New Horizons for Pursat Oranges

How One Orange Buyer Is Investing in His Supply Chain to Bring More Fruit to Market

Oranges from the province of Pursat are one of Cambodia’s most popular fruits. Prized for their sweet, slightly tart flavor, these unique green oranges are in high demand year-round. During the dry season, however, growers have trouble producing oranges of sufficient quantity and quality, and buyers face difficulties securing an adequate supply.

Khun Sopheap, a collector in Phnom Kravanh district, Pursat province, has partnered with Feed the Future Cambodia Harvest II to address these challenges through improved supply chain management. He began by working with Harvest II to establish and strengthen contract agreements with his growers, arranging to purchase farmers’ entire harvest for an agreed-upon price – 40 percent of which is paid up front – and sharing the costs of inputs with his producers, giving them access to the capital they need to purchase inputs and expand production.

Khun Sopheap has implemented numerous new business practices to improve his supply chain management, helping his producers expand production, increasing his sales.

©Feed the Future Cambodia Harvest II/2018/Solina Kong

To further build Sopheap’s growers’ capacity to produce during the dry season, when the supply of oranges falls by around 70 percent, Harvest II connected Sopheap with two agro-input supply companies to provide his growers with quality fertilizers and pesticides and hold ongoing trainings on their correct use. Harvest II also collaborated with one of the companies to conduct an exposure visit for Sopheap and 10 of his producers to observe drip irrigation systems at successful off-season orchards in other provinces.

“Hearing 1,000 times is not equal to seeing a single time,” said Sopheap, quoting a popular Cambodian proverb. “Drip irrigation is such a good technology to practice on farms. It makes for very convenient fertilizing and watering and saves times and labor, which will help us produce higher quality oranges during the dry season.”

With support from the input supply company, Sopheap decided to pilot drip irrigation on his own farm before showcasing this best practice to his producers and helping them install similar cost-shared irrigation systems on their farms.

An exposure visit, hosted by Harvest II in collaboration with an input supply company, introduced Sopheap and his producers to drip irrigation systems that they can replicate on their own farms.

©Feed the Future Cambodia Harvest II/2018/Solina Kong

“Harvest II is like a bridge to safely bring me across difficult roads,” he said. “I am connected to more actors, which helps me to establish stronger business relationships and increase my sales.”

Sopheap’s success demonstrates the potential of improved supply chain management as a win-win for all market actors. Sopheap increases his sales, while his producers increase production and are thereby able to maintain a stable market for their oranges. The input supply companies expand their business by establishing new loyal customer bases and creating larger markets for their goods and services.

Furthermore, as Sopheap and his various market partners continue to increase their sales and create new jobs, they generate ripples within the horticulture sector, helping establish new business relationship norms. By partnering with entrepreneurs like Sopheap, Harvest II is working towards a more robust market system and a stronger Cambodian economy – and year-round access for Cambodian consumers to delicious Pursat oranges.