Rice is grown by the majority of farmers in Cambodia. But now, farmers have started realizing that growing organic food is also a healthy option and can attract more profit.
Following rice, cassava and maize are the other crops grown by the farmers. But this time farmers of Cambodia's Kampong Speu province are eager to grow vegetables like- spinach, cauliflower, lettuce or collard greens.
"While the vast majority of Cambodian farmers grow rice, and to a lesser extent cassava and maize, only about a quarter do so commercially," says an analysis done by VOA.
The major advantage regarding growing vegetables is that they are sold at higher prices. Moreover, it requires only a month and a half to harvest. On the other hand, rice requires almost 6 months to harvest.
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According to farmers, the vegetables grown locally tastes sweet while that imported from other countries tastes plain. They also gave an example of collard greens, which taste sweet when grown locally to validate their point.
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According to a recent study of the World Bank the agriculture sector has helped the people living below the poverty line and has reduced their number as well. There were 7 million people in 2007 below the poverty line. However, the figure had reduced to 3 million in 2012. But, this growth had declined in last two years.
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The World Bank has also suggested that Cambodian farmers need to focus on greater yields by increasing the input and trying different crops to increase their productivity. However, farmers are finding it difficult to implement.
The report also suggests that vegetables fetch an income of $1575 per hectare while it is $544 per hectare for cassava and $307 per hectare for rice.
– The information has been compiled by Aparna Gupta, an intern with NewsGram. Twitter @writetoaparna99
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