Vanilla, a vining orchid, is arguably the second most costly spice on this planet, behind saffron, and seen by most farming communities as an especially profitable crop. Though its business selection doesn’t flower properly in Cambodia, the nation has not too long ago appeared into cultivating it – underneath highly-controlled environments and with the usage of superior expertise.
On a 16-hectare plot within the Cambodian coastal city of Sihanoukville, Dara Chan, a Cambodian-American who not too long ago relocated again to his residence nation, is creating a “vanilla analysis lab” to commercially propagate the crop. As well as, he informed Eco-Enterprise that he’s prototyping sensible farm expertise for irrigation, in addition to temperature and humidity sensors that may automate turning on and off pumps and followers.
Chan is a part of a rising neighborhood of start-up entrepreneurs excited and optimistic concerning the prospects of agritech in Cambodia, propped up by sturdy investor curiosity. Whilst official information on agritech developments are nonetheless missing – a last-known set of statistics level to how the variety of energetic agritech startups has greater than doubled from 2018 to 2021– and never up to date, business observers level to the foremost worldwide funding offers that rising Cambodian-based agritech startups have been capable of clinch lately as optimistic indicators.
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Farmers make little cash and their solely possibility is to go to micro-lending establishments and get right into a cycle of debt. Then they really feel the crops aren’t working, so that they minimize them down and that makes the soil unhealthy for the harvest of latest crops. That is the general state of agriculture in Cambodia.
Toffer Briones, director for entrepreneurship and innovation, Influence Hub Phnom Penh
In mid-2022, Azaylla, an agriculture provide chain platform, obtained an undisclosed quantity of pre-series A funding from Singapore-based investor Insitor Companions. The Cambodian authorities can be backing the push to modernise its expansive agriculture sector and drive sustainability efforts with a 2030 sectoral grasp plan.
Chan stated his ambitions to “revolutionise the agriculture sector” in Cambodia are pushed by a want to elevate the livelihoods of Cambodian farmers, as poverty discount efforts typically hinge on how productive the farming sector is.
Final December, Chan, who spent 4 years working within the automated car business in Silicon Valley, visited his household’s durian farm in Veal Renh in Preah Sihanouk province. He observed that many processes had been nonetheless executed manually and that horticulture was input-intensive, with excessive quantity of water, fertilisers and pesticides getting used.
“The seed was planted for me to wrap up my previous profession and make the leap,” he stated. “I really feel strongly that agriculture is vital to creating growth impression. Agritech can present the instruments to enhance productiveness and yield, whereas creating high-paying and highly-skilled jobs.”
The lab that Chan runs is conducting trials to additionally develop saffron and ginseng – all high-value crops – in refrigerated insulated containers. “We’re troubleshooting current points in order that our farmers could be profitable,” he stated.
Vanilla, which Dara Chan says has a whole lot of potential in Cambodia, because it has a really excessive potential output per hectare. (left) and Chan at a durian farm (proper). Picture: Dara Chan
Toffer Briones, director for entrepreneurship and innovation at Influence Hub Phnom Penh, which works with a neighborhood of youth and start-ups, famous that the agritech start-up tradition is way stronger now, as in comparison with 10 years in the past. “Training has vastly improved and youthful persons are extra tech-savvy,” he stated, including that Cambodia nonetheless has a really younger inhabitants.
Agriculture stands as considered one of Cambodia’s 4 foremost financial pillars, offering 39 per cent of employment nationwide and contributing 22.85 % to the nation’s gross home product (GDP). Nevertheless, local weather change and different rising pressures threaten the sector’s future.
Most of the rising start-ups need to deal with these issues with modern applied sciences. ” In line with Sophoan Phean, nationwide director of British-founded charity Oxfam in Cambodia, which operates the BlocRice Venture, farming is being modernised in varied methods. The challenge goals to extend the revenue of natural rice farmers by enhancing provide chain transparency by way of blockchain expertise to enhance farm productiveness and scale back prices.
Precision agriculture and fintech options
Irrigation and water administration is one key space the place expertise is utilised in Cambodia, stated Phean, citing situations the place farmers undertake applied sciences corresponding to drip irrigation, sprinkler programs and water sensors to optimise water utilization and scale back water waste.
