Supported by: Aide au Développement Gembloux (ADG); Cambodian Women for Peace and Development (CWPD)
Location: Cambodia
Fact sheet: Not available
Peri-Urban Agriculture Center was established in July 2001, with the supports from a Belgium NGO Aide au Développement Gembloux (ADG) in partnership with a local NGO “Cambodian Women for Peace and Development (CWPD). The purpose of PUAC establishment was to ensure farmers’ access to technical knowledge and know-how on production of chemical-free and high value vegetables, and to link producers to markets.
PUAC is located in Chamkar Daung Village, Chbar Mon Commune, Chbar Mon City, Kampong Speu province, about 50 Km from Phnom Penh. It extends on about 2.5 ha of land. PUAC was registered as Agricultural Cooperative in April 2009, and changed its name to Peri-Urban Agriculture Cooperative by maintaining its initial acronym. The cooperative is operated by a group of 70 vegetable producers from 10 villages, 6 communes and 2 districts (Chbar Mon and Samroang Toang) of Kampong Speu, and employs three salaried staffers. The services of PUAC to its members include technical trainings on vegetable production, supply of inputs and purchase of farm produces).
PUAC and its members produce and supply ten different types of lettuces (romaine, red romaine, iceberg, green butter head, red butter head, lollo rossa, frisee, oak leaf, batavia and red batavia), and fruit vegetables (cherry tomato, tomato, eggplant, long eggplant, lady fingers, Khmer cucumber and Japanese cucumber). Currently PUAC has contract with Japan Farm Products, a wholesaler and distributer of chemical-free vegetables to restaurants and supermarkets in Phnom Penh, to supply about 200-300kg of vegetable three times a week. PUAC also supplies its products to Khmer Farmer Garden, and two wet markets in Phnom Penh, as well as a wet market in Kampong Speu province. The quantity of supply to these markets is less than 100 kg each time (three times a week) as they need to ensure the sufficient supply to Japan Farm Products first. On average, the turnover is about 2,000 USD a month, but in December, January and December, the turn-over is up to 3,000 USD.
Members of PUAC are very experienced in agrocological farming practices. Only organic inputs (liquid and solid compost) are applied to vegetables. Unlike farmers with conventional practices, PUAC members are not worry about the market and price for their produces. PUAC members can make a decent living from their vegetable production. Despite concrete benefits provided to its members, PUAC is in financial struggle to operate as its members could not produce sufficient amount of vegetables to allow the cooperative to generate enough revenue for the operations. To ensure its financial viability, the cooperative needs 300 kg of vegetables three times a week or about one tonne a week. In the cold season, this target can be easily met, however, in the hot season, especially in May and June where the vegetables are grown in the previous months of April and May, vegetable yields are not good, and thus they are in short supply to the markets.