$60m government project to help Cambodian cassava growers
“The supply and demand in the country is not balanced—like with vegetables, so there are imports to fill the demand,” Commerce Minister Pan Sorasak said at the event yesterday at the Commerce Ministry in Phnom Penh. “We need to understand and organize a system to boost the harvests of these crops.”
The project, Accelerating Inclusive Markets for Smallholders, has two components: building infrastructure to help farmers, and offering special microfinance deals, including longer terms and 20 percent government subsidies.
Meng Sakphuseth, the country program officer of the International Fund for Agricultural Development—which is loaning $36 million for the project—said a conservative estimate for the project’s value was $62 million, possibly rising as high as $80 million.
The government is contributing about $8 million, with $16 million more coming from the private sector. Three microfinance institutions—Prasak, Amret and LOLC—are also set to participate. The Commerce Ministry says the project, which it will implement with the Finance Ministry, will run for six years until 2023.
source: cambodiadaily.com
