Cambodia and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have entered into a Cooperation Financing Agreement on Agriculture Services Programme for an Inclusive Rural Economy and Agricultural Trade (ASPIRE-AT) to improve the livelihoods of rural Cambodian households.

The Agreement worth US$194-million was inked between H.E. Vongsey Vissoth, Minister Delegate Attached to the Prime Minister and Permanent Secretary of State for the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and Mr. Alvaro Lario, President of IFAD, at the IFAD headquarters in Rome, Italy early this week.

The cooperation financing, to be given to producer organisations and agricultural SMEs, will give benefits to 100,000 smallholder farmers and 25,000 landless/poor families who have potential to take advantages from both domestic and export markets for agricultural products and livestock.

The programme will focus on business partnership, access to credit and market, and capacity building for beneficiaries to make them more competitive.

ASPIRE-AT is an ambitious project that reflects the Royal Government of Cambodia’s strong commitment to developing and modernising small-scale agriculture and to ensuring that they are more effective, productive, environmentally sustainable and climate resilient, with better connection to markets and six production chains such as vegetables, chickens, cassava, cashew nuts, fresh fruits, and processed fruits.

ASPIRE-AT is the 11th project under IFAD’s financing framework. As of the beginning of this year, IFAD has provided a total of US$304 million in cooperation financing, and has been contributing to rural economic development, food security, poverty reduction, and climate resilience, particularly training and outreach to farmers about more efficient use of technology and market access.

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press