Agricultural extension policy in Cambodia.

In order to modernize Cambodia’s agriculture by increasing value added in the sector and promoting agricultural value chain responsiveness to market demand and regional and global competition, the royal government of Cambodia has elaborated the present agricultural extension policy in 2015. It is a multisectoral policy that aims to increase the effectiveness of agricultural extension services delivery to improve the livelihoods and well-being of the Cambodian people.The policy presents the following goal: all Cambodian farmers and farming communities will access and adopt improved agricultural knowledge, information, and technologies to enhance agricultural productivity, diversification, commercialization, and sustainable natural resources management.Efforts toward meeting the following objectives will contribute to achieving the vision and goal of the Agricultural Extension Policy.Broad objectives are: (i) to improve effectiveness of agricultural extension institutions and systems at all levels of effective operation, cooperation, and coordination, and strengthen linkages among all the stakeholders; (ii) to improve human resource capacity and capability in delivering extension services in response to local needs and market demand; (iii) to research and develop appropriate technologies and make them available, accessible, and applicable to farmers; (iv) to develop extension materials and promote effective access to and use of agricultural knowledge, information, and technologies; (v) to effectively deliver extension services to improve decision-making among farmers and farming communities for increasing agricultural productivity, diversification, commercialization, and income generation.In order to make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable, the policy plans to conduct agricultural research and technology development on: (i) rice, field crops, horticulture (fruits, vegetables, and ornamentals), and industrial crop production; (ii) rubber production; (iii) animal health and production; (iv) aquaculture and fisheries, (v) forestry; (vi) adaptation to climate change; (vii) agricultural marketing and new market opportunities; (viii) postharvest handling and processing; (ix) quality and safety of agricultural products and food safety.Regarding the reduction of rural poverty, the policy will address the gender issues in agricultural development by: (i) recruiting and training female extension workers; (ii) developing gender-sensitive technologies; (iii) analyze farmers' socioeconomic and agro-ecological conditions, opportunities, and constraints, then address the problems and constraints.To enable inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems, agricultural extension content and messages will be demand-driven. Within the framework of broad messages identified above, content will include information about the following specific topics: product quality and safety, price (including value-added/premium price and stable price through contract farming and standards provided by fair and decent contracts), cropping calendar, production techniques, product appearance, client preferences, market trends, farm economic analysis, supporting services (private sector, civil society, public sector).To increase the resilience of livelihoods to disasters, extension programs will mainstream environment- and natural resources-related issues as well as health issues in extension messages by imparting knowledge on: (i) best practices for watershed management, soil and water conservation, and agroforestry; (ii) safe and responsible use and disposal of waste, unused substances, and agrochemicals that have negative impacts on human and animal health; (iii) proper management of farming-related waste (from crops and animals) to maximize its use and minimize negative effects on the environment and climate change processes.In the context of governance, the implementation of this policy shall be coordinated by the Agricultural Extension Advisory Committee under the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), which also will spearhead preparation of its implementation framework and funding of the strategies for implementing this policy.