USAID-HARVEST: Higher Incomes and Improved Food Security for Rural Cambodians

The program aims to increase incomes and improve nutrition for 70,000 rural Cambodian households. HARVEST addresses poor productivity, postharvest losses, food safety, lack of market access, environmental degradation, and the effects of climate change on food-vulnerable populations. The geographic focus of HARVEST is on provinces surrounding Tonle Sap Lake, where a high percentage of poor and food-insecure families reside. The program has launched activities in dozens of communes in Battambang and Pursat provinces and will also reach Kampong Thom and Siem Reap. By engaging with local communities, HARVEST seeks to economically benefit 330,000 Cambodians, with a particular emphasis on supporting 7,000 "extremely" poor households in income-generating activities. HARVEST partners with commercial entities, NGOs, and local organizations to deliver technical assistance and business development services to smallholders. The core consortium includes US agribusiness firm Fintrac Inc., Auburn University, Fauna and Flora International, Institute of International Education, and several other organizations. The program's services focus on agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries, natural resource management, biodiversity, and climate change, as well as social inclusion and capacity development. Key services provided by HARVEST include crop diversification, rice production, value chain improvement, irrigation, postharvest handling, new technologies, inputs, processing, marketing, and aquaculture and fisheries development. The program also addresses natural resource management, biodiversity, and climate change through initiatives such as commune land use planning, forest-dependent community development, and national and community carbon accounting. In addition to its technical assistance, HARVEST works to create an enabling environment for development by engaging with government ministries, local universities, NGOs, farmer and community groups, input suppliers, buyers, processors, and exporters. The program's initiatives include regulatory reform, constraint analysis, market linkages, and access to finance. By supporting these efforts, HARVEST aims to improve food security and incomes for rural Cambodians, ultimately contributing to the country's agricultural development and food security goals.