Precision agriculture sees farmers use superior applied sciences together with GPS (brief for International Positioning System), distant sensing and drones to assemble information on soil situations, crop well being and pest infestation. “This information permits farmers to make knowledgeable selections relating to fertiliser utility, irrigation, and pest management, leading to optimised useful resource allocation and improved crop yields,” famous Phean.
As well as, the widespread use of smartphones has opened up alternatives for farmers to entry agricultural data and providers by way of cell functions. These apps present real-time climate updates, market costs, pest administration recommendation and entry to monetary providers, empowering farmers with data for decision-making.
A farmer accessing agricultural data and providers on a Cambodian language cell app. Picture: Oxfam in Cambodia
Fintech options, corresponding to cell banking and digital fee programs, are facilitating monetary transactions for farmers too, stated Phean. These applied sciences allow them to entry credit score, obtain digital funds and have interaction in on-line marketplaces, decreasing reliance on conventional banking programs and growing monetary inclusion.
Influence Hub Phnom Penh, then again, has been instrumental within the agri-tech start-up drive, working varied programmes, together with SAAMBAT Digital Agriculture Accelerator. The six-month programme, which is about to launch its second cohort, helps entrepreneurs to strengthen their minimal viable product, achieve buyer validation and speed up their viability.
Nevertheless, Briones stated whereas accelerating elements corresponding to an increase in schooling and a tech-savvy youthful technology, hurdles stay with regard to expertise adoption in Cambodia. There may be nonetheless a big group of farmers who depend on conventional strategies utilized by their forefathers. Financial and literacy constraints additionally result in them making less-than-ideal selections.
Briones used an instance for instance his level. He is aware of of a farmer who not too long ago reaped success from mango farming, and famous that it was not earlier than lengthy that neighbouring farmers adopted go well with, planted the identical fruit, which led to oversaturation and a droop in costs, forcing everybody to promote the produce at decrease costs to unlawful consumers in Vietnam and Thailand.
“Farmers make little cash and their solely possibility is to go to micro-lending establishments and get right into a cycle of debt. Then they really feel the crops aren’t working, so that they minimize them down and that makes the soil unhealthy for the harvest of latest crops. That is the general state of agriculture in Cambodia,” Briones stated.
Poor tax insurance policies and incentives for agricultural export additional exacerbate the difficulty, together with the expense of importing tools and poor infrastructure, famous Briones.
Agriculture is a key financial pillar in Cambodia, offering 39 per cent of employment nationwide. Nevertheless, local weather change and different rising pressures threaten the sector’s future. Picture: Oxfam in Cambodia
Planting seeds for development
Oxfam in Cambodia additionally confronted challenges whereas implementing its BlocRice Venture. Motivation was one main challenge, together with a scarcity of time to enter required information into the appliance.
“The enter of knowledge requires further efforts from farmers, and farmers want to have the ability to learn and write to gather the wanted information for the system. This requirement is usually a problem for some small-scale farmers,” stated Phean.
Poor web connection and restricted expertise infrastructure in distant rural areas stay restricted for small-scale farmers, posing further challenges, she added.
Neak Sokkim, a 20-year-old sensible expertise start-up founder, informed Eco-Enterprise that she is conversant in the challenges that farming communities in Cambodia face. Raised in a household of farmers, she witnessed how inefficient farming strategies had been. “I used to assist my mother and father farm and it was a whole lot of time and labour. For instance, after they irrigated the crops, it was primarily guess work. Nobody knew how a lot water they had been utilizing,” she stated.
Sokkim, a fourth-year Engineering undergraduate with a significant in IT, began creating a software for farmers to automate crop irrigation in her freshman 12 months. She then began CAM-Science, which offers a fully-integrate IoT (Web of Issues) and cell app that goals to assist Cambodian farmers improve crop yields and mitigate towards adversarial climate and local weather situations.
CAM-Science, which now employs 13 individuals, is among the 4 start-ups to be chosen for the primary SAMBAAT cohort.
“Expertise is more and more vital to make farming extra environment friendly,” stated Sokkim. “It’s not simply vital for farmers, however for the world’s meals manufacturing. Agritech in Cambodia is important, particularly for smallholder farmers, and it’s undoubtedly the long run,”
