Cambodia has seen significant progress in agriculture over the past decade, but a growing population and exposure to natural disasters have put the country’s food security at serious risk. According to the latest FAO report, the rural population in poverty, mostly women, is the most vulnerable to the impact of climate change, due to limited management and self-production capacities, but also to the interference of animals and pests from across the border, including Cassava Mosaic Virus in 2015, Autumn Legionnaires' Caterpillar in 2019 and African Swine Fever (ASF) in 2019. In the village of Tropangpring, in the south of the country, in the province of Kampot, near the Vicariate of Phnom-Pen, there is the Phnom Vor farm, where not only corn and rice are grown on a community basis, but also breadfruit, horseradish, dragon fruit and mango, while a large pond guarantees the water reserve.
A magical place where COPE, in support of the Department of Agronomy of the Saint Paul Institute of the Vicariate of Phnom Pen, the only higher education center for agriculture and livestock in the south of the country, has promoted the creation of an “educational farm”, a community-based agricultural training center for strengthening productivity and therefore food security for local populations. The educational farm programs range from strengthening dairy cattle breeding and promoting the marketing of cow’s milk in the region, to carrying out agrotechnical studies and selecting new crops, to creating income-generating activities for the production and marketing of agricultural products, also strengthening the educational offering of the Saint Paul Institute by sending expert Italian agronomists and veterinarians to provide refresher courses and thematic seminars for teachers and students. The beneficiaries identified will be the students of the St. Paul Institute, many of whom are experts in veterinary medicine, livestock farming, and processing of cow's milk. The students, who often visit the Phnom Vor farm, will be able to share their skills and knowledge with the local population, in addition to the experience gained in the agricultural sector. The staff and volunteers who work on the Phnom Vor farm will also benefit from the project's activities, increasing their agricultural knowledge and in particular on the processing and production of cow's milk. Indirectly, the project is also aimed at poor and disadvantaged families, widowed women, and the most vulnerable people living around Phnom Vor and those of the Vicariate of Phnom Penh. In particular, it is essential to raise awareness among the local population about the importance of drinking cow's milk, involving them in livestock farming, and in the production and sale processes of the milk produced. The intervention promises, initially for 2 years and with the possibility of extension, to strengthen the production, diversification and marketing capacities of local communities to ensure solid and climate-resilient food security and a less uncertain future. Furthermore, it is also expected to design activities related to Ecotourism as a subsequent development phase of the project funded by the Sicilian Episcopal Conference (Office of Missionary Cooperation between the Churches).
