Training Cooperatives in Cultivation and Marketing of High-Quality Mangoes for Better Income Opportunities

In Cambodia, cultivating high-quality mangoes offers great potential for integrating cooperatives involved in mango farming into export-oriented supply chains. Annual mango production stands at approximately 1.4 million tons, but less than 10% is currently suitable for export. A large portion of exports goes to China, which agreed in a bilateral trade agreement in May 2021 to import up to 500,000 tons annually. Several local companies with export experience have shown strong interest in collaborating with cooperatives to expand mango exports to Asia and the EU. Therefore, the establishment of two model mango farms and training for cooperatives and their members will help enable better integration into export supply chains, giving small farmers better marketing opportunities and higher income potential in the long term.

A long-standing partner of DGRV in Cambodia is the local non-governmental organization Buddhism for Development (BFD), which currently supports 37 agricultural cooperatives in five provinces in northwestern Cambodia in their institutional and economic development. In the GESTE project, BFD will coordinate the establishment of model farms and training for mango farmers, initially training 60 small farmers in proper, resource-conserving cultivation of export-quality mangoes. After starting cooperation in Battambang and Pailin, the project plans to include cooperatives from the provinces of Siem Reap, Banteay Meanchey, and Oddar Meanchey. Model mango farms will be established with two participating cooperative members in Battambang. They bring extensive experience in mango cultivation and have agreed to make their farms available for demonstration and training purposes. These two farmers will be trained as trainers by representatives of the agriculture department and experts from export companies. They commit to training 15 additional cooperative mango farmers each per year after completing their training.