Chapter 2 Cambodia - ERIA

improve the economic and nutritional situation of 15,000 family-scale farms and to increase theresilience of farming families in withstanding distressing situations. It does this by providingsafety net mechanisms (e.g., rice banks, health insurance) in ten provinces—Battambang,Kampot, Kampong Cham, Kampong Speu, Prey Veng, Siem Reap, Svay Rieng, Takeo, Kandal,and Kampong Thom. EU contribution is over €1.9 million for one and a half years. ZOA worksto improve access of 3,500 families to irrigation and agricultural inputs. In addition, it will buildten rice-seed stores and help 500 semiurban, land-poor families develop income-generatingactivities in Oddar Meanchey province (€1.25 million for one and a half years). Helen KellerInternational received a grant (more than €1.7 million for nearly two years) to use in improvingthe food security and livelihoods of 6,000 vulnerable farming households in Prey Veng andPursat provinces. GTZ received EU support of €2 million for about two years and is working toimprove food security and access to essential services of poor households in the rural areas ofCambodia. To achieve this, it is developing more efficient mechanisms for targeting poorhouseholds to support the rapid implementation of poverty-alleviation measures and the deliveryof specific services and assistance.The United States Government, through the United States Agency for International Development(USAID), has awarded a five-year, multimillion dollar contract designed to improve Cambodia’sfood security through enhanced agricultural development and better management of naturalresources. The five-year contract was awarded to Fintrac, a United States-based agribusinessconsulting firm that develops agricultural solutions to end hunger and poverty. The project,“Helping Address Rural Vulnerabilities and Ecosystems Stability” (HARVEST), will harness thecooperation of public and private entities and civil society to strengthen food security through thefollowing means: increasing agricultural productivity; raising the incomes of the rural poor;preparing the country to adapt to climate change; and reducing the number of Cambodians,especially women and children, suffering from malnutrition. The interventions will be designedin close coordination with the government, with local stakeholders, and with other developmentpartners in order to maximize the collective impact of sustainably reducing hunger and poverty.A “focus on food” approach to rural income diversification and value-chain strengthening willhelp the Cambodian agricultural sector become a major contributor to stable and sustainableeconomic growth for Cambodia and the region. The improved management of land and other99