Improving supply chain management through collaboration

Longan actors in Battambang connect and learn improved production practices

Longan, the tasty, high-value tropical fruit, offers enticing export market opportunities for Cambodians in the Battambang region near the Thai border. At the same time, actors in this sector – the longan agricultural cooperatives (ACs), buyers, collectors, producers, and other service providers – have faced challenges meeting market requirements. Recently, however, the group has begun working together to improve product quality and increase yield, and their efforts are paying off.

Feed the Future Cambodia Harvest II (Harvest II) has provided a variety of support to the subsector using its market systems approach. Since production issues were a binding constraint, Harvest II worked with government officials to deliver Cambodian Good Agricultural Practices (Cam-GAP) training to 222 participants in Battambang. In addition to introducing improved product quality and production practices, the training encourages producers to conduct food safety risk assessments, adopt sound environmental practices, and safeguard workers’ health.

GDA and PDAFF delivers Cam-GAP training to participants in Battambang.

Suon Keo Mony, a longan collector who attended the training, doubled his sourcing of longan from more than 100 farmers. This collector has invested financially to provide Cam-GAP training to his farmers utilizing the arrangements coordinated by Harvest II’s partnership with PDAFF. He shared, “The training is very useful because when farmers understand and apply Cam-GAP, they can increase their quality and productivity, and I can also increase my purchase to export market.”

In addition, Harvest II hosted an exposure visit to Thailand for 11 longan actors including buyers, AC members, and an input supply company. The exposure visit aimed to build capacity for the actors through observation of successful farmers and service providers that have adopted improved practices and services. After the exposure visit, Mr. Hun Vatha, the Ponleu Thmey Pichchenda AC Board of Directors has formed a group of farmers to provide trainings (spraying, pruning, harvesting, etc) and has developed a Facebook page to share gained insight with other farmers. He added, “This is a very good opportunity for me to join the exposure visit as I can share new knowledge to the AC members and non-members through trainings and social media platform like Facebook.”

Mr. Hun Vatha, the Board of Directors of Ponleu Thmey Pichchenda Agricultural Cooperative.

Harvest II further facilitated an agreement between longan collectors and producers, resulting in an expansion of more than $1.7 million in working capital that they have used to offer cash advances to producers to purchase agro-inputs and apply techniques to increase productivity and quality.

Through improved practices and supply chain management among key players in the longan subsector, a new longan processing company has invested $3 million in a longan processing facility in Pailin, near Battambang province. The company will continue purchasing Cam-GAP longan from Harvest II collectors after a bilateral agreement is signed between the Royal Government of Cambodia and China. With the current processing capacity of the newly established facility, longan sales are predicted to double from 2,500 to 5,000 tons per year.