Ministry and Makro link-up to develop food value chain

Ministry and Makro link-up to develop food value chain

Ministry of Commerce’s Accelerating Inclusive Markets for Smallholders (AIMS) programme and Makro (Cambodia) Co Ltd (Makro Market) signed a memorandum of understanding on development of an agribusiness value chain.

The signing ceremony was attended by Kem Sithorn, permanent secretary of state at the Ministry of Commerce, the director-general of Green Trade, the general manager of Makro (Cambodia), the acting director-general of the General Department of Domestic Trade and the director of the (AIMS) programme.

Kem Sithorn said the COVID-19 pandemic has had a serious effect on the economy, society and livelihoods of people around the world and Cambodia in particular. To solve this problem, he said Cambodia has taken a number of highly effective measures in line with the prime minister’s high recommendation, which called on farmers to work hard to cultivate and promote agricultural production, including animal husbandry, rice production and growing various crops to increase supply to meet local demand as well as new markets for farmers, which are potential opportunities for agriculture-production, in which the AIMS project plays an important role. Sithorn said the signing aims to establish cooperation to promote Cambodia’s products through partners, identify opportunities for collaborative activities and programmes that provide mutual benefits to both parties an address challenges and sustainability in the context of agro-commercial production, domestic processing products, local small and medium enterprise products and to deal with market issues.

The MOC’s secretary of state emphasised that this work is the starting point of an important cooperation between the two sides.

“The project will expand the scope of implementation and finished products of other Cambodian small and medium enterprises to create jobs and increase income for the people and contribute to the development of small and medium enterprises, especially to promote the campaign of supporting domestic products in line with the strategic policy of the Royal Government of Cambodia,” he added.

The AIMS programme is a joint project of the government and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. It is led by the Ministry of Commerce and aims to promote the prosperity of smallholder farmers in Cambodia by increasing profits by increasingly linking agro-business and markets in 18 provinces and intervening in five commercial value chains: vegetables, chickens, rice, cassava and raw silk.

Makro Market in Siem Reap province received 4,320 kilogrammes of safe vegetables from the AIMS project and 156 kilogrammes of chickens. Meanwhile, Makro Market in Phnom Penh bought vegetables from farmers in the east and northeast of Cambodia, especially from farmers in Kampong Cham. Khmer Times