The Ministry of Commerce (MoC) yesterday signed five memoranda of understanding with vegetable procurement companies, increasing domestic supply
by 30,000 tonnes on average per year.
The signing ceremony was presided over by Cham Nimul, Minister of MoC to promote the procurement of vegetable products between MoC’s project of ‘Accelerating Inclusive Markets for Smallholders’ (AIMS) and the five vegetable procurement companies in Phnom Penh.
The move comes in response to the increasing market demand the agricultural production as well as ensuring food security and increasing value-added which will contribute to improving the income of farmers and people at the grassroots level.
Based on the MoC sources, the ministry has signed MoUs with, Cambodian Standard Development & Company Limited (CSDS), CAM AGRI LALA, Knife Market, Khmer Natural Vegetable Market and Mother Works Market which aims to promote agriculture and rural development, contributing to the improve the living standards of the people.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Nimul said that the relevant ministries, institutions, the private sector and Cambodian farmers will join forces to enhance the reputation of local products, increasing competitiveness and commercialization of agriculture in line with quality trends in the market, achieving economies of scale and competitive advantages with high added value.
The Minister emphasised that the vegetable procurement of the five enterprises is equivalent to about 24 percent of the actual sales volume of farmers under the average AIMS project per year, meaning farmers under the AIMS project will be able to increase their domestic supply to more than 30,000 tonnes on average per year.
She hoped that the framework of cooperation to promote the procurement of vegetables would further promote the modernisation and marketing of vegetables in the nation, which is an important mechanism of the National Strategic Development Policy to strengthen the necessary preconditions to support the goal of sustainable development. Khmertimeskh
