Monthly Archives: August 2015

The Regional Fit for School Programme- More Group Washing Facilities Available in the Primary Schools

221 August 2015

The Regional Fit for School Programme in Cambodia aims to prevent infectious diseases among public primary school students to improve school attendance through three simple and low-cost interventions: 1) daily hand washing with soap; 2) daily tooth brushing with fluoride toothpaste; and 3) bi-annual deworming.

In July 2015, as part of the collaboration with UNICEF to expand the Fit for School Programme to more primary schools in Cambodia, 58 group washing facilities have been installed in 6 Primary Schools in Phnom Penh. More>>>

The Regional Fit for School Programme- More Group Washing Facilities Available in the Primary Schools

221 August 2015

The Regional Fit for School Programme in Cambodia aims to prevent infectious diseases among public primary school students to improve school attendance through three simple and low-cost interventions: 1) daily hand washing with soap; 2) daily tooth brushing with fluoride toothpaste; and 3) bi-annual deworming.

In July 2015, as part of the collaboration with UNICEF to expand the Fit for School Programme to more primary schools in Cambodia, 58 group washing facilities have been installed in 6 Primary Schools in Phnom Penh.

The group washing facility enables students to conduct daily hand washing and tooth brushing in group when they are at school, using less water and time than conventional washing facilities. The group washing facility was designed by GIZ Fit for School Programme as part of the technical assistance to local partners in finding solution for a low-cost washing facility that can be produced in scale and ensures functionality. The facility, which can accommodate up to 22 children at a time, is prefabricated by Don BoscoTechnical School in Phnom Penh. Schools and communities ownership are encouraged by their involvement in choosing locations to install the group washing facilities, and the enhancements of the facilities by painting or adding flower/gravel bed to absorb water or adding a roof to provide shade for children. The enhancements are optional and based on school preferences and available resources.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To date, over 1,000 of group washing facilities have been prefabricated in collaboration with UNICEF. Such facilities will be installed in140 more target primary schools this year in Takeo, Kampot, Kampong Thom and Kampong Chhnang Provinces. 53,000 school children will be covered and benefit from these installations. The expansion with UNICEF in the second round will cover 43,000 more children to reach out to a total number of 100,000 children by early 2016. The facilities are also being installed in Laos and the Philippines.

For more information and work on the group washing facilities, please refer to the Facebook grouplink provided here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/632408213516487/

 

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Public-Private Partnerships Support Vegetable Producers in Cambodia

20 August 2015

Siem Reap Province, Cambodia–In Siem Reap Province, commercial vegetable farmers are catching on to the benefits of public private partnerships. In less than a decade, public private partnerships have spurred local commercial vegetable production, planting roots for the sub-sector in Siem Reap.

The partnership between the Siem Reap Provincial Department of Agriculture (PDA) and supply companies have become a cornerstone of the GIZ Regional Economic Development (RED) Programme, and have created a new market opportunity, offering local produce to consumers. More>>>

Public-Private Partnerships Support Vegetable Producers in Cambodia

 

20 August 2015

Siem Reap Province, Cambodia–In Siem Reap Province, commercial vegetable farmers are catching on to the benefits of public private partnerships. In less than a decade, public private partnerships have spurred local commercial vegetable production, planting roots for the sub-sector in Siem Reap.

The partnership between the Siem Reap Provincial Department of Agriculture (PDA) and supply companies have become a cornerstone of the GIZ Regional Economic Development (RED) Programme, and have created a new market opportunity, offering local produce to consumers.

 Notable Results

So far, the results are notable: Between January 2009 and February 2015, 1,029 training events in vegetable cultivation techniques, including the safe and environmentally friendly use of fertilizers and pesticides with more than 23,000 participants (61% female) have been jointly implemented. Additionally, about 200 demonstration farms have been established in all 11 districts and the municipality of Siem Reap Province.

How it works

As a public private partnership, the main interest of internationally operating input supply companies is to develop markets for their products, whereas the main mandate of the PDA is to promote agricultural production. However, both share common interests: To make quality input available to farmers and to capacitate farmers to apply modern inputs in the right way.

The PDA and its district officers, in addition to its general role of managing and regulating the PPP agreements, define training needs and contents, select the training locations and training participants, and facilitate the implementation of the training events and field days.

As a result, more than 4,600 households have improved and increased their vegetable production considerably. Improved product quality and regularity of supply to markets has led to an increase of seasonal household revenues on average by US$159.

PDA’s close cooperation with the private sector has also improved the technical qualification and services of the agricultural district officers. “I learned a lot from the private companies. The farmers respect me now as an experienced and helpful extension worker,” said Sina Seum (Soutr Nikom) Siem Reap District Officer.

Programme Milestones

2008:

  • At the initial stage of the RED Programme, commercial vegetable production was almost non-existent in Siem Reap province. Only seven % of the vegetables found in Siem Reap’s markets were locally produced. Most vegetables were imported from Thailand and Vietnam.
  • Farmers focused only on the traditional rainy season rice cultivation and were unable to take advantage of the untapped market opportunities in the vegetable sub-se Moreover, high quality inputs for vegetable cultivation were simply not available.

2009:

  • Between 2009 and 2015 several partnership agreements between the Provincial Department of Agriculture and input supply companies such as East-West International, Agrotech Vita, Bayon Heritage were implemented.

2012-2014:

  • Since 2012, trainings included the use of organic fertilizers and in 2014, organic pesticides trainings were offered.

2015:

  • To date, the contribution of private companies totals to more than US $300,000. How work is divided is based on each partner’s skill set.

Screenshot 2015-08-20 12.59.22

Additional program activities improved the cooperation amongst farmers and joint marketing by facilitating the establishment of farmer networks, as well as the cooperation and information exchange between collectors and farmer networks in view of the changing demands for certain vegetable varieties. About 100 input retailers have been trained on the correct use of improved seeds, fertilizer and pesticides in order to ensure their save and proper application.

Today:

  • Commercial vegetable production is well established in Siem Reap province: The market share of locally produced vegetables increased from seven % in 2008 to over 25% in 2014. Moreover, improved farmer-collector cooperation, as well as the diversification of the vegetable production (through the introduction of new varieties, extension of the cultivation season from 3 to 6 months, etc) enables farmers to much better align production to the market demand.

 

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All activities are implemented by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).