Situational analysis

 Note: Excerpted from DPA Strategic Plan 2022-2026, where most fit to ICDP 

 Natural resource management (NRM) – Cambodia’s Natural Resource Management (NRM) Law emphasized that Natural Resources of the Kingdom of Cambodia shall be preserved, developed and managed to use in a rational and sustainable manner. Currently, the natural resources are being declined rapidly and are under constant threat from illegal practices in term of logging and fishing, and forestland encroachment.

Equitable access to natural resources is especially important for our target indigenous communities in order to help build their resilience in the face of poverty, food insecurity and natural disasters. The protected natural resources provide a range of benefits: sustaining the livelihoods and increasing the productivity of agricultural activities and incomes of the target indigenous communities; and, conserving the environment and biodiversity and IP’s identity and culture. In addition, the governance of natural resources contributes more substantially to economic growth and an increase in public revenues

Note: Excerpted from DPA Strategic Plan 2022-2026, where most fit to ICDP 

 Food Security and Financial Sustainability (FS&FS) – Being food secure and having the financial resources to meet household needs on a sustainable basis is a basic human right.  As DPA works largely with rural communities, agriculture is one the most important sources of their food and income.  Agriculture is also one of the most important sectors for national economic development in terms of its contribution GDP (23% in 2020) as well as providing employment for over 60% of the population.

However, agriculture producers in Cambodia face a number of challenges.  Significant among these challenges is the lack of irrigation facilities to support farmers who, due to climate change, can no longer depend on rainfall in the rainy season and cannot extend the growing season due to lack of water.  Marketing of agriculture produce is another area where farmers face serious challenges.  Although the Royal Government of Cambodia strives to identify export markets, many farmers can’t meet the requirements of overseas clients; low technical capacity combined with lack of resources to acquire quality inputs constrains the quantity and quality of agriculture production.Agriculture production in many communities stagnates through out-dated technology and lack of market awareness; there is a need to change farming attitudes and practices (especially of small-holder farmers) to a more market-based/business approach in order to enable them to take full advantage of export (and in-country) demand for their products.

Climate change referred to above is of particular challenge to small-holder farmers and their communities as a whole. This is due to lack of awareness of climate-resistant agriculture techniques and low levels of preparedness in the face of drought, floods or other natural disasters. Increasing the resilience of these communities to cope with shocks such as these will ensure reduced loss of produce or other assets from the impacts of disasters.  DPA will promote agro-ecology with target communities as one strategy to support sustainable agriculture income while at the same time reducing additional environmental impacts.

Hindering community capacity to achieve financial sustainability is the burden of debt that has built up over the last few years.  The debt is partly the result of borrowings to recover from disasters caused by climate change but rates of borrowing have been fuelled by competition between micro-finance institutions who compete with each other for clients and give loans without proper vetting the capacity of borrowers to repay.  Low interest-rate loans for agriculture purpose can be obtained but are rarely granted to small-holder farmers.