had a field day at Takeo, where some 100 people (mostly farmers) came to inspect the model farm experiments on irrigation frequency and mulch levels and see demonstrations of drill-planted legumes. Some commune chiefs were also invited from other areas and they showed strong interest in participating in the project in the future.

Studies of bananas have moved from focusing on disease management to integrated farming. Scientists are evaluating soil areas where bananas avoid disease, having found positive differences where bananas are grown in certain soils. Further investigations are trying to determine the exclusive qualities of what the scientists have termed ‘suppressive’ soils.