DanChurchAid
Cambodia
Farmer Field School
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DanChurchAid
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| Food on the table Farmer Field School is a central element in a large integrated food security programme implemented by DanChurchAid in cooperation with Lutheran World Service Cambodia. Integration means that food security is not only about household animals and crops. If for instance the agricultural land is infested with land mines, these will be cleared first. Next, primary education will be established together with information about HIV/AIDS and other diseases as well as hygiene and nutrition. Finally, the farmers are informed about new cultivating methods, crop diversity and intercropping, marketing and sales, and preparation of the farmers in how to handle drought and flash floods. |
In Cambodian society, the poorest usually struggle individually for survival. They are isolated from the decision-makers, and that impedes improvement of their livelihood.
But the farmers in the small communities often have both knowledge and energy to carry on, especially if they believe in themselves and share their knowledge. And that is precisely the most important principle of the Farmer Field School.
Together with the village leaders, the hired project advisor selects the families suitable for participation in the Farmer Field School. Besides being poor, they must be energetic and determined to participate. When the group has been formed, the members arrive at a common decision about where to meet, what to discuss and their individual goals.
The first task is to find a piece of land that can be use as demonstration plot, where the group can do crop experiments. People living on the verge of hunger take no chances on their own land. Therefore, the members make a small piece of their land at disposal of the group, an in return they will get a share of the harvest. Alternatively, the village chief will be asked if the group may borrow a small plot.
The group decides with which crops they will experiment and the kind of instruction or training they need. The activities have point of departure in real problems. These may be from pest control to acute floods or the use of new crops.
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DanChurchAid
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| Gruesome past Poor farmers living on the verge of hunger are common in Cambodia, where the scars and problems after the terror regime of Khmer Rouge 1975-1979 and the ensuing twenty years of civil war are still very visible. Almost two million Cambodians were killed or died from starvation or diseases during the Khmer Rouge regime. The following years were marked by extreme poverty, and many people were forced to flee from the ongoing fighting. In 1998, after the surrender of Khmer Rouge, the situation improved a little, but there is still widespread poverty. In addition, ten million land mines are buried in the soil all over the country, which makes agriculture very dangerous in many areas. However, agriculture is the main source of employment for the majority of the Cambodian population. Most of them cultivate rice, only few grow nutritious vegetables and fruit. |
A village in Phnom Srouch province has experienced growing drought during the last couple of years, which is reducing the rice harvest.
The group decided to focus on water and constructed small fish ponds and water reservoirs.
In addition they do experiments with alternative rice growing methods on their demonstration plot, where they plant only one rice seed in each whole in stead of many seeds as is the tradition. Now they are waiting to see if the December harvest will yield more.
They have established their own rice bank, where they can borrow 50 kilos of seeds provided that they return 60 kilos after the harvest. The local loan sharks usually demand a pay-back of twice or trice the borrowed amount of rice.
At the same time, the project has given group a couple of cows. One member gets two cows, and the two or three first calves born will be given to the next member and so forth.
Besides the training and specific experiments, the Farmer Field School also assists the farmers in demanding from the local authorities the training and information about distribution of land that the village is entitled to. After thirty years of living in fear of authorities, it is a real challenge for the villagers to demand something from their local leaders. The Farmer Field School in Phnom Srouch has proven successful in this, not least because of the Cambodians’ strong desire to improve their livelihood.
By Jakob Harbo ( jah@dca.dk ) and Lisbeth Engbo ( libo@dca.dk )
Cambodia
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