Cambodia
The New Zealand Aid Programme provides support to Cambodia through the Mekong Programme.
In Cambodia, New Zealand Aid Programme activities focus on promoting sustainable economic development through agribusiness and community livelihoods and developing human resource capacity through scholarships and English language training.
Sustainable economic development
The Cambodia Agribusiness Development Facility (CADF) supports the development of horticulture (vegetables) and livestock (swine) value chains in Siem Reap and Banteay Meanchey provinces through business and technical support to growers and other stakeholders.
The New Zealand Aid Programme has been supporting CADF since 2004 with funding of NZ$1.68m for Phase I. CADF Phase II commenced in July 2010 and will conclude in June 2013 with a total budget of approximately NZ1.75m. The project aims to increase profits of smallholder commercial farmers through strengthening the vegetable and swine value chains in Siem Reap and Banteay Meanchey provinces. Based on a successful approach used by iDE, CADF is establishing a Farm Business Advisor in each commune to assist farmers to improve, intensify and expand market orientated agricultural production. The project works with and supports value chain actors in vegetable and swine value chains, ie farmers, input suppliers, retailers, traders, Community Councils etc to support the development of vegetable and swine value chains.
To date, project outcomes have been well perceived with support from the private sector and relevant government authorities. Two CADF clients won national awards including an artificial insemination service provider in Siem Reap province who won a gold medal for good practice of animal raising from Prime Minister Hun Sen in February 2010 and a CADF vegetable demonstration farmer in Bantea Meachey winning the first Leading Farmer Award 2011 presented by the Cambodia Ministry of Agriculture in February 2011. New Zealand expertise has been provided through the recent recruitment of an agronomist expert.
The Agricultural Value Chain Strengthening in Landmine Affected Areas of Cambodia (AVAiL) project aims to reduce vulnerability and improve income and livelihood opportunities for the rural poor of Otdar Meanchey Province through integrated demining and agricultural value chain strengthening. This three year (2012-2014) project was signed in January 2012 with a budget of US$2.5m. The project will replicated CADF's success through vegetable and swine value chain development approach in landmine affected areas in Otdar Meanchey. Primary focus is on the vegetable and swine value chains with a secondary focus on grains, beans and cassava. The project will train 1,500 vegetable and pig farmers, provide access to credit to 400 producers and leave behind 40 franchised private sector Farm Business advisors to foster sustainability.
iDE is the implementing partner responsible for the agricultual value chain component. The HALO Trust Cambodia is sub-contracted to clear 140 hectares of agricultural land. The project will collaborate with the Provincial Department of Agriculture and the Cambodian Mine Action Authority and others in the sector including ZOA and French Red Cross.
The project has engaged an agronomist and a micro-credit expert from New Zealand. The activity has identified four medium-term outcomes to be achieved by the end of the project:
- increased vegetable production;
- increased pig production;
- increased smallholder incomes and
- fewer casualties on landmine-affected farmland.
The Angkor Participatory Natural Resource Management and Livelihoods project (APNRML) Phase II aims to reduce poverty, safeguard and protect the world heritage stature and natural environment of Angkor Park and its communities through sustainable economic development.
Angkor Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a major tourist attraction in Cambodia. New Zealand is providing support to the Authority for Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap (APSARA) which is the government agency responsible for managing the Angkor Heritage Park through the APNRML project with the goal of assisting park communities to increase their livelihood opportunites from natural resources and tourism in a sustainable manner. Following a successful six month pilot in 2009, Phase II commenced in September 2010 with facilitation provided by Live + Learn, an international education and environmental NGO with a budget of NZ$1.5m. Live + Learn has experience in tourism and sustainable livelihoods and won an international tender for the project. The project has three components:
- Capacity Development (Community and APSARA);
- Participatory Natural Resource Management and
- Monitoring and Evaluation. A baseline study of 255 families in the target villages identified food security, the development of other livelihood activities, access to water and energy and the need to improve the relationship with APSARA as community priorities for the project.
Human resource development
The New Zealand-ASEAN Scholars' awards is a regional scholarships initiative providing post-graduate awards for courses of study relevant to agreed sector interests. A nominal allocation of 30 scholarships per annum has been assigned to Cambodia.
The English Language Training for Officials (ELTO) programme aims to improve the English language capacity of government officials from Cambodia, the Lao PDR, Mongolia, Myanmar, Timor Leste and Viet Nam. There are two ELTO intakes per annum of up to 34 officials. They come to New Zealand for 22 weeks to study English, with a special theme for each intake.
After a successful 2011 pilot programme, the English Language Training for Senior officials (ELTSO) Programme has become an annual event. Each year, 17 Senior officials from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam come to New Zealand for eight weeks to study English. It is expected that in addition to learning English, the senior officials will have opportunities to establish long lasting linages with New Zealanders and New Zealand counterparts.
Cambodia also benefits from New Zealand Aid Programme support to regional activities in the Greater Mekong Sub-region such as the Mekong Institute, the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP) and the Mekong River Commission.
